KIA Complaints

My Sorento has a transmission issue or something similar. It slips, it dies down and sometimes when I come to a stop and try to move, it won’t move. I have to put it back in park and then put it in drive. I have had several near miss accidents due to all these issues. It has been repaired twice but it has never fixed the issue and the dealer claims there is nothing wrong.

So i took my car to sands kia in surprise az about my seat belts. Both the front driver and passenger belts come unlatched while driving. They said out of warranty so i would have to pay or they will do nothing. This should be a Kia issue. Obviously a defect in the seat belts. I can be driving on freeway and multiple times they will come unlatched while driving. So instead of having both hands on the steering will. I have to fiddle around to get it to latch again. It is a legal requirement to have working seat belts and u feel kia should fix this issue. I told them this and that i didn't feel this was something i should have to pay for and the service writer just asked me if i was leaving then. Hope there is no accident because seat belts won't work and there will be a lawsuit.

The contact owns a 2019 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that the oil level was constantly checked since purchasing the vehicle. The contact stated she was aware of the oil consumption because the oil had to be topped off after each oil change. The contact stated that there was no warning light illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer where the vehicle was purchased. The dealer performed several oil consumption tests, and confirmed that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of oil. The contact was informed that a local Kia dealer was contacted and informed the dealer where the vehicle was purchased, to allow the owner to drive the vehicle until the engine failed and then have the vehicle towed to the Kia dealer for evaluation. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 112,000.

Oven taken my car to jiffy line for more than regular oil changes and they always end up kinda jokingly saying man he’s always low on oil. I just blew a rod thru my block due to lack of oil and how fast it was burning. I feel so cheated out of my money. I’m stuck with a vehicle that I cannot drive and Kia refuses to replace it.

The contact owns a 2020 Kia Soul. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engine compartment. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V259000 (Engine). The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with rod bearings failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 53,000.

I am submitting a complaint regarding my 2017 Kia Cadenza related to an ongoing airbag system failure and Kia’s refusal to cover the repair under their existing airbag warranty extension. My VIN is included in Kia’s WTY027 warranty extension, which extends coverage for repairs related to the Airbag Warning Light illumination from 5 years/60,000 miles to 15 years/unlimited miles. Despite this, Kia Affairs has denied coverage because the diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) pulled by the dealership do not “exactly match” the codes listed in the extension, even though the warning light is on and the issue affects the Supplemental Restraint System (SRS). Kia Affairs acknowledged the problem and escalated the case to their District Parts & Service Manager (DPSM) for possible goodwill coverage. However, goodwill is discretionary and not guaranteed, leaving me potentially responsible for expensive labor costs on a federally required safety system. My Concerns: The airbag light remains illuminated, which means the airbags may not deploy in a crash — a critical safety hazard. Kia’s decision to exclude legitimate SRS failures because the DTCs do not exactly match their list undermines the purpose of the warranty extension. Owners whose VINs are included in the extension are still being denied coverage based on technicalities, despite facing the same safety risk. Requested Action: I request that NHTSA investigate whether Kia’s narrow, code-based coverage criteria is improperly excluding safety-related airbag failures that should be repaired under the warranty extension. This appears to leave consumers unprotected from a defect in a federally regulated safety system. I can provide: The dealership’s diagnostic codes and repair order. Correspondence from Kia Affairs regarding the denial. Warranty extension documentation showing my VIN is included. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter

We have a 2016 Kia Sorento that has the Snow White Pearl paint. Our vehicle has a tad over 100k miles and the paint is peeling. We take care of our car and always have it clean and do not understand why this is happening. Paint is flaking / peeling off in large amounts exposing the primer underneath. I had a body shop look at it and they say it looks like something went wrong with the painting process when vehicle was made. I have a 1997 ford ranger that has 280k miles on it without this issue so I do not believe that this is a mileage / age issue. I did reach out to kia but had no luck with this problem. Thank you so much for your time and any help is greatly appreciated.

The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that while attempting to enter the vehicle through the rear doors, the rear doors were inoperable. The contact was unable to open the rear doors from inside or outside the vehicle. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was not available.

The contact owns a 2019 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that while the vehicle was in for maintenance, the contact was informed that there was no oil in the engine. The contact stated that the oil warning light had only illuminated once. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the first oil consumption test was performed. The dealer added oil to the vehicle. The contact checked the oil level every two weeks and noticed that the engine was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The contact was adding several quarts of oil every two weeks. The vehicle had several oil consumption tests performed by the dealer. The contact was informed that less than a quart of oil was lost. However, while the vehicle was at the dealer, all the oil had leaked out of the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not offer any assistance. However, a claim was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.

The contact owns a 2021 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that her mother was driving at an undisclosed speed on the freeway and had stopped on the shoulder of the road to access the navigation system. The contact stated that after the driver shifted to park(P), the driver noticed smoke. The contact's grand-mother who was also occupying the vehicle advised the driver that the smoke was coming from underneath the hood. The driver then noticed that smoke and flames were coming from underneath the hood of the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle burned to the ground. The fire department was called to the scene and extinguished the fire. It was unknown whether a fire department report and a police report were filed. The vehicle was towed to an unknown location and was in the process of being inspected by the insurance company adjuster. Both the contact's mother and grand-mother later received medical assistance for smoke inhalation. The cause of the fire was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not yet contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.