KIA Complaints

The paint is chipping heavily and apparently this is an issue with older Kia vehicles due to a primer issue.

Pulled the dipstick for the first time to check the oil. Proceeded to whip off the end and reinserted to take an accurate measurement of the oil and when I pulled the dipstick back out the plastic tip was broken off. I have read online that this is a common issue. Plastic?? Really?? Seems like a very bad design.

The Electric seats do not adjust due to failed motors. Electric mirrors do not adjust due to failed motors. Gas refuel door does not open due to faulty actuator. All things that make the care dangerous to drive. Online search reveals that all three issues are very common in the 2021-2023 KIA K5 cars. We believe they pose a danger. Also, they seem to break at about 40-60K miles. Often out of warranty and dealer will not fix even though they acknowledge that the items in question are an issue.

The contact’s son owns a 2017 Kia Optima Hybrid. The contact stated that after coming to a complete stop, the vehicle started leaking oil. The vehicle was not taken to a mechanic or the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 90,000.

The contact owns a 2015 Kia Sorento. The contact stated that on several occasions the front low-beam headlights failed and were no longer illuminated. The headlight bulbs were replaced but the failure eventually reoccurred. The contact stated that the failure had occurred on several occasions and the driver’s and passenger’s side headlights failed to operate as needed. The contact stated that on one occasion there was a burning odor inside the vehicle. Upon inspection, it was discovered that the front passenger’s side headlight had failed to illuminate. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the passenger’s side headlight assembly had melted. No further information was available. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 115,000.

#1 Rear shocks have been replaced 5 times (beginning November 2021-September 2024) after bringing the vehicle in 7 times due to clunking. After dealing with Kia directly they agreed to cover costs. Clunking was resolved shortly but started again a couple months later. #2 Recently the car began locking up while in operation, while accelerating, but no code was detected. Transmission was flushed (December 2024) and one month later same type of lock up began happening again, this time the check engine light came on (January 2025). Code indicates Torque converter clutch is off. Dealer will now try to fix the issue. Car is available for inspection. Problem #1has been reproduced by Kia service at the dealership.Problem #2, since code was detected dealer will inspect and hopefully be able to fix. This car is just over 5 years old with less than 70,000 miles. Between these 2 issues I have been in to the service department going on 8 times!

The contact owns a 2013 Kia Soul. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was contacted. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

My wife and I have a 2025 Carnival SX Prestige Hybrid. We live in northern Maryland (lots of cold days lately!). This exact issue has happened three times and counting. While driving, our car will randomly lose all ability to accelerate. You can press the gas pedal all the way to the floor, and it will not gain speed. It seems to happen at lower speeds, around 30mph and it just caps off and will not accelerate and lose all power. The only thing that fixes the issue is literally pulling over and restarting the car, and then it drives fine. We took it into the dealer after the second incident and they claimed that a camera was just obstructed by ice, so the car probably thought it detected something in front of us so it stopped accelerating as a safety feature. To that, I said “but if the car thought there was something in front of us, it would have applied emergency braking, not just simply stopping any acceleration”… to which they replied “yeah I don’t know. Cars these days are just a giant rolling computer”. The dealer just could not replicate the issue, so they had no way of really seeing or diagnosing it, which I understand but still frustrating. They said they drove it 3 times but it didn’t happen. But again, it happens randomly (though cold weather seems to be a common factor). So we left and said okay, they tried, they cleared off the camera, let’s see what happens. One week later (this morning) happened again. Taking into the dealer this evening. We have a Case open with the Kia Customer Care “Escalations” team. But they’ve been no help.

The contact owns a 2024 Kia Seltos. The contact stated that the horn failed to produce a sound while being pressed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the horn needed to be replaced. The horn had been replaced. The failure occurred twice; however, the contact stated that the failure only occurred in freezing temperatures. The vehicle had not been taken to the dealer. The vehicle had not been repaired a second time. The manufacturer had not been made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

The contact owns a 2015 Kia Soul. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle was bucking and lurching forward. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure recently occurred while driving and the vehicle was lurching while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the catalytic converter needed to be replaced. The mechanic referred the contact to a dealer after relating the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V120000 (Engine, Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact searched the VIN online and found that the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 92,881.