KIA Complaints

I received a recall notice for my 2013 Kia Optima, VIN #: [XXX] related to engine issues and an increased risk of fire. After receiving the recall notice, my vehicle began smoking and briefly caught fire while in operation. I immediately shut the vehicle off, and the smoke and fire stopped. For safety reasons, the vehicle was towed by my insurance company to my aunt’s residence, which was the closest safe location at the time. The vehicle was unsafe to drive. No injuries occurred, and the fire department was not called because the fire stopped once the vehicle was turned off. I believe this incident is related to a known safety defect and recall involving Kia Optima engine fires. I have contacted Kia multiple times regarding this issue, and there have been delays in addressing or repairing the vehicle. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Strong fuel smell that comes and goes. Dealership replaced fuel injection related parts after finding a leak. Problem is still present.

My car having gas leak under hood. Strong gas smell comes from ac vent.its a safety hazard

My Husband was driving my van with me and my 2 children inside the vehicle and the vehicle lost all power and stalled in the middle of the road and would not restart there was no warning light no noise from the motor or anything. The problem has been confirmed by a independent garage and a Kia dealer this happened on 12/20/25

My 2022 Kia Soul experienced a sudden loss of motive power and stalling while driving, creating a high risk for a rear-end collision in traffic. An authorized Kia dealership (Mike Miller Kia) performed a major timing repair in March 2025 [XXX] ) to address these safety issues. However, the exact same failure occurred again in January 2026. The dealership now documents that the engine was 4 quarts low on oil, nearly empty, despite proper maintenance. This indicates a severe oil consumption defect that leads to timing failure and unpredictable engine stalls. I believe this vehicle poses an unreasonable safety risk due to this recurring stalling condition, which matches the defect described in NHTSA Recall 25V099 (SC336), though my VIN is currently excluded. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The sunroof malfunctioned while I was attempting to open it, producing a loud pop and causing the glass to become misaligned while the vehicle was parked. There have been numerous reports of this same issue, including incidents in which the sunroof glass has shattered. This appears to be a known defect; however, Kia has refused to acknowledge responsibility or perform the necessary repairs. Kia has quoted the cost of repair at $5,800.

ICCU failed preventing the vehicle from being charged and killing the 12v battery.

My vehicle popped up a red vehicle warning to check the electric vehicle system. It would no longer charge, was taken to the dealership where the emergency notification was sent :suspected condition with your EV9's Battery Management System has been detected and charging has been limited. A full system check is recommended. Please schedule an appointment with your local Kia dealership as soon as possible. And another CRITICAL EV WARNING your EV battery has a critical issue contact roadside assistance. This is a 2024 and has a total battery failure.

I leased this vehicle brand new in 2023 within a month my screen with my speedometer went black and I had called the dealership and they told me to unhook the neutral on my battery to reset the computer, it did work. And then anytime it rained got cold snowed or the roads were wet All my accident on avoided systems would say there's a problem and they would be disabled. I text the sales manager several times so between that and me having to unhook the neutral in the battery to reset my speedometer I was getting a little upset I took it to the dealership and they said there's no trouble codes and I said exactly because I unhooked the neutral which clears the trouble codes they had it for over a week and put 300 mi on it and told me they couldn't find anything wrong and because there was no trouble codes Kia would not do anything about it. I had it down there again for a recall told the service manager and he said just think of it this way it's like having your truck back where you didn't have all those when it goes out and laughed. I had emailed Kia corporate several times and they said I needed to take it to the dealer and the dealer said there's nothing they could do because there's no error codes but even this morning January 20th 2026 on my way to work no snow rain or anything and everything shut down again. The dealer sells manager has many text messages with the images of my dashboard and the warning lights. It just amazes me how the dealer in State college blames Kia and Kia tells me to have the dealer look at it because I've only had it there once which is absolutely not true I had it there a few times discussing it but because one was a recall and the other was an oil change they're not counting that

The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while coasting to a stop light, the check engine and traction control warning lights illuminated, and the vehicle suddenly lost automotive power and stopped driving as needed. During the failure, the vehicle had not shut off. After turning it off and restarting the vehicle, the failure failed to self-correct. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, who diagnosed that the catalytic converter was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 118,000.