I bought a vehicle from a dealership in 2021. The dealership sold me a 2018 Kia Sportage. To their knowledge, they state they were unaware of any safety recalls. However, fast-forward to [XXX]. As I was entering a busy street (with my two young children in the car (both under the age of 5) and going up a hill, the oil light flashed once and then stayed on, I noticed the vehicle decelerating, as I tried to pull over, making way for vehicles to go around, all three (oil, battery and check engine) lights appear in my dashboard. After one failed attempt of restarting vehicle, I knew I needed to call a tow truck. Thankfully my mom wasn't too long to execute the rescue (it was about 32 outside). The vehicle was towed to the dealership I had purchased it from (NOT a certified Kia dealership mind you). I was told later on that day, that it was a good possibility my engine has blown. I was told the service technician had put over 3.5 qtrs. in order for it to register on the dipstick. I was also told they could replace said engine for a whopping $10,000. Which, the vehicle is only worth $2,000 more than the cost of the motor replacement. I decided to have the vehicle towed to a certified Kia dealership. Where, alas, the engine was in fact, blown. However, per the service manager, the blown engine was due to a recall (XXX) which was in effect as of 1/19/19 (before I bought said vehicle). Per the service manager a vehicle should not be sold with an active safety recall. I then relayed that information to the gentleman who said the vehicle and was told it was illegal for them to work on a vehicle that they are not certified to service (although I had the option for them to replace the engine). I then begin the battle of who is responsible. And ultimately told by the manager of dealership, 70% of the used vehicles they sell have active safety recalls that they do not fix. Nor do they send them to be serviced and checked by the appropriate personnel. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U

- Madison, ME, USA

The contact owns a 2018 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled and was unable to accelerate above 20 MPH. The contact stated that the vehicle lost motive power with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed that unknown engine repairs were needed. The repairs were completed; however, the mechanic then diagnosed that the driveshaft needed to be replaced. The contact was informed that the warranty had expired. The vehicle remained at the dealer awaiting the repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 46,300. The VIN was not available.

- Boston, MA, USA

My 2018 kia Sportage got stolen and never received a letter from kia to prevent this from happening knowingly kias of this year and model were being stolen and mine got stolen March 23, 2023 is there any help for me ?

- San Ysidro, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2018 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the engine revved loudly, and the RPM was fluctuating. The contact also stated that after shifting into reverse(R), the vehicle was losing motive power. The contact shifted back into park(P) to restart the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic however, the failure could not be duplicated. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to a local dealer for an unknown recall repair and the mechanic was made aware of the failure; however, the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 37,000.

- Okeechobee, FL, USA

Driving at highway speeds the RPM would suddenly rev up very fast and the car would appear to be in neutral then soon go back to normal. On another occasion, taking a turn at 15 mph the car became as if in neutral, RPM would go very high, then shortly the RPM would drop and the car would be back in drive. The car was taken to the dealership, they checked it, noted that they could not duplicate the problem, and will not take any further action unless it repeats. The danger is if this occurs when driving into traffic, turning into traffic, driving on a freeway and the engine slips into the neutral mode, a collision can occur, risking injury, life and property. The only warning was the RPM going up very fast, and the car not reacting to pushing on the gas pedal. Attached is a PDF file that includes some summaries summaries of issues from web sites relating transmission problems of slipping into neutral.

- League City, TX, USA

While the 2018 Kia Sportage is in drive proceeding forward I have noticed on numerous occasions the transmission just dies out. When stepping on the gas, you can hear the engine rev but for a few seconds, there is no reaction by the transmission and the vehicle doesn't increase in speed; the vehicle just coasts. This occurs intermittently. While on highway travel this possesses a danger as other vehicles can approach your vehicle quickly and they might not notice you're having a mechanical malfunction. I tried to make appointments with the KIA dealership. The vehicle is a 2018 and has 25,000 miles. They threaten me with big bills if the vehicle is not covered under warranty. I finally made the appointment and when I dropped the vehicle off they said it would take more than a week to diagnose the vehicle. There are no warning lamps, bells, buzzers, or any notice being given to the driver that a mechanical malfunction is occurring.

- Chicago, IL, USA

Intermittently, the car-??s transmission slips out of gear completely, around 30-40 MPH. It gets back into gear after a few seconds. At times, it has presented a safety risk especially when attempting to merge on a highway in a short merge lane. When the slipping occurs in this situation, the car no longer accelerates and merging into traffic becomes very problematic and increases the risk of a rear end collision, putting me and my passengers at risk as well as a risk to others The problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by the dealer. It started occurring immediately after I purchased the car used while still under the manufacturers warranty. Because the dealer service department could not replicate the issue, no further attempt to diagnose the issue has been conducted, such as a transmission tear down. I-??ve taken it to the dealer at least 3 times for this issue and have documentation. I elevated the issue to the manufacturer but they have offered no solution to the issue because it cannot be replicated by the dealer and there is no recall or other service issue with the model. Melissa from the KIA Escalation Department contacted me today offered no resolution to the matter. There were no warning lamps or other messages which indicated a problem. The Kia Forum website reveals that I am not the only one with this issue. https://www.kia-forums.com/threads/transmission-slipping.288137/page-5

- Grass Valley, CA, USA

Initially, I attempted to crank the vehicle by pressing the starter button. I heard a click and noticed quick flashing lights from the dash, then nothing happened except clicks, noises and minimal light as if the battery was down. There was nothing on inside the car to cause battery failure. The brake was hard to press down to restart the vehicle. Therefore, I opted to jump-start the car and it immediately powered up. All of the lights on the dashboard flashed on a few times then the letters afls appeared on the dashboard. The radio/gps display continued to flicker and flash on and off nonstop as I continued to drive. I allowed the car to run for 5 minutes at home then proceeded to drive. After driving for 25 minutes on the highway, I turned to park, the steering wheel locked then unlocked in the process. I stopped to check to make sure that I was in the proper gear, still in disbelief that this steering wheel locking was occurring. I proceeded to back up the vehicle when the wheel locked again. I checked to see if the car was still running after that harder lock/jerk in the parking lot. I stopped the car, placed it in park without turning off the engine to gather myself because this was a very frightening and alarming experience to say the least. I didn't turn off the engine because I was uncertain if it would restart considering what occurred earlier with jump-starting the car. I drove back home making a concerted effort to drive slowly on the street. I then entered the open ramp onto the highway. I took extreme precautions and hoping that the steering wheel would not lock again which may have further caused my family and I to be placed into harm's way, not to mention the other drivers to be in danger on the road. I hope that immediate attention will be given to this matter to avoid further terror and trepidation, any injuries and/or loss of life.

- Richardson, TX, USA

I bought this car in may of 2020 with 44K on the odometer. Three days later I was on a 3400 mile road trip on the highway when I started hearing knocking from the engine bay. I took it in and had them listen. They told me it was completely normal. The knock went away for about 400 miles then came back. I took it in to 4 different dealerships. I got told there had been a recall on the motor but that it had been fixed already. The day after I got home the car died at 30 mph on the way home from work and left me in the middle of a very busy intersection almost causing me to get hit. Took it in and it took them 4 days to find a bad fuse. The car over the next 3 months popped 12 fuses and kept dyeing on the road. Then I started having problems with it not turning over. Took it to a different dealership and they found a bad fuel pump and starter as well as a battery drain thats killed three batteries. Took the car to Kia 9 different times to get looked at.7 of those times they said there was nothing wrong with it. They said they knew about the drain but couldnt find it. Then they finally figured out the fuel pump was shorting out and causing the fuse to pop. They supposedly replaced the fuel pump in September of 2020 along with the injection pump. I was 50 miles from end of warranty the day after I get the car out of the shop it wont run for longer then 15 seconds. Not getting fuel.left me stranded on the side of the road 45 miles out of town. Im back to square 1 because half the time my car wont start. The motor is still knocking and has no power with my fuel mileage dropping down to 11mpg it started revving up and speed not changing, not shifting correctly or just not shifting. My new shop discovered the transmission is failing fast. Ive had this car 6 months and am still paying for it and I cant even drive it safely. Complete transmission failure at 64,456 miles.

- Billings, MT, USA

I've been experiencing an transmission issue. I'll be driving along, steadily with speed control set at 70 and all of a sudden my engine and RPM gauge will rev up down shift and then go back to normal. My speed doesn't change, no lights go on, just the rev-ing sound and the gauge goes up it also happening at low speeds as well, it's very alarming to me. I've checked with Kia and they're aware of the issue but state that there is currently no recall or alert as to what exactly the problem is, it also entermitting will have no acceleration on take off. Has been back to the Kia dealer twice, the last time was told by general manager and service manager and they have no clue, and general manager was very rude and tried to just sale me another vehicle when I decline he got very unprofessional and seemed he was not concerned of the warranty and to take it back to dealer that sold it to me 600 miles away please help

- Woodbine, GA, USA

For the past 6 months or so, I've been experiencing an unknown issue. I'll be driving along, steadily and all of a sudden my engine and RPM gauge will rev up and then go back to normal. My speed doesn't change, no lights go on, just the rev-ing sound and the gauge goes up. It's very alarming to me. I've checked with Kia and they're aware of the issue but state that there is currently no recall or alert as to what exactly the problem is or how to solve it.

- Fitchburg, MA, USA

After 2 attempts to try and have the soul repaired properly as to steering and at least 30 emails and begging for help, and finding myself the reason there was a recall on a recall...we contacted senator marco rubio who in turn contacted NHTSA, a congressional aide etc. No help came for two disabled persons. I even wrote about the souls catching fire and [xxx] witnessed a soul crash due to steering. We begged citrus Kia, Kia motors, Kia America to refund our money. We lost our home built for our disabilities to toxic drywall, we were in propublica, huff post and tampa bay times. No recovery, we slept in our Kia optima which is why we purchased the soul. Two weeks later, the first recall. 2 yrs no one did a thing. In December at christmas, Kia America " challenge " the dealerships. To sell everything. We were once again duped. Citrus Kia called numerous times, what they did was brought us in under false pretense, they financed thru Kia, the 2018 Sportage. Now, we are in further debt with a car they all knew was defective. "software upgrade", oh and by the way", keep this letter in your glove box for ever "in case" the engine failes and if you, the customer who bought in good faith that it was safer than the soul, if you do not get it to dealer if and when light comes on. You will be considered "abusing the car" the consumer is supposed to drive and live in fear? NHTSA had not approved this bandaid. The 1000 Sportages need to be traded for 2019. This is a sad day when a gai, we have to live and drive in fear and pay money. I have read the news articles, the whistleblower. This "software upgrade" is not right. The fires are horrific. One person stated her car still had issues. This is criminal as to what Kia motors, Kia America, citrus Kia has and is still doing to two disabled persons. We need some help. Our auto insurance premium. Increased.[xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Plant City, FL, USA

The contact owns a 2018 Kia Sportage. When the contact attempted to accelerate from a stop or low speeds, the vehicle failed to accelerate in a timely manner. The failure was experienced several times. The vehicle was taken to an unknown dealer for diagnostic testing, but a failure code was not located. The dealer also test drove the vehicle and was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was not available.

- Petaluma, CA, USA