10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
79,046 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

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problem #20

Oct 092023

Sportage

  • miles
The fan for my car worked intermittently. I took the car to the dealership and they said it was the fan. I replaced the fan myself. While replacing the fan, I noticed that one of the connectors was melted. After changing the fan, nothing changed. After that, I decided to remove the bad looking connector. When I did, I realized the damage was much worse than I realized. Some of the casing from the wiring was totally melted off. My radio also started changing stations randomly and my GPS was getting hot when I used it. After I replaced the connector, everything worked perfectly.

- Egg Harbor Township, NJ, USA

problem #19

Mar 312022

Sportage

  • 115,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that while the vehicle was being inspected, the vehicle failed due to the autolocking brakes and Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit (HECU). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 115,000.

- Acworth, GA, USA

problem #18

Nov 212020

Sportage

  • 130,000 miles
This car continues to have problems with speeding up and slowing down on its own, at this point it shut off any time I was slowing down for a light or stop. It cut off multiple times on a highway going 75 mph. Very scary with kids in car. Was able to get home and it will not turn over or start back up getting diagnosed today, there needs to be something done about this issue, I have read 100S of similar problems like this! Kia your putting our lives in danger, pregnant with 2 kids and car shutting off on highway, or speeding up and slowing down by it self is traumatizing. Do something before someone is badly hurt!! also I am big and pregnant and driver door does not open I am assuming that too is an electric issue either way I have to climb over seats, this car looked great after 1 day door stopped working and within a few weeks of owning it now speed! Kia you really need to fix all these issues seems to me there is electric problems all throughout the car. Please help

- Loveland, CO, USA

problem #17

Sep 012018

Sportage

  • 68,000 miles
Brake lights stay on after turning off the ignition and shutting off the lights. Have to turn lights on off depress the brake pedal, turn on and off the lights and keep doing it until they go off.. has been happening for over a year. Read online that there's a history of this but no recall.

- Bakersfield, CA, USA

problem #16

Nov 082019

Sportage 6-cyl

  • 137,723 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that the electric control harness failed. While driving 60 mph, the vehicle decelerated to 30 mph and then accelerated back to normal. In addition, the check engine warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to hertrich Kia (6546 ocean gateway, easton, md 21601, (410) 200-9784) where it was diagnosed that the electric control harness needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the repair fees. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 137,723.

- Easton, MD, USA

problem #15

Oct 072019

Sportage

  • 240,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that the brake lights remained illuminated independently when the vehicle was turned off and stationary. In addition, the ESC warning indicator remained illuminated and the cruise control was not working. The contact also stated that in order to turn off the brake lights, he had to disconnect the vehicle's battery. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer and manufacturer were not notified. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA campaign number: 09V130000 (exterior lighting), but the VIN was excluded. The failure mileage was approximately 240,000.

- Splendora, TX, USA

problem #14

May 282018

Sportage

  • miles
Vehicle stalled while driving on highway at appx. 40 mph. Vehicle did not restart, and will not restart. Mechanics have problem connecting scanners to pmc and effecting repairs. Several scanners, including professional scanners are unable to retrieve vehicle's data. Scanners, says "check connection to vehicle computer" and "waiting for response from vehicle". vehicle is completely disabled. Total operating milage of vehicle is 38,500 miles.

- Plantation, FL, USA

problem #13

Jun 012018

Sportage

  • 70,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that the cooling fan failed. The contact inspected the vehicle and found that the blower motor fan wiring had melted. The contact stated that the vehicle exhibited the same symptom as listed in NHTSA campaign number: 15V015000 (electrical system). The vehicle was not taken to a dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000. The VIN was not available.

- Lafayette, IN, USA

problem #12

Mar 262018

Sportage

  • 130,000 miles
Takata recall I just purchased my Kia Sportage on 3/15/2018 at a dealership and have been driving with the airbag light on. I have brought this up to the dealer and am told that the airbag light doesn't matter. As I'm reading all these complaints and those that have been in accidents the airbags do not deploy, my safety is an issue here. I am certain this needs to be looked into. It will be sent to the dealer to be looked at. Also, I have googled as to why my blower motor will not shut off. That's the blower resistor that needs to be replaced. Those complaints are on here also, almost catching fire. I've never felt so unsafe being in a vehicle. These 2 main factors need to be investigated immediately.

- Sandy Creek, NY, USA

problem #11

Apr 202015

Sportage

  • 129,000 miles
Vehicles heating and cooling unit started working sporadically. Then stopped and you could smell a burning smell. Took to mechanic and was told we were lucky the vehicle had not caught fire. The wire and connector to the blower motor resister were melted and falling apart. The connector itself was melted. He disconnected the unit to prevent it from catching fire. This seems to be an extreme safety hazard, being that my daughters feet were directly below the area that was smoking and melting, about to catch fire. It is just below the dash on the passenger front seat side. This appears to have happened many times with this vehicle model by reading online reports. I hope something is done about it before someone is burnt or worse.

- Anderson, CA, USA

problem #10

Dec 032014

Sportage 6-cyl

  • 69,200 miles
Dear NHTSA, I have a 2006 Kia Sportage with 69,245 miles and have been in the dealer on 12/4/14, 12/8/2014, 12/13/14, for engine shutting off while braking to enter another lane or to turn. Engine shut off again while braking to turn at 9:00pm on 12/16/14.engine light have come on at least 6-8 times before at which each time I went into the service dealer on 12/3/14, 12/8/14 and 12/10/14. Sometimes if it was during the day I took the Kia directly to the dealer. However I noticed while researching that this is an electrical issue with a faulty throttle system. In addition Kia wants to charge me $248 to replace a throttle. From the reviews issued online this is a safety related defect that Kia manufacturer is aware. According to safecar.gov the consumer should not have to pay for a faulty throttle (e.g. or faulty parts) and should be replaced by the service dealer. Finally cobb county service (customer # [xxx]) suggested repair invoice stated that after replacing tps need more diagnosis time with vehicle in order to find out issue? I should have to pay for a safety related defects (e.g. 267 or more complaints online not to mention the safety defects of the 2006 Sportage engine shutting off), especially to pay for a part that will not guarantee that the engine will not cut off. I also filed an inquiry with Kia on today 12/16/2014, customer identification reference number (#[xxx]).I am awaiting a call from Kia about this inquiry. I also believe that this is a safety related defect and the cost of repairs should be remedied at no cost to me. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Kennesaw, GA, USA

problem #9

Aug 292014

Sportage 6-cyl

  • 68,000 miles
I had Kia inspect the air conditioner because it started working sporadically. I was informed by Kia that they disconnected the unit to prevent the car from catching on fire. Verbatim: Found blower motor bad and fried resistor and harness. Left unplugged to prevent fire from starting. This vehicle is well maintained and certainly should not have any air issues unless freon is needed. This vehicle is still under the 10 yr warranty, but it is just the power train. This issue is an issue that came straight off the manufacturing line and I am not sure how many vehicles have caught on fire, but I have read similar issues on this site. Kia should be held liable for manufacturing a 1 ton killing machine. If the car caught on fire, I could have been killed or some innocent bystander in my path. They unhooked the unit to preserve the engine, because that is still under warranty, not because they are concerned about the safety of the consumer. It is crazy that a recall hasn't been made yet. Also, my ESC light keeps popping on and off and according to the recall list 2006 Kia Sportages had a recall for the stability control lamp and I was informed my 2006 was not included in this recall. I had this fixed when I took my car in but the light still goes on and off, which is essentially a hazard if my brake lights are not illuminated or I cannot turn off my cruise control. Thank you for your time. Not an honorable company and does not stand behind their product.

- New Albany, IN, USA

problem #8

Nov 012011

Sportage

  • 89,000 miles
Wiring harness failure - dealer diagnosis - cracked, brittle, corrosion - lose of interior fan resulting in no heat, defrost, air conditioning. Dealer states harness and fuse block replacement required. I have no heater or defrost - it was 22 degrees this morning - I drove 5 miles before windshield was clear.

- Lincoln, VT, USA

problem #7

Oct 022010

Sportage

  • miles
To case 10422342 and others hoping for resolution of this problem from this useless government database... we submitted a couple of claims on the same situation (10358922 being the latest). The symptoms: Car would be running and suddenly all shut off, including electrical. When the car stopped moving, we could turn off the key and turn it on again and it came back with no problem. At first it was when taking off from rest, but it finally started to occur while driving (read 10358922 for story). Apparently because power shut off the obdii couldn't store any codes. Kia tried to fix it (hq said to wiggle wires until it reproduced the problem). I drove the car for several hundred miles while data-logging, hoping to catch the phenomenon. Finally after shutting down again with our daughter, I took it to Kia and demanded that they discuss with hq, but they gave the same stupid answers. I finally told them to keep the car (my dealer did give us a loaner) until they could make it happen again, but to data-log every time to see if they could catch the problem. After nearly a month, they did record the event, and it was the ECU! it was shutting down all electrical after a thermal overload issue. At least that's what they said. Signals became erratic and just shut down. ECU was replaced and haven't had the problem reoccur yet but it doesn't happen every week so we're skeptical. By the way, reporting these data on this database did nothing to resolve the problem, even with several similar situations occurring.

- Littleton, CO, USA

problem #6

Jun 012011

Sportage 6-cyl

  • 70,000 miles
My 2006 Kia Sportage will just stall. My radio and ac are usually on when this happens, also I have noticed I have had my food easing on the brake. The dealer can't find any reason to recreate or make this incident happen again. My ac and radio are also shutting off and then coming right back on for no reason.

- Marana, AZ, USA

problem #5

Oct 022010

Sportage 6-cyl

  • 33,000 miles
2006 Kia Sportage ex with V-6 has a habit of completely shutting down electrically, killing the engine and thus all lights, power assist to steering/brakes, etc. Previously this occurred only when taking off from a stop (previously reported). This time our daughter was driving at highway speeds at night in the middle of Utah when this occurred again. She was able to get it off the highway safely without incident in complete darkness and no power assists. Car was running on cruise control so no driver function could have caused the incident. No warning such as engine stumble, flickering lights, etc, , it just shut off!!! once safely stopped, our daughter was able to restart the car and get to the destination without incident. Dealer is aware of this problem but is unable to fix it. Only has been taken to dealer for repairs.

- Littleton, CO, USA

problem #4

Aug 122009

Sportage

  • 72,000 miles
The electrical harness in my 2006 Kia Sportage had an electric melt down. At prox 72,000 miles. Dealer could not find or fix the problem- factory rep came and rewired the harness by replacing the melted wiring.

- Port Saint Lucie, FL, USA

problem #3

May 022009

Sportage

  • 80,000 miles
My ESC light kept coming on after about a half hour and my cruise control would shut off by itself or not come on at all. After a couple weeks, the cruise would no longer set at all. This began intermittently around 60,000 miles or so and became a full blown problem at around 92,000 miles. It turned out to be a defective stop lamp switch. There is currently a recall on this part, but just not for my 2006 Kia Sportage. I called the Kia consumer line and was basically told "too bad" because even though this is a known Sportage issue, my vehicle didn't make the date cut. This should have been under recall, but ended up costing me $100 for the warranty deductible! the actual bill was $161. How can Kia get away with this?

- Osceola, WI, USA

problem #2

Jun 102009

Sportage

  • 80,000 miles
My brake lights kept blowing. Then I lost my cruise control. Then my ESC light kept coming on. Then all my lights came on! it was a defective brake switch. Which should have been under recall, but ended up costing me $157.14!

- White Bluff, TN, USA

problem #1

Jan 272008

Sportage

  • miles
Vehicle loses power and cuts off as it is coming to stop. Have taken for diagnosis, but technicians could not isolate. This is a potentially dangerous occurence, as it could happen at some point in the future when having to slow down on interstate or other heavy traffic situations.

- Indianapolis, IN, USA