KIA Complaints

The contact owns a 2015 Kia Optima. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle or while driving at undisclosed speeds, there was an abnormal fuel odor inside the vehicle after the vehicle was serviced by the dealer. The contact stated that the vehicle received an undisclosed engine repair. The vehicle was not taken to an independent mechanic or the dealer to be diagnosed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 123,323.

The contact owns a 2020 Kia Forte. The contact stated that while driving 70 MPH on a bend in the highway, a deer jumped over the barrier and landed on the top of the contact's front windshield. The contact stated that she was knocked unconscious due to the impact. The driver’s and passenger’s side air bags did not deploy. The contact was strapped in the driver's seat when she regained consciousness. The contact was unsure whether there was a warning light illuminated. The state police were called to the scene of the accident. Days later, after the accident, the contact went to Urgent Care. However, when the contact explained that she was unconscious, the contact was referred to the hospital. The contact went to the hospital, was informed that there were no bone fractures, and was referred to her personal medical provider. The contact sustained a bruise from the seat belt on her left shoulder; glass shards were embedded in the right forearm. The contact stated that from the impact, the torso slammed into the front windshield. The vehicle was towed to a towing yard, and then the insurance company towed the vehicle to a collision center. The insurance company was pending an investigation. The contact had not released the vehicle. The contact was unaware of all the facts of the accident. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.

My family and I were all driving in the car. We were at a stoplight, and fully stopped as it was a red light. All of a sudden, we heard a weird noise, and all of the dash lights on our car appeared, and then the car fully turned off. We could not get the car back on, and it would not start. Prior to this, it was driving totally fine, and we had no lights on our dashboard indicating something was wrong. Just stopped out of nowhere. If we were on the freeway, and our car just immediately turned off, we could have been in a major, life-threatening accident. After 2-3 times of trying to restart the car, we were able to turn it on, and at least get it into neutral so we could move it off the side of the road. We were able to get it towed to a Kia dealership in which they diagnosed it as engine failure and said we would need to replace the whole engine. This car is around 10 years old and has less than 130,000 miles. It has been meticulously maintained according to Kia standards, and there should be no reason that a well maintained car should need a new engine at this point. We had frequent oil changes, and even had an oil leak that we had to repair just a couple months ago.

The contact owns a 2012 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that after parking and turning off the vehicle, she entered the post office; after 3 to 4 minutes, she was alerted by a consumer that the vehicle had caught fire. The contact noticed fire emerging from the undercarriage. The TPMS warning light had been illuminated prior to the incident. Post office employees attempted to extinguish the fire. The fire department was called and successfully extinguished the fire. There were no reported injuries. Police were also present at the scene. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number 23V-652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic). The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted; however, no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.

This electric vehicle would not charge from a 120VAC or 240VAC source. It would charge using HVDC. It has been repaired by a KIA dealership and therefore the part is not available for inspection. I don't know that anyone's highway safety was at risk because the vehicle continued to operate normally and could be recharged, although not at home. That said, the failure presented as a dead-short to the EVSE, causing the circuit breaker to activate. If the home were improperly wired, I suppose an electrical fire could have occurred. The component that failed and was replaced is the "ICCU," the same component which was subject to a NHTSA recall for failing to maintain 12V power for charging the auxiliary battery and powering the 12V auxiliary equipment. The vehicle was inspected by a KIA dealer and the defective part was replaced. There was no advance warning. One day the vehicle charged normally. The next day, it did not. I am providing this information because NHTSA should have a complete a record of the KIA ICCU failure history as possible.

The contact owns a 2023 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH, the "Low Oil" message was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact immediately pulled over and called for assistance. A service technician arrived at the scene and added engine oil, and the vehicle was driven to an independent mechanic to be inspected. The vehicle was inspected, and the contact was informed that the bolts on the oil pan were loose, causing oil to leak from the engine. The bolts were tightened. The mechanic then informed the contact that certain Kia vehicles were under investigation for failures with the oil pan and that the vehicle was possibly affected. The contact stated that approximately 4 hours after the oil service, the "Low Oil" message returned. Due to the failure, the vehicle was towed to a dealer for inspection. The dealer was unaware of any investigations regarding the engine oil pan, and the vehicle remained with the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 62,000.

The engine’s serpentine belt started to fail prematurely. In cold weather, the engine’s belt would scream for 1 to 5 minutes when warming up the engine (under no load and not moving). The belt had less than 40,000 miles on it (when Kia expects it to go 80,000 miles).

initial filed #11708370 (1/2/2026) 2nd filed #11717025 (2/10/26) Yesterday afternoon (2/10/26), I was told by Jim Shorkey Kia Wexford PA that no error codes are on the EV6, it is ready for pick up. Before I received this call, there was a software update done on the EV6 (see service records) I attached 2 photos of the software update as well. ICCU ASSY was replaced, etc. was told per Shorkey Kia since there are no issues with my EV6, as of Friday when they initially called to say my vehicle was ready for pick up, Kia considers my problem resolved. I know I’ll be paying for the car rental for X number of days, even though the EV6 did not get the software update until this past Tuesday, yesterday 2/10/26, which cleared the 3 codes that were still showing on the Kia app earlier morning yesterday, screenshot of that attached as well. I have my car, no codes visible now.

I charged overnight at work. When leaving I heard a loud pop and the check EV system light came one. The vehicle would no longer drive over 40mph. I made it a mile and it dropped to 20mph. The dealership has had my car for over a week. From research it seems to be the ICCU as many others have had problems with.

The car suddenly went into low power mode. It had to be towed to the dealer. The dealer learned the next day that the ICCU failed per the recall. However, while parts arrived a week ago, they do not have sufficient personnel to complete the work. They said it would likely be several more days. I was not offered a loaner. Were I not calling every few days I would not have any information. The dealer has never initiated a call to me for status.