KIA Complaints

With little to no warning my check engine, steering, and oil lights turned on and the engine stalled after a loud noise as I was coming to a stop. This occurred on a major highway and could have been catastrophic and dangerous if it occurred at full speed by leaving my vehicle in the middle of the road open to potential collisions that could harm myself or others. Thank goodness i did not have any passengers. I was barely able to pull off to the median and had the vehicle towed to a mechanic who confirmed the engine had seized due to rapid oil loss and found metal debris in the engine oil. They are recommending a full engine replacement. I called the dealership to see if they would agree to inspect the vehicle or see if there had been any reports or recalls associated. I specifically asked them is there was a knock sensor update needed on my vehicle since the mechanic told me there are open complaints about this upgrade not being done and it causing engine failure. The dealership I spoke with stated there are no upgrades or recalls open for my vehicle and refused to inspect the vehicle stating "there is nothing in their system that would indicate an issue". The vehicle is available for inspection for now. I see there are many similar reports over the past year or so for this model. There apparently was a recall for this issue on the following year's model and the 2.4 engine, however I strongly believe the 2015 Sorento 3.3 engine should be thoroughly investigated.

I started the car and it started having a hard time shifting around 13 and 30 miles an hour. And had a lack of power. No lights were on. Took it home and shut it off. The next day started the car and it told me to put it in park and the check engine light came on. I had no acceleration when in drive. Checked for powertrain recalls for my 2021 Kia sorento sx awd and 0 recalls came up for my vin #. It’s definitely a transmission powertrain issue.

I brought my vehicle into the Kia dealership (Jim Ellis Kia of Kennesaw) due to check engine light and limp mode activation. The code P1326 was identified, which is tied to Kia's extended warranty related to known engine defects. This all started Sunday [XXX], and I brought the car to the Kia dealership (Jim Ellis Kia of Kennesaw) on [XXX]. Despite this I was told I do not qualify for warranty service unless the engine fails completely. The dealership also attempted to upsell me unrelated services (such as an engine flush) without performing proper diagnostics. When I pressed for answers, I was told they did not even inspect the engine's cleanliness, despite recommending a $500 service. I called Kia Consumer Affairs and opened a claim. 2 repair orders were sent to the dealership, but the dealership did not respond to me or Kia Consumer Affairs. I was eventually told the dealership is refusing to work on my vehicle further and I was instructed to pick it up. The most concerning part is the Service Advisor at the Kia Dealership told me I need to "drive the car until the engine blows up" before I qualify for warranty. This is extremely unsafe for me and everyone on the road, and I feel uncomfortable with doing so. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Driving my KIA on a highway, no engine light came on and it slowed down and eventually turned off. Tried starting it and heard rattling noise. Had it towed to KIA dealer in Fargo, ND and told me it was normal wear and tear.

2022 KIA SELTOS S AWD [XXX]- ENGINE FAILED, PISTON SCORING, PISTON OIL RING FAILED, OIL BURNING, KNOCKING IN ENGINE. THIS KIA'S VIN NUMBER IS PART OF THE KIA RECALL THAT WAS PUBLISHED 2/17/25 AND ANNOUNCED TO CONSUMERS VIA MAIL ON 4/4/25. My [XXX] daughter & I purchased a used 2022 Kia Seltos on [XXX] Mileage at time of purchase was little bit under 60,000 miles. On [XXX], while on vacation in Florida, my daughter noticed sluggish acceleration, smoke coming from exhaust and some from hood, a knocking sound from engine and then engine then seized in the middle of the road. If they wouldn't have stopped, this engine would've started on FIRE! This event caused SIGNIFICANT DANGER to my young daughter and her 3 passengers! My daughter and her friends had to push the vehicle back to a safe location off the road so they didn't get hit by a car. We are from Wisconsin and these kids were stranded in Florida on vacation without a vehicle. We had to have the vehicle towed to a Kia dealership in Panama City, FL on 3/28/25. Inspected and RECALL testing done by Kia in Panama City, FL. It is now 5/2/25 and we are STILL WAITING FOR KIA TO APPROVE A NEW ENGINE FROM THIS RECALL. NO ONE WILL GIVE US ANY UPDATES. These 2022 Kia Seltos engines are a complete danger! Engine needs to be REPLACED ASAP INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I was driving and as I was going to make a left turn, the steering wheel forced itself to the right and locked. And the whole car completely shut down. So I had to slam on my brakes as they were also locking on me.

I have 105k miles on the vehicle. My vehicle is burning oil between oil changes, so much so that there is no oil on the dip stick. There is a recall for kia engine's doing this but mine is not listed. I owe 3500 dollars for payoff and am now faced with buying a new vehicle or replacing the engine myself because it just happened out of warranty. If this is a know issue with these engines it needs to be remedied.

Started working with Kia care center about October 2024. My engine oil was burning internal and I was given a case number, was told to drive until oil was very low and drive 1,000 miles, and told NOT to add oil from Grand Kia. Took my car into Grand Kia, didn't get to 1,000 only lasted three months, Kia care center woman I was working with called many times keeping everything I said, did. Kia added oil and told me I had to drive another 1,000 miles until very low. April 14 took car back, shaking oil very low. They added oil and told me the reason my car was shaking was a spark plug was loose. That is not true it shakes when oil low, It happened before when oil was very low they told me I can leave I told them they are suppose to put in an engine, they said no, we aren't doing that. I called Kia care center put in my case number, couldn't speak to the woman I have been dealing with after speaking to two other reps. I spoke with a manager. He was also very rude. Said I was not getting an engine. I took my car to Christian Bros. Auto shop, they did a compression test, it's my engine, my pistons. This has been going on for about seven months, doing what they asked me to do. Grand Kia would not give me receipts because they were not charging me. I currently have 113,000 miles. My engine light stopped working, my car is shaking. I don't drive it, I'm frightened it will stop working while driving.

The contact owns a 2022 Kia Soul. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V099000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted and informed the contact that the recall repair was on hold. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that the manufacturer had placed the recall on hold. The manufacturer was testing the remedy. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

I received recall notice on April 4 or 5 and called my dealer and first appointment was April 28. I was told would be there for 2 days but system down so called me back on 30 telling failed the test and would need new engine which would be covered under warranty but could not tell when would get the engine and had no loaner cars available.My only had 19,000 + miles and had all maintenance done and had no problem whatsoever with it or any indication of any problem