KIA Complaints

Steering clunks left & right, feels like steering coupler or clock spring is broken or out of wack, steering column rattles on bumpy r thoughtoads

Factory Paint Defect Inherent, known to KIA models 2015 Optima Snow White Pearl Paint SWP. (including 2013 thru 2017 all share the same identical paint code). Citrus KIA in California inspected my vehicle and confirmed the paint damages are a known inherent factory paint defect. This is a nation wide issue, thousands of owners continue reporting this inherent paint defect on their Optima SWP. Basically this is an issue with all car manuacture's with white paint. Toyota and Hyundai accepted responsibility for this same factory paint defect and is repairing their customers vehicles. Class Actions Lawsuits have been filed against KIA and Hyandai for this known factory paint defect with severe safety concerns. This paint defect expanded into the layered glass of the windshield causing the adhesive to bubble. Insufficient adhesive could detach it during a crash or break while driving. The large chunks of paint continuing to fall off even while driving could impair visability to myself and other drivers. Citrus KIA inspected my vehicle and confirmed the damages to my vehicle are caused by this known factory paint defect. Wrote me an estimate reopened my case originally report 6/2024. Corporate KIA closed my case with the explanation 3/36k paint warrant expired. This is not a paint warranty issue. This is damages caused to my vehicle and thousands of others with this same inherent factory paint defect known to KIA. It is the manufactures responsibility to make this right. This inherent defect continues to rapidly spread through out our vehicles, causing further damages. These untreated areas now have rust subject to corrision which will lead to integrity of the body structure. Please recall this inherent factory paint defect. It's over whelming how many owners continue reporting this to their dealers, posting pictures of their ruined vehicles. We need help. Please recall SWP of Optima 2013 thru 17 with no limitations how old or amount of miles. Thank you

My 2017 Kia Soul (VIN: [XXX] ) is experiencing piston ring failure, which has led to excessive oil consumption and the failure of my catalytic converter. The engine is a 2.0L Nu MPI—the same engine type covered under Kia recalls SC176 and SC200—but my VIN is currently excluded. This is a known manufacturing defect that causes oil to enter the combustion chamber, damaging the catalytic converter and violating emissions standards. The repair costs are unaffordable for my family, and Kia refuses to cover them despite California’s extended emissions warranty and identical symptoms to covered vehicles. Many other owners of 2017 Kia Souls with the same engine are also reporting these issues. I am requesting that NHTSA expand the recall to include my VIN and investigate Kia’s exclusion of affected vehicles with the same engine. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owned a 2013 Kia Forte. The contact stated that her daughter was occupying the front passenger's side seat while the wife of the contact's daughter was driving 65 MPH. The contact stated that another vehicle that was driving approximately 100 MPH crashed into the rear driver's side of the vehicle, causing the vehicle to roll over approximately 4-5 times. The vehicle landed on its driver's side against a tree. The air bags failed to deploy and the seat belt failed to restrain the contact's daughter. The emergency units arrived at the scene, cut the vehicle, assisted both passengers out of the vehicle and transported the passengers to the hospital. The driver sustained bruises and whiplash and received assistance from a chiropractor. The contact's daughter sustained a break to the c6, fracture of the c7, t2 t3, t4 and t7, , sustained a broken left clavicle, large laceration on the right thigh, bulging of the C6, broken front teeth and a strain of the natural neck curve. Additionally, the contact's daughter was partially scalped and nearly died due to blood cloths in the lungs and legs caused by body trauma. The contact's daughter underwent surgeries on the scalp and neck and was currently undergoing physical therapy and pain management. The vehicle was towed and totaled. A police report was filed but the contact did not have the information available. The dealer and the manufacturer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

The specific issue I’ve encountered is that the vehicle intermittently becomes stuck in “Park” and cannot be shifted into “Drive” or any other gear using normal methods. The only workaround has been to manually engage the shift lock override by inserting a screwdriver or similar tool into the override slot near the gear shifter. This is not a normal or acceptable method of operating the vehicle and clearly indicates a failure of a system that should function reliably. Upon further investigation, I discovered that this problem is not isolated. Hundreds of Kia Sorento owners from various forums and complaint boards (including Reddit, Kia owner groups, [XXX] , and even other reports on NHTSA.gov) have documented the same problem with identical symptoms: the gear shifter becomes stuck in Park, the brake lights do not illuminate, and in many cases, this is traced back to a faulty Body Control Module (BCM). Many owners have noted that when they contacted Kia corporate or their dealerships, the representatives either acknowledged the issue was known but not recalled, or simply claimed there was no current recall to address it. This is disappointing and raises serious questions about Kia’s willingness to take accountability for systemic flaws in their vehicles. I respectfully request that NHTSA: 1.Initiate an investigation into the prevalence and root cause of BCM-related failures in the 2016 Kia Sorento, particularly those that result in gear shift locking and/or brake light malfunction. 2.Evaluate whether this issue meets the criteria for a safety-related recall. 3.Require Kia Motors to issue a recall and provide cost-free repairs or replacements of the affected components to all impacted vehicle owners. 4.Monitor any further consumer complaints to determine the full extent of the issue across other model years, trims, or vehicles using the same BCM design. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2014 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while attempting to open the doors, the remote failed to unlock the doors. The contact used the key and opened the door manually. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start, and the battery terminal cables were tightened by the contact’s boyfriend. While the contact’s boyfriend was driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle stalled, and the RPM increased to 2,000 RPM. The contact stated that the engine warning light was flashing. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic and was diagnosed with engine failure. The contact called the local dealer and was informed that the vehicle needed to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed that there was no warranty or recall coverage on the vehicle for the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 115,000.

Dear NHTSA, I am writing to update you regarding a prior concern I raised about the premature engine failure on my 2020 Kia Sportage at just over 66,000 miles. While I was not covered under Kia’s powertrain warranty due to being the second owner, the dealership—Kia Cornerstone in Elk River, MN—has now agreed to submit a goodwill reimbursement request to Kia America on my behalf for the $7,500 engine replacement. At this time, I have not yet received reimbursement, and there is no set timeline for when the funds will be issued. However, the dealership has acknowledged responsibility to submit the request and follow through with Kia corporate. I wanted to provide this update as a matter of record and to ensure that this case remains visible should further follow-up be needed. I continue to hope Kia will do the right thing and take responsibility for a major failure that occurred well below industry expectations for engine longevity.

I wasn't in a car accident or anything but my engine is burning oil more then it should like I have to add oil (1 1/2 quarts of oil) every week to my engine and most times when i am driving my car I smell burning oil like its burning inside of the car somewhere and I think that my car is about to caught on fire or just go out. I went up to the kia store to let them know what has been going on and they are telling me that there is nothing that they can do about it, I haven't had this car for a year yet I got this car last year in September they told me that there was nothing wrong with my car, I have 128,000 miles on my car and I just don't know what to do at this point I owe 13,900 on the car. I see that there has been recalls on the kia Sorento's engine before and I even told the dealership about it too and they still told me that there is nothing that they can do, this all start January of this year and I have been fighting with kia over this since then. My car is just a ticking bomb before my engine jsut gives out and I don't know when that will be but I just want to get this fixed and i dont have 5,000 to replace the engine and Kia also told me that they can't replace it either so I'm hoping that this might help me in some kind of way.

The 12-volt battery has failed twice and was ultimately replaced. Additionally, the ICCU unit was replaced once. The vehicle has now returned to the shop for the same recurring issue, as the 12-volt battery either fails to hold a charge or is not charging properly. Most concerning, the vehicle stalled while in motion, creating a serious safety hazard, as it was not possible to activate the hazard lights, leaving occupants in a potentially dangerous situation.

My windshield had a light crack and it ran pretty easily. It should not have done this so quickly. The crack should have been isolated and given me time to get it repaired before I have to replace the whole windshield. I can feel the break. I wouldn't think with a laminated windshield that all US cars are required to have, that I could actually feel the sharpness of the broken glass.