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.
My key fob was sounding like the doors locked but the car headlights did not flash or horn sound to signal the car was locked/security feature. The dealer said there was nothing wrong with the battery in the fob, and let it be as that. Today my car is in the shop because I was in the rear seats this week and noticed the back driver side passenger door was not locking. I had trouble getting out too. This explains why the car horn did not beep nor the headlights flash, as it was not a locked car, there is a issue and the car is not secure, that is why it did not beep. It will sound like the doors locked and unlocked but at this time it is just this one door that will not lock. It is not under the Kia warranty now and it was noted, per this tech today, that when I first mentioned the key or fob issue was after the regular warranty too. I see online lots of comsumer comments about Kia door lock issues. This is a safety issue. This should be a major recall. Now I have to pay about $280 for this one door lock. And pray this takes care of
My Kia lost power while driving on March 17, 2017 on the highway. After Kia replaced the motor I realized that during cold weather my car won't start at all. I've had several diagnostic tests done but nothing shows up. I've even had the manager of the service department come to my location with the diagnostic device, because I was once again stranded and had just paid to have the machine put on my vehicle the day before. Again nothing showed up. It only happens during cold hard freeze weather. I've filed a report with Kia and to this day no one has contacted me. Next issue is a clicking noise while driving vehicle coming from the steering wheel and of course it's not covered. Lastly, I just recently noticed that the smell of gasoline coming through the vents after filling the car with car and driving minutes later there's a strong smell of gasoline throughout the whole car. Kia has the worst customer service. They wont give you a rental car nor do they return or follow up on complaints.
My 2015 Kia Sorento has metal flakes in the engine, burns 2 quarts of oil every 2ooo miles, it hesitates on acceleration, white exhaust smoke, burns a lot of gas, the engine check light and uvo warnings constantly turns on, it can catch on fire anytime, the engine can lock anytime. We need more Kia recalls before lives are lost.
I purchased my Kia in April of this year. A few weeks after the purchase I noticed a burning smell. I pulled over to investigate but could not find where the smell was coming from. I continued to notice the smell after the first incident and there was no pattern to cause the smell to happen. I brought the Kia in for service to find the problem. Kias mechanic said they could not duplicate the smell and they couldnt find the problem.I insisted something was wrong and asked them to search farther. I got another call from the mechanic saying they couldnt duplicate the smell and to basically bring the car in if its actually smoking or on fire. I contacted the corporate office and after their investigation I got a call saying based on the dealerships report they couldnt determine a cause for the burning smell and the case was closed.I have 3 kids 2 in car seats. My self and others continue to smell the burning. Iam terrified everytime im in the Kia. I feel I was sold a death trap and Kia doesnt care. I feel they wont do anything until the car is literally on fire and then it will be too late.
- Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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The exterior handle cap fell off of my vehicle. It keeps the door handle in place. It is not covered under the warranty but when I searched, hundreds of other Kia owners had the same issue, some were brand new. The part is $10 but Kia wanted to charge 60 plus $100 for labor. This part fell off while I was driving which eventually caused the door handle to fall off while driving.
While driving my car to work after a software update at a local dealership it became sluggish and difficult to drive. I was just coming off a local highway onto a surface street when this occurred. I pulled over and checked the icon on my dashboard in my car's manual. It told me not to drive it so I had it towed to the dealer - 6 weeks ago! apparently the software update they did to protect my car damaged it instead. I have been in weekly contact with the dealership but they are getting very little information or help from Kia, who apparently can't figure out how to fix my car. I am now concerned about the damage being done to my car sitting for that long without being driven and now I wonder if this will cause more problems in the future. Not happy with Kia's inability to fix my car. I bought it used so it doesn't fall under the lemon law and I need to know if I have any legal recourse. I have made 2 car payments with a third coming up since it has been sitting at the dealer waiting for whatever decision they end up making. The dealer has been great about it and provided me with a rental, but this is all getting old real fast!
2015 Kia sorrento sxl engine check light and vehicle verbal warning that my truck has a serious engine problem that needs to be checked. I took my truck to the dealership service three times in one week to research and repair the engine issue. I paid over $300 for repair. I was told my engine has metal flakes and it's nothing the dealership service can do to repair it. I was told to live with the engine check light basically. My engine has low take off speed when getting on the highway and it runs rough.
I have 2 concerns, 1 mainly I have a newer 2015 Kia sorrento with under 25K miles, owned it about 2 years ever since I owned it there has been a ticking in the engine and white smoke blowing out the exhaust. Which should not be thecase with a newer car, after taking it to the dealership they said nothing was wrong. Additionally when I turn on the air conditioner it smells like vinegar or dirty socks an aweful smell, once again the dealership stated nothing wrong with the car. It sounds like Kia is covering up old deficiencies with their engines as it said engines manufactured into late 2014 were recalled how is the 2015 Kia, which was manufactured in 2014 not on the recall list? additionally there have been many many other people listing the engine seizing up. My wife drives this car with my small children im writing this retractively in case something happen. Additionally we get regular oil changes done. I think this engine model should be recalled. As a newer engine should definitely not be blowing white smoke out of the exhaust nor ticking like the components are displaced.
Engine failure due to metal filings in oil said by dealer to be related to bearings. Same issue the 2014 Kia Sorento was recalled for. My car was made at the same Alabama plant in 2014 but is a 3.3L. No one can tell me how many warranties have been rejected or honored for engine replacement. The feds are investigating if Kia recalled enough cars. Did they? my car was made in the us..but shipped and sold in Canada. Asking for information on this problem as reported. Thank you. This is a major safety issue.
Horrid smell coming from ac. Last summer it smelled like vinegar, this spring, cat urine. I took it to the dealer to have the system cleaned/deodorized for $65. Sadly didnt help. They are taking it back to delve into cleaning the evaporator? I hope it doesnt cost more, but there are so many accounts of this on Kia....people getting headaches from the mold, aggravating kids's asthma....talk of a law suit, etc. Kia had better buck up and fix this! I called Kia consumer complaints...they are "not aware" of the problem...tho there was a technical service bulletin (tbs) on older Kia's about this. Basically, they have continued with a bad design.....but people will get sick having that blow in their faces! please log your complaint at: Https://ksupport.kiausa.com/consumeraffairs
We were driving down the highway with our small children in the back seat and car began to make a loud noise. The engine light came on and then started to flash. We proceeded to the exit and as we were taking the exit all the lights came on in the car stalled. We had to have it towed and we were advised that the engine was bad and one of the cylinders was not opening. This vehicle is not even two years old and the engine should not be failing
The SUV has been having white smoke coming from tailpipe and the car has been pulling. It makes ugly noise when we try to accelerate on the freeway and pulls. The oil light isn't coming on to tell us when the oil is low even if it's not time for a pil change. We seem to notice that the car is burning oil more frequently than a normal vehicle. Also notice sludge when we check the oil even if we had just had a oil change it seems to come back. The dealer keeps telling me there is nothing wrong with it. They tell me they can't find anything wrong.
Back passenger soor only opens under extreme pulling on handle or pushing from inside hard...the inside frame comes loose and then we bank it back in place with ones fist....next time, ,,,it sticks again!! vehicle parked of course.
Sooo many complaints of Kia doors not opening from the inside. Kia is not issuing a voluntary recall of this. They should asap! as soon as someone's car catches fire and they can't get the doors open, there will be serious lawsuits. If you are under warranty when this happens, you are good to go. But one by one, the doors stop working....and if out of warranty, dealers want $400+ per door lock. It would behoove Kia to fix these asap before some child gets trapped inside. Go to cargurus.com and you will see all the complaints.
Driving on mild summer day (~70). Lightly-packed cartop carrier affixed properly/safely to Kia crossbars (installed by Kia). Driving on interstate highway with "passing lane" traffic (about 75mph). Running ac at about 70 inside, with all windows up. Panoramic sunroof closed, with inner soft sunshade also closed. About three hours into five hour drive. Suddenly, without any visual warning (e.g., rock, shard), we hear an *explosion* sound from above, along with the sound of glass clanging everywhere and the rush of highway air. I quickly switch my hazards on, decelerate, and pull off the road as quickly as I can. I noticed that no neighboring vehicles as much as flinched during the incident, nor did anyone stop... as if nothing appeared to have happened externally from their point of view. When we got out to investigate, we saw that the front major pane of the panoramic sunroof had completely shattered center-out, probably about 2sqft of glass missing. Notably, several edges around the newly-formed hole were upturned. Those are all the details I can remember. My very strong belief is that the sunroof exploded without any external debris involved. The position of the cartop carrier relative to the hole, my vehicle's position relative to other cars/trucks (not terribly close), the fact that I saw no object hurtling toward the vehicle prior to the incident, the fact that no object was found in between the roof and the inner sunshade, the fact that no other cars/trucks behind me reacted... all the signs point to something simply being wrong with the vehicle.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Newark, NJ, USA