10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
5 / 0
Average Mileage:
57,525 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 #16

Aug 012021

Sportage

  • miles
6 months ago air bag indicator light came on for 2 days. That went out and another one came on (can't remember which one) and that stayed on for 2 days. Then all was good for 5 months. Now air bag indicator light is on again. Yes, it's available upon request. Have appt with dealer on 2/25/22. Of course the air bag indicator light could cause risk if there is something wrong with the bags. I'm wondering if it is just an electrical problem with the lights.

- Fairport, NY, USA

problem #15

Jul 012018

Sportage 4-cyl

  • 40,000 miles
At approximately 40,000 miles the clock spring malfunctioned disabling the air bags and horn.

- Seven Hills, OH, USA

problem #14

Dec 082019

Sportage

  • 189,000 miles
Heading down highway 198 from mabank tx to canton tx we had hit deer two jump out about 2 feet in from of us. We miss the first deer and second one we hit dead smack in front of car, it did so much damage had to replace most of the front end including radiator and cooling fan and battery because it had pop hole in front battery. But air bags never deployed. And that morning notice when person sitting in passenger side the air bag light above dash says passenger air bag on than says off. There pic attach shows damaged had to replaced cost about 1400 dollars or more in damage. Air bags should deployed

- Mabank, TX, USA

problem #13

Jul 012018

Sportage

  • 44,000 miles
The clock spring is not working which deactivates the air bag system and horn. This is an extremely dangerous condition. This should result in a recall immediately.

- Seven Hills, OH, USA

problem #12

Apr 022019

Sportage

  • 53,350 miles
Airbag above passenger curtain has defective module. Vehicle has only 53375 miles on it, is always garaged. Kia has issued 507,000 vehicle recall for airbags defects, going back to year 2010. Normal warrenty is 5 years or 60,000 miles. Kia told me I am not a loyal Kia customer because I do not routinely bring my car to dealers for services, opposed to my local garage. Replacement of airbag is $1956 not including labor and tax.

- Cohoes, NY, USA

problem #11

Jul 182018

Sportage

  • 42,500 miles
This is complaint 1 of 2. complaint 2 is under a separate category "ESC". the passenger air bag "off" indicator light on the dash came on, with an adult passenger sitting in the seat (vehicle in motion or stationary). At first it was random, and then it started staying on all the time. Then the "air bag" warning light on the instrument panel came on. The passenger restraint will also lock, and not release as it is supposed to. At this point I took it to the dealer. The technician made the following comments after running diagnostics: "air bag light is on for a couple of reasons. The passenger side seat belt retractor sensor is bad and the passenger side occupant sensor in the seat is bad." The dealer gave a verbal quote of $2,200 to replace the seat sensor, and an additional $575 to replace the passenger restraint sensor. They gave a written estimate of $2,212 for the seat sensor, but did not provide a written estimate for the seat belt retractor sensor. I realize the vehicle is 9 years old, but it only has 42,647 miles on it. This is a safety issue and I cannot afford nor justify investing nearly $2,800 on a 9 year old vehicle. Kia did a recall for the 2006-2008 rio models on 5/31/12 "12V244000" for the seat sensor and has also extended the warranty out to 15 years for other models. Very few people can afford to spend this type of money for a safety issue that should be addressed by Kia. Now I have a vehicle with a faulty air bag safety system, and have no idea if the air bags will deploy if and when needed. Supporting documentation is attached.

- Columbus, OH, USA

problem #10

Jul 122018

Sportage

  • 145,000 miles
On 12 July 2018 at 0530 am I was driving down county road 26 mankato mn to pickup my semi as I was aproaching 3rd ave stop sign I applied the brakes pedal went to floor I went through intersection slammed into a boulder wall head on at an estimated speed of 40-45mph. Air bags did not deploy, seat belt tensioner broke, wont retract back into holder. After getting car towed can see that the air bag sensor was crushed but no deployment spent 2 days in hospital. Thankfully nothing broke just alot of bruising. Cannot figure out why brakes didnt work ended up using emergency brake to try slowing down impact.

- Mankato, MN, USA

problem #9

Mar 142018

Sportage

  • 45,500 miles
The clock spring is broken which causes an air bag and horn malfunction.

- Independence, OH, USA

problem #8

Apr 122018

Sportage

  • 40,000 miles
We really do not know what went wrong, we were on route 19 N. at hico, wv and we turned onto a side road, the car sled on the gravel we hit the bank and turned on our side. The air bags did not go off and we couldn't get the seat belts to release so we were trapped in the car.the car was a total loss.

- Mt. Nebo, WV, USA

problem #7

Mar 182018

Sportage

  • 122,000 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that the air bag warning indicator illuminated. The contact was informed that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the clock spring needed to be replaced. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 122,000.

- Roanoke, VA, USA

problem #6

Oct 012017

Sportage

  • miles
The air bag light is on. This shouldn't happen. Not sure if it is the sensor or if there are problems with the air bags. This is a safety issue.

- North Granby, CT, USA

problem #5

May 122016

Sportage

  • miles
The airbag light is on and after taking it to a authorized Kia dealership, they said the error code indicated high resistance and that the airbag was defective and needs to be repaced

- Valley Park, MO, USA

problem #4

Jul 242015

Sportage

  • 102,000 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that while driving at 65 mph, the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who diagnosed that the passenger's side air bag sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 102,000.

- Oshkosh, WI, USA

problem #3

Nov 042014

Sportage

  • 57,047 miles
This is my 82 year old mother in law car she says the air bag light keeps coming on and staying on so she took it to the dealer they charged her $150 to look at it. This was on Nov 4 2014 the car had only 57047 miles on it. So in March it started doing it again so on March 27 2015 she goes to the dealer this time they didn't charge her but told her it would cost $2,600 dollars to fix. The car only has 59312 miles on it. She is freaked out scared to drive her car and is on fixed income. The two codes they found were (B1489 OCS matt defect) and (B1495 belt tension sensor). My son says he thinks that the Kia rio had the same problem and got recalled. I will give my info not my mothers thank you

- Edmonds, WA, USA

problem #2

Aug 142014

Sportage 4WD 6-cyl

  • 40,000 miles
Air bag light came on for know reason. To it to the dealer charged me$100 to "look at it". the repair would cost $2500. Can't afford to fix it, appears many others have the same problem.

- Eau Claire, WI, USA

problem #1

Jan 012010

Sportage

  • 0 miles
At times while driving down the highway, the passenger side air bag will disengage itself because of movement in the seat. So, I end up pulling over and restart the car so that the light on the dash, telling me the air bag isn't set, resets to the on position. Sometimes I may not notice it right away. It has happened numerous times. After reporting it to the dealership twice, they keep telling me that not only can they not make it more sensitive, but that the passenger must sit properly in their seat. Over time, people tend to shuffle about in their seat and therefore I found that it is impossible to expect someone to sit still for a long drive.I have been told to ask the passenger to reposition themselves in their seat and the air bag will reset, sometimes it does, but for the most part, I end up pulling the car over and restarting the engine. As, you can imagine, it has not only been a distraction on the highway, but also a big pain in the [xxx]. information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Homosassa , FL, USA