KIA Complaints

2020 Kia Niro was driving fine until one day while driving down the highway at highway speeds (65-70 mph), the car began to lose power and as we switched lanes to get to the side of the highway, the car began to smoke and caught on fire. Our safety was at risk due to the car catching on fire. The problem is unable to be reproduced as the car is a total loss. Vehicle was inspected by police at the scene. There were no warning lights, and the vehicle had been in working condition prior to the incident. The vehicle had a recall that was fixed at our local Kia dealership as soon as a solution was indicated, and the part was located.

I was driving on the highway, and all of the sudden the car started losing power, it would not respond to the accelerator pedal. It slowed down to 10-15 mph and would not go faster. I was lucky that the drivers behind me were able to slow their cars without hitting me.

ICCU and fuse failed while I was driving in the snow. Heard a thunk in the rear and Check electrical system came on screen. I had power to be able to drive the car home a few miles. SC327 recall software fix had been applied already over a month before this, but during that recall I was not advised to replace the ICCU. It failed right after putting the car into Snow mode. Was driving 20mph, auto regen braking on. Stop vehicle and check power supply message came on. Original 12v battery still on the car, never had issues with that. Most charging done at 9.6 kW level 2. Dealership reproduced the problem and has now replaced the ICCU and fuse.

My vehicle is using excessive amounts of oil. Every time I drive it, I can smell burnt oil. I took the vehicle to the dealership on 1/24/25 where they found a leak in the oil filter housing. This was repaired (same day) and the oil was topped off per the service report. After smelling the oil smell again, I checked my oil on 1/31/25 and found that the oil was marked between the min and max line on the dipstick. I have reported this to KIA and waiting to hear back. I am reading hundreds of 2020+ Telluride owners complaining of the same issue. I have had no indicator lights.

Parking brake remains engaged when driving after parking Must manually reset parking brake because the brake doesn’t release automatically after - as designed

The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while her husband was driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine seized. The driver attempted to restart the vehicle however, the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was made aware of the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 124,000.

PAINT PEELING EXTENSIVELY TOP, HOOD, SIDES. PRIMER SHOWING IN THOSE SPOTS AND RUST BEGINNING TO SHOW

The contact owns a 2014 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at approximately 40-45 MPH, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engine. There were no warning lights illuminated. The driver was able to pull over safely. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who determined that the engine oil was a quart low. There was no indication of an oil leak or low pressure. The vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The mechanic determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The local dealer was informed that the parts were on backorder. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact called another local dealer, Kia of Irvine (45 Oldfield Building B, Irvine, CA 92618); but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and opened a case. The failure mileage was approximately 121,000.

My vehicle was manufactured with bad rotors, which make it difficult to slow down when driving at high speeds on the highway. The vehicle’s steering wheel and the vehicle itself shakes violently when trying to slow down. My vehicle started having these issues with low mileage also.

Our vehicle is 4 years old and has been experiencing excessive oil consumption (a quart every ~600 miles) and extreme shaking at speeds between 20-50mph. After months of trying to diagnose the issue we have been quoted a total engine and transmission replacement. After calling dealerships across the East coast for second opinions, this is a common diagnosis for our vehicle year and model and even within our small local dealership they are seeing other 2019 and 2020 Kia models experiencing failed piston rings. Kia declined our request for corporate intervention to address the issue.