10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 3
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
51,349 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 2016 Kia Sportage:

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

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #24

May 132022

Sportage 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 105,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sportage. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, she noticed that the vehicle was losing power. The contact stated that she was able to pull off the roadway to assess the vehicle. The contact stated that no warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that she then attempted to restart the vehicle and the engine would not turn over; however, the vehicle regained electrical power. The contact stated that she then had her vehicle towed to an independent mechanic where it remained. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not notified; however, the manufacturer was made aware of the failure but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 105,000.

- Fort Lee, VA, USA

problem #23

Apr 222022

Sportage

  • 123,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sportage. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, she heard an abnormal noise coming from the vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to drive to her destination. The contact took the vehicle to local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the engine to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired but was pending repairs. The VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V051000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic). The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 123,000.

- Vancouver, WA, USA

problem #22

Apr 122022

Sportage

  • 118,860 miles
The contact owned a 2016 Kia Sportage. The contact stated her son was driving approximately 35 MPH when smoke came from under the hood of the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The driver pulled over safely and removed himself from the vehicle. The vehicle became totally engulfed in flames and was destroyed. The state police arrived on the scene and attempted to extinguish the fire with a fire extinguisher but were not successful. The fire department arrived on the scene shortly afterward and extinguished the fire. The local police filed a report. There were no injuries sustained. The approximate failure mileage was 118,860.

- Bloomsburg, PA, USA

problem #21

Apr 122022

Sportage 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 61,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V051000 (Service Brakes Hydraulic) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted but vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact was concerned about a possible vehicle fire. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 61,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

- Middletown, DE, USA

problem #20

Apr 122022

Sportage

  • miles
Received a recall notice stated "An Engine compartment fire may occur in the area where the Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit is located in your vehicle. The exact cause of fire remains unknown. However, it is believed that the HECU may experience an internal electrical short circuit that could result in overcurrent. An electrical short circuit in the HECU increases the risk of an engine compartment fire while the vehicle is parked or driving. A fire increases the risk of injury. Out of an abundance of caution, park your vehicle outdoors and away from other vehicles or structures until you have the recall repair performed." Yet, with this kind of instruction, KIA offered NO temporary replacement vehicle like a rental car. I called KIA corporate directly, spoke with their consumer department and also a supervisor. No one could offer any date for the fix or assistance with a rental car or temporary replacement vehicle. The dealer I called, Greenway KIA of Franklin TN, had just gotten the notice I was told yesterday, 4/11/2022, yet my letter was dated 3/31/2022. They had no other communications or directions from KIA corporate except the same letter that I received. An engine fire risk is a huge recall and KIA should have either an immediate repair available, or provide owners of the affected vehicles a safe vehicle to use until a fix can be provided. This is not a window regulator recall. It's an engine fire risk recall. "Parked or driving."

- Nashville, TN, USA

problem #19

Feb 182022

Sportage 4-cyl

  • 90,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sportage. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, there was a knocking sound coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle started losing motive power, without warning. The contact pulled over to the side of the roadway. The contact checked and became aware that there was no oil in the engine. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic and diagnosed with engine failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer and manufacturer were contacted and the contact was informed that an unnamed recall repair was not performed and no assistance would be provided. The failure mileage was 90,000.

- Rocky Hill, CT, USA

problem #18

Dec 182021

Sportage

  • miles
I was driving on interstate and with no sound or warning light my car just shut off. Lucky I was able to get it off the side of the road. Tired to restart the car it would not start the engine was locked up. Had it towed home. Sent kia a email they said take it to my local Kia dealership to get it kia certified on what's wrong with it. Did so Kia said it was a turned or spun rod bearing. But denied to fix it because the knock sensor was not installed if I don't get a letter or a recall on it how was I suppose to know. As I done some research I see it's a very big problem with kia 2.4 l engines if it was a safety issue why was I not aware until this happened to my car. As its happened to many and lucky mine just smoked a little and did not catch fire.

- Lenoir, NC, USA

problem #17

May 032021

Sportage

  • miles
I WAS DRIVING IN TOWN WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN MY CAR STOPPED, I GOT MY CAR TOWED TO MY HUSBANDS BUSINESS AND AFTER THAT I TOWED IT TO THE KIA DEALERSHIP, WHERE I WAS TOLD MY CAR DID NOT HAVE A RECALL DESPITE THE RECALLS ON THIS VEHICLE AND UPON READING MORE INTO IT I SEE THAT IT DOES HAVE A RECALLS ON ENGINE FAILURE, mY CAR STOPPED ON A VERY BUSY ROAD AS WELL, WITH CARS FLYING BY ME ON A 6 LANE ROAD.tHERE WAS NO WARNING LIGHTS ON AS WELL AS ANY OTHER LIGHTS UNTIL THIS HAPPENED

- Clarksville, TN, USA

problem #16

Jan 012022

Sportage

  • 137,000 miles
The contact's daughter owns a 2016 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a knocking sound, and the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and diagnosed with engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that there was a service campaign for the knock sensor mailed to the contact's daughter's residence; however, the contact's daughter had not received the service campaign notification. The manufacturer declined the engine replacement. The failure mileage was approximately 137,000.

- Lewisville, NC, USA

problem #15

Dec 022021

Sportage

  • miles
On 12/2/21 I was driving down 52 towards Lexington in the fast lane going about 66 MPH with my child in the back seat in her car seat when I noticed my 2016 Kia Sportage would not accelerate and suddenly went down to around 20 MPH resulting in more than one almost collisions to try to get off the highway. I then heard a loud knocking noise and my vehicle would not go over 15 MPH. There was not a single light on my dashboard that came on to alert me of the situation. I had the car towed to the auto shop I use until I could contact KIA. Bob King Kia (where I bought this one new as well as two other cars previously) said I had to have it towed there and have a diagnostic ($130) completed before they could help me. on 1/4/22 I had it towed there. This was a SCAM as they told me my engine failure was due to a recall that was not completed that I was never notified about and they would nor KIA would cover anything. Brian(Service Manager) there offered to reach out to his KIA sales manager to see if he could get an exception. To my knowledge this never took place according to two other individuals and I was lied to. When he reached out on 1/24/22 to let me know it was a NO he also told me my car was broken into on 1/18/22 and I was not notified of this prior. So now I have a 2016 Kia Sportage that I still owe money on that wont run and a broken window I had to put a claim on my insurance for that even as of 2/10/22 has yet to be fixed. It is sad though that they offered to give me $500 for my car that I owe about $5000 on or I could trade it in on another KIA and they would pay my car off. It is all a sales gimmick and people are taken advantage of.

- Lexington, NC, USA

problem #14

Dec 192021

Sportage

  • miles
Engine stopped completely while on the highway with my family

- East Meadow, NY, USA

problem #13

Jun 102021

Sportage

  • miles
I own a 2016 Kia Sportage which is still new. I've owned it for 2-3 years had about 32k miles on the vehicle when I purchased it in 2018. I currently have 50k miles now, I follow-up with dealership on my Oil Changes without having any issues. One day out of the blue it started making a knocking sound coming from engine, I contacted the Dealership they couldn't figure it out stating it was a known issue from the Back Rear seats locking latch not holding steady. I explained that it sounds like it's coming from front side of the vehicle in the engine. They advised me that I am okay so I took their word for it. Followed up on a routine Oil Service Change and again I advised the dealership to look into the knocking sound due to concerns that it doesn't seem right. My engine service lamps have never turned on but the sound has been a concern but once more the mechanic and service writer at the dealership assured me that their is nothing wrong explaining to me, it's just the A/C Ventilation Shutters underneath the front end of the vehicle it suddenly disabled itself and it's flapping when the vehicle is in motion making the knocking sound. I was in shock with what was said but they are the experts. Late 2020 just months later I arrive at the Dealership for my Oil Change was told by Service Writer that I have to perform their 30k Milestone Oil Service: Repl Engine Oil / Filter Inspection which cost $400 - $415. I was amazed that it cost so much but I went right ahead and told dealership let's do it. Halfway into 2021 the vehicles knocking sound that I've been questioning and complaining about started making a loud scary sound out of no where. I wouldn't operate or drive the vehicle. I contacted Dealership immediately but they are charging me for Engine Repair, probably have to buy a new engine cost in thousands. Impossible to be my fault I've questioned problems but was given no help. Found Engine Recalls 2016 Kia Sportage Vehicles received no assistance. Help me.

- Saipan, MP, USA

problem #12

Mar 192021

Sportage

  • 2 miles
Car began making a rattling noise in the engine then immediately stopped running while I was driving. Luckily I was on a county road and coasted in to a driveway. I had the car towed to my house where it still resides and fearing it is a rod bearing failure in the motor.

- Sunman, IN, USA

problem #11

Mar 102021

Sportage

  • 68,100 miles
On March 12 2021 I was on I-4 East toward daytona beach about 70 miles per hour and all of the sudden the engine stahl. I was able to move to the shoulder of the road. The tow truck driver jumped the battery 3 times and the engine didn't start, took it to the dealer kept the car overnight did all necessary checks everything looks fine no problem with the battery or any other thing.. the next day the car start as normal, they did a test drive and everything was ok as if nothing had happened. I went and took the car home and as of this moment it seems to be ok. My big concern now is what if it happens again while driving in the highway. It can cause an accident risking mine and my family lives. Is there anything I can do"?"

- Port Orange, FL, USA

problem #10

Feb 272021

Sportage

  • 80,239 miles
While driving the oil light kept flashing. A loud noise under my hood and car was pulling. Car was up to date and serviced 1/21.

- Milford, PA, USA

problem #9

Dec 042020

Sportage 4-cyl

  • 86,000 miles
Car just shutdown on me doing 75 in a 70. Mileage was not high and maintenance wasn't need according to the dashboard. Car was great then just out of nowhere shutdown due to faulty engine they keep saying.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

problem #8

Jan 262019

Sportage

  • 29,000 miles
I own a 2016 Kia Sportage and in January 2019 on a trip to a nearby town the car engine started to catch. At this time the car only had about 29,000 miles on it and had the oil changed about 4 weeks prior. My husband checked the all the fluids and found the car had very little oil in it. We were surprised since no warning lights ever came on and we had just change the oil. He put oil in it and watched it and again 2 weeks later there was very little oil in the car. I took it to the dealer and explain all of this. They took a picture of the inside of my motor and said it was like sludge then put it all back together and blamed everything on us voided the warranty. The car cannot be driven over about 45mph. Upon further research I found that there was an oil delivery system problem that causes excessive wear on this motor that Kia is refusing to deal with it. After reviewing this research I was afraid to drive it because because there were reports that the engine seizes and catches on fire.

- Bay Point, CA, USA

problem #7

Aug 272019

Sportage

  • 72,000 miles
My car wouldn't run right we took it in they said it was the cran sensor charged 900 to fix it. Then that didn't work now it is the engine harness and they want 3400 to fix it. If I say fix it what will be next. They don't want ot repair it just replace

- London, OH, USA

problem #6

Aug 152019

Sportage

  • 84,000 miles
P1326 glow relay stuck

- Tooele, UT, USA

problem #5

Feb 012019

Sportage

  • 60,000 miles
Our 2016 Kia Sportage began emitting light smoke out of the exhaust. We became concerned and asked out dealer to look into things. The dealership said they needed to do tests (this consisted of filling the oil up and asking us to drive 1500miles) we did as they asked and pithing 700mile the engine started to make clacking noises and on 2 occasions lost power. We returned the car to the dealership stating our concerns, they wanted to repeat the test but we refused to drive the car. The dealerships communication was very poor, never replying to our calls or emails so we decided to contact Consumer Affairs. The first call was great, very supportive and informative. Said they would help and we would be totally covered. This is as good as things got, Consumer Affairs proceeded to repeat the same poor communication as the dealership showed and not reply to call and if they did take a call said we needed to speak to our case worked who was never in work that day. Finally the dealership said that the engine had sludge in the engine and it would need a complete replacement (this is a 3 yearly car with 60,000 miles) Kia refused to honer the warranty as we didn't have enough service records (never stating what was enough) and now we are in the process of appealing and Consumer Affairs and the dealership are repeating the lack of communication with us.

- Manliu, NY, USA

Read the next 4 complaints »