KIA Complaints

Ever since the purchase of the car I been bringing this attention to the dealership but they always turn down and avoiding the situation at first electrical issues like turning signals goes in and out window stop rolling up sometimes had to try for hours just rolls up fog light check light headlight and turn signal all together went out in the beginning started to work in and out and now window turn signal front both and one fog light now won't come back and front Air Flap won't operate that's from the few months into the car check light and also in the beginning car transmission always felt rough not gears smoothly change I brought this attention but they always ask change the transmission fluid but it's was a new car felt that but never bothered looking into but over time got worst now it hit you when picking up like gear just stuck and your whole body gets that shock like someone hit you from the back every time and when comes to slow stopping making crying sound. It's like I made the biggest mistake why I decided to buy the new car because I know old cars have problems but this is Brand New I bought shouldn't have problems, and from it's was new always heard the click sound when move from complete stop like go from on red light or from any stop position click hear it from front never worried but was not feeling good why but now all of sudden it's unbearable sound when turning or making u turn loud like anything when acceleration but not in straight drive asked dealership about all the problems I been getting since was a brand new car the answered I got it's now not in the warrenty will cost to check wow what a rip off and when I use to say those problems when was in the warrenty they would say it's not the major issue and yes one time one of the tech specialists I mentioned he you know what he said made me sick we would try something but warrenty is BS it's a piece of *** we never get money easily so this is why they always refuse to take this seriously wow

On November 15, I was traveling with my mother and seated in the front passenger seat of a 2023 Kia Sportage while she was driving approximately 65 mph on the interstate when the vehicle struck a deer. The impact caused significant front-end damage, including the bumper, radiator area, and underbody components. I was wearing a seatbelt. Despite the severity of the collision and the high rate of speed, neither the driver nor passenger airbags deployed. No airbags deployed in any position in the vehicle. I sustained injuries, including a right shoulder sprain and having the wind knocked out of me, and required medical care. As a result of this crash, my mother developed post-traumatic stress symptoms, including fear of driving and anxiety related to the accident. The component that failed appears to be the Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)/airbag system, which did not deploy in a crash that should have met deployment thresholds. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. This failure put our safety at risk by leaving us without the primary restraint protection designed to prevent head, chest, and upper body injuries in a high-speed frontal collision. The issue has not yet been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer. The vehicle has been seen by insurance, but no airbag system inspection or explanation has been provided. There were no airbag warning lights or dashboard messages prior to the crash. If there were any faults stored in the system, they were not displayed to the occupants. I believe this is a serious safety defect involving airbag non-deployment.

The vehicle ICCU failed on 18 January 2026. It previously had the ICCU inspected and updated as part of #24V-867. Warnings on screen told me to stop driving and pull over. Had vehicle towed to Dealer where they confirmed ICCU failure and initially were going to charge nearly $4000 to repair. KIA Customer care spoke to dealership and ICCU repair is now being covered. It seems apparent that the earlier fix did not resolve the issue, and raises concerns over whether KIA truly understands the underlying cause. Will the replacement fail after 30k miles? Will I be stranded?

Upon starting suv, the instrument panel / cluster did not display. There is now no way to know speed, safety warnings such as malfunctioning sensors or safety features . No odometer or any driving feedback of any kind. Have scheduled appointment with dealer tomorrow.

While driving, have had the engine of my 25 Sorento Hybrid stop working. An emergency notice comes on the screen (see photo) stating to pull over safely. The hybrid system error message has come on 4-5 times in the last month. The vehicle will not drive more than 15-20 miles per hour and has virtually no acceleration making it very dangerous to drive in or around high speed/traffic areas. Took it to a local Kia dealership where I was told nothing was wrong and their only guess was that it was related to the battery and cold weather. The same messaged/incident has happened 2x since bringing it into the dealership. With the most recent being 1/22/26. Problem first arose on 1/9/26. There are dozens of reports of this in online threads over the past few months with Kia hybrid engines

I was driving down the highway at the posted 70mph limit in medium traffic. The car started to sputter and wouldn't accelerate. The car started to decelerate and cars coming from behind had to quickly swerve to avoid me. The cab then filled with the strong smell of gasoline and I became light headed. The car reduced to around 10mph and I pulled off the highway into a gas station and waited for a tow truck. We towed the vehicle to a Kia dealership and they claimed to have fixed it. A similar circumstance has occured 3 more times since that first issue. After each time, Kia has claimed to have fixed the issue.

My 2020 Kia Soul is suffering catastrophic engine failure from a known safety recall defect involving the piston oil rings. I received a safety recall notice from Kia on July 5, 2021 warning that defective piston oil rings could cause engine damage and engine fires. I brought the vehicle to a Kia dealer for recall service on July 5, 2021 and again on February 1, 2022 for the same safety recall. Kia did not replace the engine and did not explain what repairs were performed. Now, despite having complied with both recall repairs, my engine is knocking, burning oil, losing power, and the check engine light is blinking. The vehicle has stalled in traffic, creating a serious safety risk. I am afraid to drive it due to the risk of engine failure and fire. The Kia dealer is now telling me the engine needs to be replaced at a cost of $5,000 or more, or I must replace the vehicle. They claim the recall was already performed and the vehicle is no longer under warranty, even though the same recalled defect has now caused engine failure. This appears to be a defective and ineffective recall remedy that did not correct the safety defect and has resulted in dangerous engine failure.

In a letter dated August 14, 2019, KIA advised that the warranty coverage for the driver's front airbag clock spring assembly was extended to 15 years. the clock spring is an electrical connection which rotates with the steering wheel to maintain proper functioning of the airbag unit. If the airbag light stays on, and the car continues to be used without repair, the driver's airbag may eventually not deploy in a frontal impact. This is a safety issue, since the airbag may not work, KIA knew about it in 2019!! The 2011 KIA that I own is now 16 years old, and of course KIA refuses to pay for the repair. Now I am faced with an approximately $500.00 repair bill to make sure I'm safe in case of an accident. This should be investigated, and KIA should pay for the repair since it is an airbag safety issue.

Point 1)CVVT pin was sheared off. Not available for inspection, was replaced and discarded by KIA. Point 2)The vehicle had a rough start and stalled out while stopping. Had to have the car towed to the dealership. Point 3) UNKNOWN Point 4) No Point 5) The Check Engine Light would come on and off randomly. Code P0017 & P0016 would come up as pending when the engine light was on.

Was currently stuck in slow walking traffic and once traffic began to progress the car overheated engine notice appeared. Pulled into a parking lot as soon as car was parked the vehicle turned off. This happened during the night and was an extremely traumatic experience! Car does have a diagnosis about the engine been blown. Still in the works of being fixed by the dealership. Very long process!