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.
Knocking noise coming from engine, have taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic as well as Kia dealership service department (franklin, tn), both diagnosed the problem as needed a new engine ($5000-7,000). This vehicle as 145,000 miles, oil changed at every 5000 miles. There is no explanation or reasonable cause of engine failure except for manufacturing.
I was driving the vehicle came to a stop at a red light, the vehicle had stalled on its own tried turning it back over and it would not do anything we had to push the vehicle out of the middle of an intersection unbelievable! the motor seized up for no reason and left me stranded now Kia will not do anything about it the vehicle only has around 51,000-52,000 miles!
My vehicle stopped in the middle if a street light. I took it to Kia shop they said the engine died which before that I never got warnings. I know Kia does have problems with the engine. They are covering the engine but I have to pay for labor which is a little over 3,000 dollars. I'm not satisfied but I need my car.
My wife and I were on our way to park city, ut for a family trip and after we dropped off our stuff off at the hotel we headed to heber city, ut. On our way, the car started making a ticking sound when the gas was pushed. And then the car died. Without any warning or anything. It just died. We have not had any issues with this car. We have taken great care of this car. The next day we went and had the car towed to a Kia dealership, and they determined that the engine had locked up and that I needed a new engine. I have had this car for 8 months, and it only has 108, 000 miles on it. This is insane.
- Tooele, UT, USA
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Traveling on black Friday in 2019, the engine hickuped as we were passing a car. Within two miles, a loud knocking sound started, and within a mile, the car quit running. We had it towed to a local mechanic who said the engine was shot. We contacted Kia with our VIN number, and they said the car was not covered under a recall of other Kia models where the engine had died in the exact same fashion.
I was driving on the freeway going about 65 miles an hour. I noticed I wasn't accelerating at the same speed. I put my foot on the gas harder and the internal lights went off and check engine light came on. I barely had enough time to move to the shoulder. I got it towed to the mechanic who most recently did the last oil change and tune up. They call me and told me the engine seized and they couldn't get it to turn. They recommended I take it to the dealership. The mechanic said it should still be under warranty. I am currently waiting to hear if its "my fault" since its a 3rd party warranty company.
While driving on the highway, I attempted to increase my speed and the vehicle begin to decrease in speed. I immediately got pulled over and the vehicle slowed all the way down and stopped. The car wouldn't restart or go. At this time 2 lights appeared on the dash, the oil light and battery light. My oil had recently been change 2 weeks prior. Once towed to a shop, they determined it could be engine issues because the car had power but wouldn't turnover. I then towed the vehicle to the Kia dealership where they said there could be a battery issue. Once the battery was ruled out, I was called 30 minutes later and informed my engine was locked. At 148, 000 miles and the only owner of the car, I had not prior warnings of sudden engine failure. I was on the highway going 80 mph, no noises, no lights, nothing. I was told there was no recall on the vehicle and it was like a person dying of old age. There are recalls on the 2012 Kia Sportages for engine issues.
My engine seized and stopped while driving. Engine began knocking earlier that day with no prior warnings, lights illuminating, etc. I wasn't even able to get it home or to the dealership before it died. We perform regular maintenance on our car and there is no reason it should've died so soon. It needs a completely new engine now. Similar models are already on recall and a pending lawsuit for similar models but they don't seem to include the mpi engine. Only turbo and gdi are included, which is wrong because I've found many reports of this engine failing too. There's a big problem here.
Traveling home on interstate highway at 75 mph when I suddenly heard an unfamiliar noise coming from the engine compartment. A few seconds later, some louder noises came from the engine area and I lost all power and lots of lights lit up on the dash. I could immediately smell burning oil and noticed blue smoke in my rear view mirror and what looked like a circular part sliding on the pavement behind me which I knew was some part from the car. I pulled over onto the shoulder and lifted the hood and saw flames on the rear of the engine on the exhaust area. I used 10 or 12 handfuls of snow from the ditch to throw on the fire to get it out. Had it towed to the nearest city and had to rent a car to get home. I know that the engine blew up. I saw oil from the engine on the shoulder right up to where it came to rest.
Engine had a stutter upon a few days of purchase months later car would not start, was told it was timing belt " bought it used and checked recall, was told no recalls " however I do believe something was wrong when I purchased this vehicle, and I was not informed
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Sportage. While driving 70 mph up a hill and attempting to pass another vehicle, the contact's vehicle failed to accelerate. The contact stated that multiple unknown warning indicators were illuminated. The contact parked on the side of the road for ten minutes and turned off the vehicle. The vehicle was able to be restarted, but the contact stated there was a delay and he heard an abnormal noise. The contact was able to drive 55 mph, but the failure recurred ten miles later. The contact pulled over and turned off the vehicle, but it would not restart. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who associated the failure with NHTSA campaign number: 17V224000 (engine and engine cooling). The vehicle was towed to steven Kia (located at 3340 S main St, harrisonburg, va 22801, (540) 437-9908) where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced and the VIN was included in NHTSA campaign number: 19V101000 (engine). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 129,000.
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Sportage. The contact took the vehicle to Kia of South austin (located at 5306 South interstate 35 road, austin, tx 78745, 512-444-6635) to get a replacement oil pan because the VIN was included in an unknown recall. The dealer found metal fragments in the oil coming from the cam bearings. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified and was unable to find any recalls associated with the failure and provided a case number. The contact was advised to take the vehicle to the dealer. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.
The contact owned a 2012 Kia Sportage. While the contact's vehicle was parked, a witness observed smoke and flames under the hood. The fire and police departments arrived and both departments filed reports. The fire department extinguished the fire. There were no injuries. The vehicle was destroyed and remained in the parking lot. The dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The cause of the failure was not determined. The failure mileage and VIN were unknown.
2012 Kia Sportage ex purchased June 2019 with 69,974 miles. The engine seized up September 2019 with 72466 while driving 60 mph with no warning at all; no dash lights, no temperature gauge rising - nothing. All that was heard was a couple rapping sounds and then a big thud coming from the engine compartment followed by a total loss of power steering and brakes. After we struggled to get the car off the road without getting rear-ended, we tried to restart it and smoke started coming from under the hood. No fire started. Fluid levels fine (radiator full; oil full - the car has only been driven 2492 miles since we bought it. Diagnosis of a seized engine was confirmed by a mechanic. The Kia dealership quoted me a price of $6700 for a used replacement engine with 109,000 miles. Another local mechanic quoted roughly the same for another high mileage engine. This solution is a tough pill to swallow considering my engine only had 72466 miles on it when it died. Whose to say that the older engine wouldn't fail in the near future. My understanding is that for various Hyundai/Kia vehicles with the same base engine as mine (2.4 L) made in the 2010-2014 time frame had a recall due to premature engine failure/seized bearings. The difference between the recalled vehicles and mine is simply the fuel/air injection system (gdi versus my naturally aspirated mpi). Since the seizing issue involves the core mechanical components of the engine and not the peripheral plumbing, and given the high number of reported incidents to the NHTSA along with several new class action lawsuits, I feel it is only a matter of time before my engine is covered under the umbrella of the first recalls of the gdi engine. However that doesn't help pay my current monthly car payment while the car sits in the driveway.
Vehicle was in motion on a street when suddenly slowed (as if it wanted to stall) and engine light/engine oil pan/battery lights all came on.. turned car off then back on and slowly drove home (30 miles) no faster than 60mph. This happened again 1 day later before it was towed to my local Kia dealership. Kia recall #SC174 NHTSA #19V101
I was driving with my daughter at 7:30 pm on santiago canyon road orange, ca. When I noticed a clicking sound and caught a glimpse out of the corner of my eye of a light reflecting off the road. I instantly pulled over and told my daughter to get out. The car took about 3 to 4 minutes to totally go up in flames. I was never contacted about any potential problems with this car or anything about the Kia sorrento we also own. Now I won't be driving that car either.
Engine began making noise and shook violently for a brief period, developed a knock in the mid or lower part of the engine, stopped driving car. Took to local mechanic (where my 18 year old step daughter is going to college). Local mechanic found the recall notice for 2012 Kia Sportages for engine failures and wanted the vehicle taken to a Kia dealer for repair. I trailered the car for almost 200 miles to get to the Kia dealership where we live in Wyoming, but dealer told us that our car wasn't effected by the SC147 recall, even though every symptom from that recall is present in the car. Knowing that Kia wasn't going to cover, took the vehicle to my preferred mechanic, who found a large amount of metal shavings in the oil filter, recommended a replacement engine. The only engine available is not the same configuration as the original, unless buying a used engine which would probably have the same issue, and they are not comfortable putting that different engine in the car. My only option now is to take the vehicle to a Kia dealer, who won't honor any warranty or repair under a recall that this car "doesn't apply to". it is literally the exact same engine that they recalled in other Kia models, the 2.4L DOHC theta 2, which was confirmed by my mechanic and Kia customer car. Seeing there is a class action lawsuit out there for this exact reason, I guess that is my only option. Being the third Kia my immediate family has owned, I can also promise this will be the last, as 90,000 miles on a car in this century is completely unacceptable, and Kia should have to cover people who have had this loss.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Nashville, TN, USA