KIA Complaints

On 8 occasions, while driving on a highway, the emergency lights started to flash out of no where and the driver could not accelerate. The driver had to find a way to pull over and turn the car off and then restart the car. The car was taken in 3 times and checks were run but no codes showed up. The third time the car was brought in, the mechanic agreed to drive it until the problem could be reproduced. The car was driven for 70 miles but it could not be reproduced. The mechanics were informed that it happened every 300-500 miles and the car had not been driven enough. The mechanics said it was running as designed. Our safety and everyone on the road was put at risk if we could not get over to a shoulder.

WAS DRIVING ALL OF A SUDDEN, THE CAR STARTED KNOCKING MAKING NOISE, THE OIL LIGHT CAME ON, THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND WHITE SMOKE WAS COMING FROM MY TAIL PIPE. I HAD AN OIL CHANGE, BUT THAT DIDN'T DO THE TRICK, THE ENGINE LIGHT STILL COMES ON, MY CAR DRIVES VERY SLOW NOW. I'M AFRAID TO TAKE IT OUT ON THE ROAD

The contact owns a 2024 Kia Carnival. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, an abnormal gas odor would emit through the vehicle's ventilation system. The contact notified a local dealer, and an appointment was made to have the vehicle serviced. The vehicle was inspected, and the contact was informed that there was likely bacteria growing inside the vehicle, which caused the odor. The contact disputed this claim and recommended that the air filters be replaced; the contact paid for the repair. Despite the repair, the contact stated that the fuel odor had become a chemical odor, and the vehicle was taken back to the dealer. The dealer confirmed that they had smelled a fuel odor inside the vehicle and informed the contact that she had overfilled her fuel tank with gas. While the contact also disputed this claim, the dealer later concluded that the dipstick inside the oil pan was not properly sealed, and the dealer repaired the defect. Despite the dealer's claims and repairs, the fuel odor had become stronger. The contact stated that the odor had become so severe that she went to the emergency room to be treated for nausea and lightheadedness. The contact was given medication for her symptoms. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and the contact was given a case number. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.

My 2022 Kia EV6 developed a serious electrical/MCU malfunction on 10/19/2025 at approximately 64,300 miles. While driving, the vehicle began to stutter during acceleration, all driver-assistance and safety systems disabled (LKAS, collision avoidance, lane keeping), and the vehicle could not accelerate normally (topping out around ~60 mph when fully pressing the pedal). The Kia Connect app displayed fault codes MCU P0A4100 and LKAS C164286. The malfunction recurred immediately after a dealer visit on 10/20/2025. The vehicle has since been inspected by Huffines Kia in Corinth, Texas, but no confirmed diagnosis has been provided, nor have they notified me of dropping/reconnecting the HV battery. On 11/18/2025, a new fault code appeared: MCU P0C1700. This failure affects the high-voltage electronics/MCU and causes sudden loss of acceleration capability and complete disabling of active safety systems while the vehicle is in motion, placing me and other drivers at risk. The issue is reproducible, continues to occur, and the vehicle remains at the dealership. I am requesting NHTSA review of this electrical/MCU malfunction as a safety-related defect.

On 11/01/2025, while traveling on the highway traveling at a speed of 80mph, my vehicle suddenly would not accelerate beyond 60 mph. I managed to exit safely, but this created a dangerous situation for both me, my daughter and other motorists . The next day, Firestone inspected the vehicle and informed me the engine contained zero oil—yet no oil light, check-engine light, temperature warning, or sensor alerts were triggered at any point. There were no visible oil leaks, suggesting internal oil consumption, which I had reported to Kia in October of 2024. On 10/21/2024, I paid $3,300 for a flywheel/ignition repair at a Kia dealership. When I dropped off the vehicle for that repair, I specifically reported abnormal oil consumption and requested it be checked. Kia did not diagnose or remedy the concern. The combination of: -Complete oil loss -No warning indicators -Sudden loss of power and inability to accelerate -Occurring at highway speed constitutes a critical safety defect. Drivers cannot take preventative action if the vehicle provides no indication of catastrophic engine failure until it is already occurring. This defect exposes drivers, passengers, and surrounding motorists to severe risk of collision or injury. Additionally, the dealership later provided a Carfax entry simple stating "car maintenance" on 10/22/2024. No record of what was repaired, indicating inaccurate or incomplete documentation. I am requesting that NHTSA: -Review this incident as a potential engine safety defect. -investigate whether other 2021 Kia Telluride owners are experiencing similar catastrophic oil -loss or lack of warning indicators. -Assess whether current recalls adequately address this failure pattern. -Determine whether an additional recall or investigation is warranted.

My car has clunking noises coming from the front left suspension, they occur more often and getting louder. After doing some research online, I found that the symptoms are similar to the NHTSA recall number 24V-057. Unfortunately, the NHTSA recall didn't include Niro plug-in hybrid manufactured in year 2023, only Niro EV. I took it to the service center nearby. They said it's the strut, so what they will do is to dismantle it and put more lubrication when I return again to perform a strut "maintenance". If there are still noises, then they will order a new replacement strut. However, from what I read online, it's actually the driveshaft that causes the problem, hence the recall 24V-057. Please investigate into Kia Niro 2023 plug-in hybrid vehicles having the same problems and issue new recall if possible. Thank you.

My son was driving home from work and the vehicle shut off. He got it to come back on and it stopped while he was at a red light and a by standard yelled for him to get out of the vehicle as it caught fire underneath the car from unknown reasons.

Initially in May 25, my Sportage started accelerating on its own, unprompted, up to 4500 RPMs many times and also hesitated. In 6/25 the info screen, (whole dash) went black 4-5 x’s for about 3minutes while driving 60 mph on bypass. Beginning of July, Siri didn’t work and said it was inaccessible, and also the navigation said it was not updated however, when I pulled into the dealer, all of a sudden it worked? On 7/23 I was turning into apt complex and had no brakes! I had slowed to about 20mph, car behind me, and couldn’t make that turn so I coasted up to next entrance and was able to turn in. Fortunately, I was able to stop in my handicap pkg spot. I had already made appt for the initial issues at the dealer, Moyer Kia in Lebanon, for first week of August, but immediately called them on 724 and explained the absence of breaks! They told me to get car there right away, so I did. I gave a list of all above info, they were able to give me a loaner, Kia G6. This was very inconvenient for me as most of my back is fused and I provide transport for my [XXX] /o mom w/Walker, but I can’t go w/o a car! Moyer has had my car since 7/24,. With the exception of need for miles on the loaner communication was poor. I tried to reach Kia Corp multiple x’s to no avail. I was told by Brian at dealer that my case had been escalated to the national safety board and they were advised not to touch my car pending investigation. So it sat there for months I got a message from Kia Connect that my battery was dead, more communication than I had received throughout this whole experience! Last week, Thursday I had called corp who said they sent me an email on 1023 to tell me nothing is wrong with my car, they also emailed the dealer. I hadn’t checked email, nor did they call, so I didn’t know, dealer called me on Friday to come and get my car, but first they had to grind the rust off of rotors, recharge the battery and would I like them to inspect it?, NOTHING IS WRONG? THIS CAR is NOT SAFE!!!! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM

I have 2 problems with my 2017 Kia Forte sedan: 1) They have put an "environmentally friendly" coating on the wire harnesses under the front hood of the engine which emits a vanilla scent when warm and attracts rats that eat the wire harness when the vehicle is parked. They need to revert back to the original jacket material on the wire harnesses that don't attract rodents. I've spent hundreds of dollars repairing the wire harness, and it's an ongoing problem on wires I haven't replaced. The ones I've already replaced were with "original" materials that don't have the environmentally-friendly coating. 2) Paint (or clear coat?) peeling on the roof and door handles in less than 100,000 miles. I'm told this could be due to a faulty primer, but Kia won't do anything about it, as they say their paint warranty is only for 3 years or 36,000 miles, which is subpar.

Paint defect causing paint chipping on vehicle due to lack of proper layering of paint on vehicle