KIA Complaints

The contact owns a 2021 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving at approximately 25 MPH, the vehicle stalled. All of the warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the alternator needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000.

The engine consumes oil and requires repeat oil changes or refilling the engine oil prior to expected or recommended service date. This causes a severe emissions issue.

In February, on my car that I had had for six months with less than 3500 miles on it, I was driving and got a “driver assist warning“ on my car and I no longer have the ability to apply gas to the car. Thankfully, I was able to pull over safely. I restarted the car and everything was fine. I called the dealership and they said it is probably a bad sensor and I made an appointment to bring in my card that Friday. They said that this was due to probably a dirty sensor due to it being snowing out. The next day I took my car to a car wash to clean it to make sure that there was nothing messing with the sensor. As soon as I exited the car wash, I got the same quote, driver, warning, assist quote, warning on my dashboard and lost the ability to gas my car. I immediately took my car to the dealer where it stayed for 18 days. They said that they replaced the sensor which was causing the issue. I had my car back for a total of 10 days when the same thing happened to me. This time I was driving on a 55 mph road. Luckily, again I was able to pull over safely. I took my car straight to the dealer where they had it for 28 days. They got the corporate Kia mechanics involved. They tried a bunch of things to fix my car, and eventually said that the sensor malfunctioning was due to the oil being too high. This is on a car now with less than 38,000 miles which has never had service on it. My car has been in the shop for a total of 46 days of the last two months. The sensor just going out abruptly can cause a major accident. Since I have had this problem, I have heard of at least two other cars doing the exact same thing.

My car burns oil very fast. I am putting in more than 5 quarts of oil in between oil changes. I have replaced the flex pipe, the catalytic converter two times, and both the upstream and downstream oxygen sensors. The catalytic converter now needs to be replaced again after only 7 months after being installed. The car keeps getting P0420 codes. I found out this last converter was bad while on the highway going 70 mph up a hill. The speed suddenly decreased all the way down to 50 mph which put me in great danger of getting hit from behind at high speeds. It would not go any faster..

The contact leased a 2025 Kia Niro. The contact was stopped at a traffic light during the night. When the light changed, the contact was partially turning when the other vehicle slammed into the contact's vehicle. No injuries were reported. The contact stated that the front collision sensor failed. The contact was not warned of the impending collision. The driver-side and passenger-side air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was taken to the collision center. A police report was filed. The contact believed that the sensor failed in the evening and worked as intended during the daytime. The insurance company was notified of the accident. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 3,500.

Loosing oil constantly. Always on the low end. I am having to keep oil in my car to put in it when needed which is often.

The contact owned a 2006 Kia Sedona. The vehicle was bought used close to four years ago. The contact was unaware that the vehicle had received notifications of NHTSA campaign numbers 20V088000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC), 16V389000 (LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES), and 16V387000 (SUSPENSION). The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH, an abnormal pop sound was heard coming from the vehicle. The contact noticed smoke was emitting from the front end of the vehicle. The contact stated that the heat gauge was rising. The contact pulled to the side of the road when a passerby ran up to the contact's vehicle and informed the contact that flames were visible under the vehicle. The passerby stated that he followed the contact for about a mile, honking and waving to notify the contact of the fire. The contact and child immediately exited the vehicle. The contact stated that once she exited the vehicle, the front end of the vehicle was engulfed in flames. The contact and child did not sustain any injuries. The police and fire department were called to the scene. The fire department extinguished the fire when, shortly after, there was an explosion. The vehicle was consumed by the fire and destroyed. The vehicle was towed to Wayne's towing yard. The manufacturer was notified of the fire. The contact was awaiting contact from KIA. The contact notified her insurance company. The failure mileage was approximately 189,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while attempting to accelerate from a standing start the vehicle had experience sever jerking and hesitation. Also, the vehicle has experience oil consumption problems and the contact constantly added engine oil. The cause of the failures were not determine. Also, the hood latch had malfunctioned and the hood could not opened to add oil to the engine. The cause of the failures were not determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failures but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 121,000.

am writing to formally request assistance regarding my Kia vehicle which I purchased used at approximately 38,000 miles. Shortly after purchase, the vehicle became undrivable and has since required repeated repairs without resolution. To date, the vehicle has been presented for repair on six separate occasions for the same issue and has remained out of service for a significant period of time. Based on these repeated failures and lack of resolution, the vehicle may reasonably be considered defective at this point. Despite being unable to use the vehicle, I have continued to make monthly payments, resulting in considerable financial hardship. In an effort to resolve this matter, I consulted with a Maryland MVA investigator, who advised me to contact Kia directly and report that the vehicle appears to have been sold with a pre-existing defect. I have also communicated with the selling dealership, Eastern Motors; however, I was informed that due to changes in management, they are unable to provide further assistance and consider the matter outside of their control. Additionally, I have previously reached out regarding this issue and have not received a response. Given the timing of the failure, the repeated unsuccessful repair attempts, and the extended period the vehicle has been out of service, I respectfully request that Kia conduct a thorough review of this matter. I am respectfully requesting Kia’s assistance in resolving this matter. Specifically, I would like to explore options such as a replacement vehicle, repurchase (buyback), reimbursement of payments made, or other goodwill support. I remain open to a fair and reasonable resolution. Please advise what documentation or additional information is required to proceed. I am prepared to provide all relevant records, including purchase documentation and complete service history. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. I look forward to your response.

Under extremely cold temperatures, approx 10° the main display does not work. The MPH & other vehicle information will not display. KIA service requires the vehicle to be brought to the facility while condition exists in order to troubleshoot, however once the vehicle warms up, the non functioning display begins to operate normally and the problem does not exist. Speaking with the service advisor and service manager in charge, they are aware of the problem and know of other vehicles with this display problem.