This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
1. Excessive oil consumption. The oil was completely burned out at the time of my oil change. (3,000 miles/ 3 months) 2. The Engine Oil Level Warning Light fails to illuminate if the engine oil level is too low for the vehicle to operate safety and efficiently.
Had van since new oil changed on time check engine light came on for cam shaft sensor crank sensor replaced all sensors and van still runs like crap ive been told by many shops to take to dealer and tell them-?? there are many other cars with same motor getting recalls but this van doesnt get any"?" Can you help us out-?? the van well taken care of and taken to dealers for oil and tires and etc they never state nothing wrong
Engine shut off while driving with no warnings. All oil burned up and engine failure. Family in the vehicle very dangerous driving on highway. It just suddenly died.
Kia Sedonas have known headgasket engine coolant leak issue that can result in engine failure and is dangerous. Engine coolant leak had been confirmed by smell initially, as well as white smoke, low coolant in reservoir. Then took to 2 separate mechanics who both verified engine coolant leak. First said did not fix these. The 2nd mechanic refused to fix due to difficulty removing this particular engine to repair, would not touch it. Got letter in the mail from Kia directly saying "warranty extension on 2015-2016 Kia Sedonas with engine coolant leak" "take to dealer if above symptoms, and will be diagnosed at no cost, fixed at no cost etc"... Kia of asheville, nc dealer, wanted money to diagnose despite showing letter. Paid them. They verified engine coolant leak w relationship to headgaskets. Now wants approx $1000 to "look into it more" and Kia customer service is not supporting dealer to fix this known issue with 2015-2016 Kia Sedonas regarding coolant leak. My engine could have caught fire or seized if I had not been so careful with it and immediately stopped driving. I have evidence verifying this from independent mechanics as well as Kia. There is a serious risk of death of driving these vehicles, where a major recall needs to happen immediately. Without coolant, loose headgaskets, engines overheat and get destroyed and mine happened suddenly, and luckily I was not on the interstate. Welch automotive franklin nc was the first mechanic to diagnose, then stamey perfromance franklin nc was the second one to confirm, paramount Kia asheville nc was the most recent one who still has it and now is trying to give it back without fixing..... oddly enough they recalled the 2015-2016 sorentos with the same motor and issues, but not Sedonas...... I can add diagnosis from welch and stamey performance as well if needed, but this is Kia saying the headgasket coolant leak from their own mechanic. Also have more evidence. Please investigate this. Thank you!!
On June 6th 2024 My 2016 Kia Sedona experienced sudden power loss accompanied by thick smoke out of the exhaust and a loud ticking while on a busy main intersection. Kia's Gross negligence to recall its known troubled engines is causing needless highway incidents. From stolen cars, engine failures and now fires, this is the second Kia I have had fail.
- Carrollton, VA, USA
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The problem started in late July of '23 and I already filed a complaint back then. But I want to file again and emphasize that this is systemic issue with all 2016 Kia Sedona vans. Last year, I was driving with five kids in the car on the way to the beach. While exiting a traffic circle (anyone who has ever driven in NJ knows how dangerous NJ traffic circles can be) when we lost power. The van would not accelerate over 35mph, and we had to drive home in limp mode on the shoulder. Thankfully it was early in the morning, and no one was on the road. Had this happened during a busy time, we would have been rear-ended or worse. I took it to my local mechanic who did $200 worth of repairs, but the vehicle still would not run at full speed and had a very rough idle. I should add prior to loss of power, there were ZERO warning lights, and the car was running fine. I was just about due for an oil change, and I change it on a regular basis according to Kia's recommendations. Then I took it to Kia, and they said they could TRY to fix it for $8000 but they couldn't promise it would work and said my other option was a complete engine replacement. Currently, I have been continuing to drive the van locally because I cannot afford another car. If I drive more than 35-40 minutes the car completely loses power and I have to pull over to the side of the road, turn the car off and wait a few minutes. When I turn it on it will run fine for another 35-40 minutes. I know it is my choice to continue to drive the vehicle, but I wanted to report that the loss of engine power happens almost daily and continues to be a danger. Thankfully, I stick to back roads and avoid highways and I have not lost power on a busy road, yet. I am concerned that there are MANY MORE complaints with the NTHSA for the EXACT same issue and there doesn't seem to be any movement with investigations or recalls. Kia continues to sell these used vans to people who have no clue. This is a life-threatening issue!!!!
While driving the check engine light came on, the radio started talking about an engine failure, and my van lost all power. I was on an interstate going at least 70 mph, my children in the vehicle and cars, trucks, and semis passing us. We were almost hit trying to get to the side of the road. I took the van to the Kia dealership where they informed me that it would need an engine replacement. Before this incident there was no warning of the failure at all.
Engine Control system warning came on without warning 2 days before we Took it to our local mechanic. He fixed it with a $2700 price. Told us the accutuator on bank #2 was bad. He ended up replacing several other parts including the timing chain. We got our van back, and 3 days later the ECS warning was back with a tick, & the engine light came on. I believe Kia has a real need to recall this issue.
I purchased my kia Sedona new and have always properly maintained it. It now has approximately 140,000 miles on it. Our sedona started to get hot so we let it cool down then took it straight to the dealership. They said we need a new engine, the head gasket is leaking because of faulty threads in the engine block. They said this is a common problem on this engine that they get a couple a week with this problem! They said sorry but kia would not help with any of the cost.
Noticed power loss in engine, engine started knocking, on the way to the mechanic the motor seized up, oil changed per manufacturer specs every 5,000 miles
While driving from La Crosse WI to Champlin, MN on [XXX] I noticed car was not responding as much as usual when pressing gas and might have been making some clicking type noises but lots of other noises in and around vehicle could not tell for sure. Then suddenly heard very loud clanking and banging sounds and saw smoke come out of engine, I pulled over. Upon pulling over I discovered a large oil leak under the vehicle and oil pouring out. This happened while on a highway about to merge onto a freeway. I was 34weeks pregnant and had 3 kids in the vehicle. We were barely able to make it to the shoulder before stopping. Cars were not slowing down passing us. Very dangerous situation. If we had not been able to get to the shoulder when we did we would have likely been hit at high speeds. Vehicle was towed to Heartland Tire Inc at 11438 Jefferson Court, Champlin MN 55316. Upon inspection on [XXX] they found a hole (around 3" diameter) in the engine block. We have reached out to Kia 5 different times only able to speak to one person who suggested we pay Kia to investigate what happened, they have no interest in exploring this issue without charging us. Therefore with a current estimate of $9316.84 we have made the decision to scrap the vehicle. There were no warning lamps on prior to pulling over. After pulling over the engine, oil and possibly a third lamp were lit up. For about 10 mins we had no power after turning off the vehicle (even to put the windows down, another safety concern) I was able to open the front passenger window until the I could get some power and roll down some windows. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
I was driving my vehicle when my car engine started making a large grinding noise and there were zero sensors going off about anything wrong. I immediately pulled over and saw oil just dumping out of the engine
The vehicle suddenly and without warning lost all power on an interstate. Could not accelerate past 20mph, with my wife and kids in the car. We were stuck on the side of the road, going only 20mph in a 65mph area. The check engine light came on. Upon further investigation, the vehicle suddenly burned up all oil inside the engine. We put 5.5 quarts in, and it took every bit of it. There was barely any in the engine. We were about due for an oil change, but not grossly overdue. This is an extreme safety risk as there is no warning and no explanation for why the engine suddenly is without oil. We could have EASILY killed the engine if we had driven it any further.
According to the my local Kia dealer, the head gasket is blown. There was no warning indicators. It was driving perfect until suddenly the engine temperature spiked and I immediately had it towed to the dealer in which they want $13,000 to fix it.
Engine seized without warning. Oil was empty, no warning light or any indication at all, just died. Lost all power in middle of traffic, couldn-??t steer or control the car. Luckily managed to direct into someone-??s driveway, but was left half blocking the road until tow truck came
Engine failure at 155,540 miles. Presented a knocking sound. When evaluated by the dealership, metal fragments were present at the oil pan, indicating internal breakage. The driver was traveling on a highway when noticed the knocking, the engine could have ceased and locked during the trip, putting occupants at severe risk.
While driving down the highway we noticed the rpm-??s were getting high while accelerating. There were no warning indicators on the dash and the car recently passed state emissions. By the time we could safely pull over there was a knocking sound from the engine. We checked the oil and could not get a reading. We added oil but it was too late, the engine has severe damage. The entire time there were no warning lights or other indications that anything was wrong.
On 25 March 2024, my wife was driving our 2016 Kia Sedona with my two children. Without warning, the engine stopped, the vehicle jolted to a halt, and my wife was left stranded in the middle of the road with no ability to pull the vehicle onto the shoulder. She was only traveling about 15 miles per hour at the time and no one was no crash or injuries, but at higher speeds this could have been disastrous. We had the vehicle towed to a Kia dealership, and after performing diagnostics and inspecting the vehicle, we were told that the engine "seized" and that they were unable to provide a more detailed explanation. They also said that it could take months to replace the engine (a $10,000 plus repair) and that our only immediate recourse was to buy a new vehicle. For additional context, the vehicle has about 150,000 miles on it, we have kept up with all recommended maintenance and oil changes, and there were no warning lights, check engine lights, or low oil lights present. We had also had the vehicle inspected as part of a recent oil change, and a mechanic ran diagnostics and changed some of the necessary fluids. In summary, the vehicle was in good shape, well maintained, and there was no warning for the sudden engine failure that could have been catastrophic at high speeds.
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- Merrillville, IN, USA