KIA Complaints

I was coming home from work on 1/13/2025 and got an alert. a red circle saying pull over and check the electrical system. when i pulled over the best i could the car went dark. i called Kia for road assistance and they dispatched a tow to the dealer. the next day the dealer called and told me the ICCU needs to be changed and arranged a loaner car for me. The Dealer has been very helpful throughout this ordeal thus far.

The contact owns a 2018 Kia Soul. The contact stated that the engine was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The contact had to add one quart of oil per week. The battery was replaced on three occasions. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to exceed 57 MPH while driving. There was an abnormal creaking sound coming from the vehicle. The contact also stated that there was no oil in the oil pan, but there was no indication of a leak. The oil light was illuminated. The contact stated that the engine was limp, and the starter was becoming inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the engine was becoming inoperable, and an engine replacement was recommended. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to another local dealer, Kia of Naples (3325 Westview Dr, Naples, FL 34104) for an oil consumption and rod bearing test. The manufacturer was contacted and extended the warranty to 150,000 and declined to replace the engine due to missing maintenance records. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.

While traveling at highway speeds between 65-75MPH the vehicle with violently shake while shifting and then lunge forward. However, during the shaking the vehicle is hard to control and feels like it is going to just shut off. This scenario primarily happens on flat roads at the above mentioned speed. However, we have noticed an issue with the vehicle while turning corners and accelerating, as well as, when going up hills or steep highway sections. The vehicle has a V6 but seems to struggle shifting when trying to accelerate even to 40-50MPH. In some instances the vehicle has labored up a hill and seemingly doesn't want to downshift and pick go faster. It seems that this issue has triggered a TSB from Kia, but the issue has potential for elevated risks for other drivers on the road. If the vehicle is unable to maintain freeway speeds or climbing speed, then it poses a risk to traffic on either side of the road and the potential need to pull over. It seems that the vehicle loses power or momentum and would make it very dangerous to get off the road or onto the shoulder. The violent shaking could cause a driver to panic and lose control of the vehicle while at highway speeds and needs to be investigated.

A rock (a small one) was kicked up on my window by a passenger truck that was traveling in front of me that was going on to the shoulder of the road to make a turn into a parking lot. I went into the store and came back outside to see that a Crack formed in my window. I continued on my way to work, worked my 12 hour shift and then came outside to a bigger Crack in my window. While I was driving home from work the following morning the Crack actively spread further in a U shape WHILE I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY. In no way should a small rock hit my windshield and in less than 15 minutes a Crack appears that only gets bigger and eventually spreads across the ENTIRE WINDSHIELD in less than 24 hours. I've never in my life seen something like this. I've driven cars for years with a chip in the windshield that never progressed or if it DID progress it was a MINIMAL Crack, nothing at all like this. This is insanity. It makes me question the safety of the windshield in general. Is the glass going to break while I'm driving down the highway?

The issue concerns the rear center seatbelt used to secure infants and small children. The seat's "racketing" restraint did not disengage when the belt was unbuckled. My child became trapped and I had to cut the seat belt with scissors to get him out.

The trim is coming off on my vehicle and before it comes off while driving and impacting another vehicle like someone else has reported on a community board I took it in to be replaced. I drive a lot but I'm lucky I'm still under 36k but this will only address the 2 pieces that are currently coming off. My concern is after 36k the rest will fall off and while driving so not only will it not be covered but it could impact other drivers if it flies off while driving.

While driving at interstate speeds the sunroof window shattered outward. This was not the result of a rock or flying ice event as no other cars where near by at the time. I have found that many others have experienced this issue and Kia refuses to cover the repairs even though it appears to be an issue with Kia Telluride sunroofs. If the sun shade had been open at the time both me and my 12 year old son would have been covered with glass and this could have caused a high speed accident from the glass and the sound of the explosion. Kia needs to address this issue but our request for compensation has been denied. Also Kia refused to provide documentation of this denial as it was in an email from the local dealer to Kia.

I brought the vehicle in to have recalls addressed on 12/30/24. Starting the next day we noticed the car was weaving without any steering, but thought it might have been icy road conditions and waited to see if it reoccured. The car has since weaved intermittently, but has righted itself after releasing the accelerator. However, on 1/15/25 while traveling about 50mph, the car started weaving on its own and when the accelerator was released the car started to wildly fishtail. Called dealer and they agreed this was a serious issue and agreed to see car the next morning. Service tech said when they drove the car it did the same thing and that the troubleshooting recommended I change the regenerative braking setting to "smooth" and sent me on my way. I did not get even a mile before the car began weaving rapidly again on its own. Went straight back to dealership where manager wanted me to drive the vehicle again with the tech in car which I refused as it is not safe to drive. So he said if I was ok with it tech would take car out again but if it was just acting how regenerative brakes work, there wasn't much else they could do. When manager returned to talk to me, he said he ended up going with the tech and it did replicate the weaving action two times during that drive. The car is steering on its own weaving wildly left and right and imposes a great danger and no longer feels like a safe vehicle to drive.

first time I had an issue was in August 2023, my check engine light came on, the car was losing power and sputtering. when I would start the car, it would literally sound like a truck. come to find out, the 3rd cylinder was misfiring due to the piston rings being worn and possibly the coils being faulty and an engine replacement was needed. after going back and forth with the dealer (they had my car for almost a month) the engine was finally replaced. fast forward to last week, it started happening again. same cylinder, same issue. now my car is back in the shop waiting for a new engine (#2). my thing is this....did they use a rebuilt engine, or maybe just fixed the old one and call it new. either way, there is no reason I should need a new engine this close to having it repaired. and judging by the complaints I have been reading, the engines on all 2018 Sportages need to be recalled.

The check engine light came on and started flashing, as soon as that happened, the car went into limp mode. It will not go over 2,400 rpms and the speed is limited to 60mph max. I had taken the car to a licensed mechanic shop, they have drained the oil and taken the oil filter apart and found little pieces of metal in the oil and oil filter itself. They have checked codes as well and what they found is that there is a throttle position sensor code and a knock sensor code. I had a Kia dealer ship do a crank bearing test and some how passed and they replaced the knock sensor as well. I have an appointment with Kia in a few days to have them inspect the engine as well as I will show them the bag the contains the taken apart oil filter to show them the metal particle inside of it. A code p1326