10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
64,633 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.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2011 Kia Sportage:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #35

Feb 092019

Sportage

  • miles
I've been experiencing issues with my engine for over 5 years on my 2011 Kia Sportage that are same issues described for the SC147 recall with the bearing wear issue. It's extremely unsettling to drive on the highway as this is only when the problem occurs at a higher speed (anything over 60 mph). I will be driving at speed and the engine for a split second with stall out and shoot right back to the high speed. The car jolts and the engine light will flicker. If you continue to drive the problem increases and happens more along the route unless you drop down to 50. However after you continue to drive the car will begin to shake and if you slow down it idle's very loud and as if to stall and the engine light will come on and remain on. Once the car is shut off and allowed to sit all problems go away until the next time. For 5+ years I have complained of this issue with the dealership and never have they found a problem. My VIN is not listed on this recall but can it be the same problem?

- Woburn, MA, USA

problem #34

Feb 012019

Sportage

  • 125,621 miles
My engine has metal shavings coming up. Should this be a recall? I was driving when I heard all kinds of noises. I was going about 30mph.

- Manchester, TN, USA

problem #33

Feb 012019

Sportage

  • 125,000 miles
I'm experiencing the same bearing wear issue that the engine recall is for but my VIN is not listed within the recall. I will be driving at speed and without warning the engine will stall out for maybe 1 to 2 seconds and then pick back up at the speed I was travelling at. In certain instances when this happens the check engine light will come on and the car will idle extremely rough until the engine is shutoff and allowed to sit for a few minutes before being restarted. I feel this is the exact complaint that the recall was issued for but my car is not listed in the recall. I feel the recall is very limited in it's scope and the recall should be extended to further VIN numbers.

- Ooltewah, TN, USA

problem #32

Dec 272018

Sportage

  • 124,000 miles
I originally brought my vehicle in for service for a noise coming from the timing chain area which sounds like slack in the chain at 1100 rpms and the worst being with the engine cold. I have had the timing chain and guides, a few sensors, and camshaft phaser replaced chasing this noise and a few thousand dollars in; my mechanic now hears a noise coming from the engine in the lower part of my third cylinder. He believes it should be part of the 17V224000 campaign but my VIN does not show up on the recall. My mechanic does a lot of over flow work for our local Kia dealership and I tend to believe him.

- South Daytona, FL, USA

problem #31

Dec 042018

Sportage

  • 63,000 miles
Entering expressway problem excellerating to safely enter highway.

- Howard Beach, NY, USA

problem #30

Oct 132018

Sportage

  • 67,000 miles
Engine light came on, smelled smoke, and thought I saw smoke coming out from where the engine is located, this happened while I was driving home from work. I was on my way to grocery store. I came out of store to leave and car would not start. Car will not stay running unless you use gas pedal and brake at the same time. I was able to drive it to the dealership 3 weeks ago! it is still in the shop. I have gotten the run around as to exactly what the problem is, they said the timing chain was way off, and they also ordered other parts Kia "approved" but tried to order more parts that they thought would help my car so the man said but Kia denied the request for those. I do not have an itemized list yet of specifics. The car only had 67,000 miles on it when this happened. Yes, I have the 100,000 mile limited warranty and will fight them tooth and nail if they attempt to charge me a dime for an engine problem. It was always in the shop for routine maintenance when needed. I am concerned this is one of the vehicles even though it is not on your list of dangerous Kia's. dealership has told me it was probably the timing chain that gave off the "fire" smell and there would be a bit of smoke. I do not know if this is true. I have attempted to reach out to Kia and get some answers but I am getting the runaround there as well. I wanted to start this early just in case. I will find out on Monday if the car is fixed, and at that time I should have paperwork to send to you. Help! how are we supposed to know if this is one of the old engine recalls I saw happened a few years back that I was not informed about" or if the 2011 LX Sportage is a fire hazard vehicle as well"

- Dunstable, MA, USA

problem #29

Jun 012018

Sportage

  • miles
Engine heatings and cooling

- Saint Paul, MN, USA

problem #28

Apr 052018

Sportage

  • 117,000 miles
My son was driving on route 1 in Delaware at around 60 miles an hour. Route 1 is a 2 lane highway. The car shut off while he was driving at the above mentioned speed. After several attempts to start the car we had to get the car towed to my mechanic. My mechanic did a diagnostic on the engine and told me the engine had locked. He said the engine wasn't getting the proper oil flow to it.

- New Castle, DE, USA

problem #27

Sep 252017

Sportage

  • miles
I feel my vehicle is accelerating by it self sometimes it jerks when I am in freeways I feel vibrating engine when is stationary it's the second time when I stopped a red light and my vehicle turned it self without warning I don't know what is going

- Columbus, OH, USA

problem #26

Dec 302017

Sportage

  • 87,942 miles
My car with 87,942 well maintained miles all of a sudden blew the engine and caught fire.recall on certain models with the same year with cam bearings letting go internally.I'm still currently paying on the vehicle.I got ahold of Kia national motors and they seemed like they were going to help me fix problem or give decent trade in value, that was six months ago.one of my children needs to make doc.appt. Every other weekend.I'm getting very perturbed with the whole situation.the company won't even let me know what there doing, I told them just let me know what your plans are so I can at least take a lose" witch is real crappy" but I need to get a vehicle but they will not get ahold of

- Ticonderoga, NY, USA

problem #25

Mar 202018

Sportage

  • 89,100 miles
The engine is running rough. I hear knocks and pings when I try to go over 50. Local city driving the engine is calm. Recently had new spark plugs put in. Gas mileage has really not improved. I have concerns that this engine will seize up. I am now reading about SC147. I checked with my local Kia dealer and there is no immediate recall for this vehicle. I have set an appointment for April 10th to do further diagnostics. The local dealer seems to not care which worries me before even taking this car in.

- Sugarloaf, PA, USA

problem #24

Feb 222018

Sportage

  • 78,000 miles
My car started getting bad gas mpg and loss of power and check engine light was on regarding 2 bad camshaft position sensors. Kia dealer checked the car and said the sensors simply needed replaced. I replaced the sensor and car problems got worse. Engine makes ticking noise when running. Kia service had no solution. After about 1 to 2 months I was driving the car on the highway and the car engine stopped and everything went dead. I had to shift into neutral and steer the car to the shoulder of the road fortunately avoiding an accident. I had problems with the car stalling while driving at least 50 to 100 times while stopped and while moving in the last 4 months. I had the car towed to the Kia dealership service department. After a day I was contacted by the service technician and told the engine was seized up and I would have to purchase a new engine ($4500+). I've asked multiple times through the dealership and Kia corporate what caused the engine failure but they refuse to give me a reason for the failure or investigae why the car continually malfunctioned and then died. The dealership said they would look for a cause if I paid them $1500 up front. Bottom line what happened to my car is the exact same as detailed in Kia recall SC147. Kia refuses to recognize this, says the vehicle is out of warrenty and I'm simply screwed. I'm not paying $4500+ for a new engine when they can't even tell me what went wrong with the first one. Kia says my car has mpi fuel injection and the recall SC147 only covers cars with gdi fuel injection. The problem with that is that recall SC147 has nothing to do with the fuel delivery system. Despite communication with highest levels of Kia America and the dealership I've been told repeatedly that Kia will do nothing for me. Kia stated that my car engine to seize up and die at 78,000 is completely acceptable to Kia.

- Belleville, IL, USA

problem #23

Dec 312017

Sportage

  • 102,000 miles
My wife was driving down the road new years day, and the lights flickered and the engine died. After getting it towed to a garage, they told us the motor was blown. We then called Kia usa and they informed us to have it towed to a Kia dealership and to inform the dealership to follow their instructions they had from Kia usa. So we towed it to a dealership in our area and let me tell you, this has been the worst experience I have ever had. The dealership is not helpful, they have talked down to my wife, making her cry, and they told us that they have preference for people that bought their car from them. We didn't buy it from them, so apparently, it's alright to treat us like we are complete morons. We are now down a car and the dealership has no empathy and could care less. We need help.

- Fitzwilliam, NH, USA

problem #22

Dec 182017

Sportage

  • 120,700 miles
There currently is a recall on certain 2011 Kia Sportages with the engine bearings prematurely wearing and causing the engine to seize. I have a 2011 Sportage that is showing signs of this. Twice, my Sportage has just shut down while my son was driving it. Luckily, he was able to coast off the side of the road and wait for help. There is no indicator that the engine is going to shut off. After taking it to my mechanic, and him looking into the problem, he told me that this looks like the recall problem that Kia has on these vehicles. Unfortunately, after looking into this myself, the recall does not include my VIN number, so, I was told by my Kia service manager that Kia might not be able to do anything. My mechanic and I are almost certain that the problem I am having with my car is why there is a recall. This is a dangerous situation when you are driving and have no idea when the engine is going to shut off. I have 126,700 miles on my car and I know that the warranty has expired. Therefore, I am looking at the recall and wondering if there are more cars out there that are just shutting off on them. Please advise what I can do and why isn't my VIN number included in this recall if it is also showing the same signs.

- Jefferson, GA, USA

problem #21

Jan 152015

Sportage

  • 5 miles
Pierde fuerza Y le suena mucho el motor

- Lawrence, MA, USA

problem #20

May 092017

Sportage

  • 100,000 miles
The engine blew up in my 2011 Kia Sportage. It had just a little over 100,000 miles on it. I'm told that it is not one of the engines that have been recalled and I feel that it should be. I was driving into work and was stranded. I could hear a loud banging noise as I was driving into work. So I took it to a local mechanic and he said that the engine had blown up. I had to have it taken to my home on a flatbed.

- Tionesta, PA, USA

problem #19

Jul 162017

Sportage

  • 104,000 miles
Kia recall - SC 147. This relates to the Kia engine safety recall campain SC147 regarding the engine. On 7/14/2017 I was driving my vehicle on the highway at it just stops while going 45mph. Luckily I didn't have an accident. Before this happened, my engine started making this loud tapping sound. I was finally able to make it to my residence but was too afraid to even drive the car. I didn't know anything about the safety recall until I did some research. I called Kia and found out that my VIN was part of the recall. I called my preferred dealer and they weren't already back logged regarding this recall. Subsequently, after getting my vehicle towed, I was informed that my engine blew up even before Kia could perform this test. My fear is that more cars will be affected and there are several customers (including myself) that have not received notices about this recall. Many dealers are not handling this properly per the interim notices by Kia (ie providing transportation to customers, etc)

- Fishers, IN, USA

problem #18

Jun 232017

Sportage

  • 148,000 miles
My car is having issues related to recall SC147. I understand this recall was issued recently, but my VIN does not show the recall when I research it. I'm worried that I will be declined service simply because my VIN doesn't show up in the database. What can I do to get my vehicle serviced" can you add my VIN to that list"

- Lynden, WA, USA

problem #17

May 302017

Sportage

  • 155,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Kia Sportage. While driving 60 mph, the check engine indicator illuminated and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was unable to be restarted. The vehicle was towed to a dealer, but was unable to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The local dealer (james wood Hyundai 2110 us-287 Decatur, tx 76234) informed the contact to have the vehicle inspected by the Kia manufacturer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 155,000.

- Fort Worth, TX, USA

problem #16

May 052017

Sportage

  • 99,000 miles
Engine seized with out warning, while driving on highway at 60mph

- Friendswood, TX, USA

Read the next 15 complaints »