KIA Sportage Reliability by YearBest & worst years, problems & recalls — NHTSA data

The car engine is losing oil without any leaks being found. I got my oil changed and was told to have it done every 3k miles. Within a month of that oil change, my engine ran hot. I had all of my components checked. Radiator and coolant was fine but they found that my engine was 2 qrts short of what should be in there. I told them that the oil was just changed not even a month ago and that had to be false unless they weren't fully giving me the quarts that I paid for. They stated that this particular engine burns oil for unknown reasons as no cracks or leaks are ever found and to alleviate the issue, I would need to come in and pay for addtl qrts to be added. This is crazy and costly to owners! Kia knew that their engine doesn't perform as it should and can give way to cars overheating and potentially causing an engine fire. This should be a recall to replace the engines so that they perform as they should. This was deceitful practices that Kia set in play.

The vehicle is have issues every time I get and oil change the vehicle loses about 2 qt of oil there are no leaks that are notice but the lost of engine oil still happens this oil could cause the engine to turn on fire it is nerve reacting to every often to check the oil level dealership are brushing this problem as they don't seem to know what is causing this issue if customer don't check

Vehicle suddenly entered recall limp-mode due to the ongoing engine campaign. Prior to this, the vehicle had immaculate maintenance records and zero driveability issues. The franchise dealership performed a short-block engine replacement under the safety recall, rushing the complete powertrain swap in less than a single afternoon.The dealership subsequently returned the vehicle in a dangerously malfunctioning and incomplete repair state. At delivery, the Check Engine Light was actively illuminated, and the car exhibited severe acceleration stumbles, power loss under load, and engine misfires (driving "punchy"). Because I am a non-mechanic, I gave the vehicle one week to settle, but the life-threatening acceleration stumbles persisted.Upon immediate return to the service center, the technician (Nathaniel) formally diagnosed failing intake manifold "butterfly" valves (Variable Charge Motion assembly). Nathaniel explicitly admitted to me that this auxiliary component failure was directly caused by the mechanical extraction and engine replacement process. Despite admitting their labor caused this defect, the dealership refused to complete the safety repair, demanding a fraudulent $900 out-of-pocket payment to correct it. Management then falsely claimed a simple manifold service would take two full days—directly contradicting their rushed afternoon engine swap.The dealership released the vehicle back to me with no confirmation of safety or roadworthiness. I escalated this to Kia Corporate Customer Care, but they officially responded via email refusing to intervene or facilitate any auxiliary repairs. Out of absolute necessity as a single mother working 12-hour shifts, I am forced to drive this vehicle short distances. It remains a major safety hazard due to unpredictable stumbling, chronic cylinder misfires, and high risk of sudden stalling in active traffic, leaving a federal safety recall completely incomplete. I have invoices and emails if needed

The engine locked up about a year ago, and since we didn’t technically have a recall we didn’t know what to do. It was able to drive again after we had a technician work on it, but now it’s not driving anymore. It shakes hard when it’s idling and driving. We have waited over 2 weeks to be diagnosed with the problem. We have had to spend $1300 on rental cars because we can’t get a loaner until diagnosed. The car is not safe to drive and puts our lives at risk to drive it. We were lucky it didn’t start shaking while we were driving on a major highway, but it did still happen while driving and was terrifying. The car is at Williams Kia now, in Elmira NY. They still haven’t diagnosed the problem. The check engine light is on.

I did not have an incident yet. I was advised by my local State representative Jimmy Gordon's office. They stated were unable to help me get reimbursement for the $8000 I just paid my Kia dealer, but that I should make a complaint on this website. What happened is that I was hearing an odd noise and it was slipping. I went in thinking it was my tires and it needed alignment- so I had them replaced , etc in April. But the sound was still there so I went back in . Then the Kia St Cloud dealer diagnosed that the AWD transfer case was the cause (pd $4704 including $130 surcharge! ). When dealer called to say it was ready, they said bad news- your transmission is also damaged (pd $3197 including $90 surcharge ! ). This is a known failure of Kia/Hyundai models and needs to be addressed. You can lose control of your car and there could be an accident, especially on busy highways! I appealed to Kia corporate and also BBB auto line, but they both denied because too many miles (130k). The sound I heard /issue with transfer case & transmission happened as soon as my powertrain warranty was over! This is not right! I was someone who had given this vehicle 5 stars! I am the only owner and a multi- Kia owner who only brought this vehicle to a Kia dealer for all work. I have all records and that info was why Kia corporate originally told me i had "justification " for a goodwill reimbursement. [I currently am unemployed so I had to put all the repairs on a credit card (which meant being charged a 2.9% surcharge without informing me at the counter!)]. I hadn't heard so called June 2nd to Kia customer care and they said it was denied after all and would not give me any info except that they had negotiated with the dealership and it came back denied! I tried to call the GM at the dealer , but no answer back from my voice mail to Hector. Then BBB AUTO LINE also told me ineligible due to mileage. Well, this is still a dangerous issue and needs to be addressed!

The vehicle is experiencing excessive engine oil consumption. The engine was found by the dealership to be low by 3 quarts of oil after about 1000 miles during an oil consumption test, indicating abnormal oil loss. The suspected failure involves internal engine components, possibly piston rings, allowing oil to enter the combustion chamber and burn. This condition creates a safety risk because the engine can become critically low on oil, without warning, potentially leading to engine damage, loss of power, or engine failure while driving. The problem has been reproduced and documented by the dealership during oil consumption testing. However, there are inconsistencies in the dealership’s reporting, as later documentation stated that no oil consumption was found despite earlier records showing excessive oil loss. This vehicle has been inspected multiple times by an authorized dealership and is currently part of an open case with the manufacture. The vehicle was also held at the dealership for approximately three weeks without clear documentation of work performed. There were minimal warnings indicators prior to the issue. The vehicle showed rough engine performance, which was consistent with oil fouling the spark plugs. No clear warning light reliably indicated the severity of the oil loss before the condition was discovered during testing.