Complaint volume
183 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
183 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2023 Kia Sportage, grouped by component category.
Buyer interpretation
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
183 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
The most common categories are unknown or other, electrical system, engine. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Enriched records include 24 crash reports, 1 fire report, 13 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage is available on 29 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 36,565 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
183 total complaints on record
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | Low oil indicator light came on at 15k miles. Tried to lock doors with key fob but could not. Had to open doors using key after popping off door handle. Put key in ignition but when turning car off and taking key out of ignition vehicle kept running and did not turn off for 15 minutes. Finally turned off on its own. Had vehicle towed by Kia to Kia of Groton CT. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | A few months after I got the car all of the warning lights randomly came on and I had to turn jt off and on and they went away. Since then around Nov 22 it has happened about 25 times or more and is happening more frequently lately. I called kia and they said they hadn't heard anything yet bc of it being so new. Also the brake assist for Collison is VERY dangerous. You can be a car length and more away and it will take the brake out from my foot and slam on the brakes and about throw me through the windshield with my seat belt on. This has happened too many times and has hurt my chest. I turned it off and it has still done it. Another thing, the lane assistance tries to take the wheel away from you and will jerk the car one way or the other which is scary. Please look into these!! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES | My warning light & description for check AWD/4WD started coming on after the first road trip. It then came on everytime I drove the vehicle. Now the dealership service department is dealing with the main KIA maintenance to determine why the light comes on every time the vehicle is driven, even half a mile. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Jack Daniels Kia, Fairlawn, NJ. The following Kia Sportage door lock failure is not being fixed. I bought a brand New Car on 4-10-2023. My VIN 5XYK33AF9*** I purchased my new 2023 Kia Sportage on 4-10-2023. Unfortunately, the day I drove home after the purchase, the door locks didn't work. The door lock lights blinked but didn't lock or unlock the car doors. I also could not manually lock the car from the inside. Sales said I should keep the car in my garage. However, the service depart said it could be at least 3 months or more before they could check the vehicle to fix the door locks because Kia Motors had something to do with the manufactures computer. HEY!! I just bought a brand new car. Unfortunately, I can't get a straight answer from Jack Daniels Kia's service dept. At least a solution that I understand or makes sense. A Brand new car malfunction should be a #1 repair priority. Unfortunately, at Jack Daniels Kia Service, it's not. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY | I have had several problems with the windshield of my Kia Sportage. First off, it has a terrible glare or distortion while driving at night. I think it has to do with the elements inside the windshield. Secondly, the windshield cracks with even the slightest hit from anything on the road. I have had my car for 5 months and have received 6 chips to my windshield. Two of them happened when another vehicle was driving the opposite direction down the road. Three of them happened when I didn’t have a car or anything anywhere around me. One of them happened when an 18 wheeler was driving next to me with no other cars around. I’ve seen in the Kia Groups several other owners are complaining of the same problems. I don’t think these Windshields are safe. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Display screens will periodically reboot while driving. Left screen containing vehicle speed and information will come back with limited functionality after a minute or two. All safety features and cruise control as well as right media screen will not be operational till you pull over and reset them. Cruise control will turn off while driving also resulting in a possible rear collision in busy traffic. Problem is intermittent and unable to be diagnosed by Kia still awaiting resolution. Primarily happens on longer trips greater than 50 miles. Have been told by other dealers besides my primary dealer that this is a known issue that there is no resolution for by Kia. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE | Highway driving assistant will bias vehicle to the right side even when passing on left on multi lane freeway. Creates a close encounter with vehicles in right lane as there is no distance between mirrors and results in side collision with no alert. Lane keep will erratically pull the steering wheel from your hands when lines on right or left disappear e.g. ramps on freeways. Can result in a crash or collision and us very easy to notice. No results back from Kia or concerns to fix. Returned car saying no issues. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | ENGINE | Engine lost compression with around 8K miles on it. | Crash: No Fire: No | 8,000 |
| Apr 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER | I was driving to work and suddenly my front windshield cracked. Not only did it crack, but it scared me as it sounded like a shotgun had gone off. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY | VEHICLE HAS LESS THAN 500 MILES AND WINDSHIELD AND SURROUNDING AREA IS CRACKING AND SNAPPING. AT FIRST IT WAS ONLYWHEN WINDSHIELD GOT WARM WHEN DRIVING ON WHEN STOPPED AND THE SUN BEAT ON THE WINDSHIELD. NOW IT IS CRACKING AND SNAPPING MORE IT IS HAPPENING PARKED OR DRIVING. IT IS FRIGHTENING AND SCARY. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The rubber piece on the arc above the wheel popped off while I was driving. It got caught under the car damaging the under carriage. I was going about 40mph and close to my destination to pull over. If I had been going at a higher speed, or there were other cars around me, or I was on a highway this could have been much worse. I don't know how a car part just comes off like this | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | The car is currently in the shop at Jim Shorkey Gainesville Kia and is available for inspection. They have contacted me to tell me the transmission/engine failed. I was driving on interstate when I suddenly lost the ability to accelerate and was forced to get off of the highway. After coming to a complete stop I pressed on the gas pedal but the car would still not accelerate. I tried putting into park and back into drive and that did not work. I tried putting it into manual mode and it did go forward but every gear change was loud, jerky, and rough. I was able to make to my next complete stop in a left turning lane to cross a two lane busy highway that is coming downhill towards me at an intersection that does not have a traffic signal. However the car was stuck in gear 5. I was the first car in line. At this point I put other cars in danger as they swerved back into the high way to get around me into the intersection to make that left turn across busy highway. I turned the car completely off and after a minute turned it back on. I put in drive, waited until I couldn't see any cars coming down the hill and I pressed the gas pedal to test. It jerked forward and I managed to get across the highway as it shifted into the second gear it jerked violently and made a loud popping noise and there after every single gear change was loud and jerky. Thank God I did not lose the ability to accelerate in that left turn because those cars are coming at 70+ miles per hour Down that hill or my family would have been t-boned on their passenger side. I am also lucky that I was able to get off the nearest exit when they problem originally happened as I was going downhill on the interstate and the next exit was very close so my momentum got me there. I lost the ability to control the vehicle as I ordinarily would putting myself, my family, and other motorists in danger had we not been able to get off on the exit or make it through that left turn. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | ENGINE | Vehicle first felt like the tire was flat when turning. After parking and restarting the vehicle the vehicle seemed to hesitate to stay started. The check engine light came on the next day. After taking the vehicle in they said the injector was bad. Replacing it did not fix the problem. I am not waiting on approval to replace the engine at 20,000 miles. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | AIR BAGS,SEATS,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | We purchased a new 2023 Kia Sportage a month ago (January). There are several issues we’ve encountered. One week after purchase, the doors on the vehicle would lock on it’s own and we weren’t able to unlock them. The key fob nor trying to unlock the doors manually would not work. At times, we weren’t able to lock or unlock the doors and had to do it remotely from the Kia app on the phone. I spoke with the salesperson and manager from the dealership on two separate occasions. I was told to change the batteries in the key fobs, but the problem continues. The second issue is that we noticed the back seat on the driver’s side popped forward. At one point, the seatbelt warning would alarm when no one’s sitting there. The third problem is the airbag warning sign illuminating which started today. This is a major concern. The Kia service depart where we purchased the vehicle said it could be 3 months or more before they could check the vehicle. I called another dealership and they’re going to see service the vehicle next week. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | automatic wiper does not work in rain | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Bought the Kia Sportage 2023 on Saturday January 14th, 2023 and took it back to dealership on Monday January 16th, 2023 with warning lights on the dash/infotainment center saying Check Lane Safety System, check Forward safety System, and Check Blind-Spot Safety system. Today is Friday January 20th, 2023 and finally got a call at 8:27am from Justin at the service department at Kia Gossett In TN. He said they are still working on it and the tech still has no idea what is wrong and they are working with Kia to try and fix the problem but are unable to give the car back in its current condition. Makes us nervous now to drive this car once we get it back. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | The contact owns a 2023 Kia Sportage. The contact stated after his wife stopped at a traffic light, the vehicle accelerated independently and caused to crash the vehicle ahead of them. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The air bags did not deploy. The contact stated no one was injured nor sought medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to the local dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | 50 |
| Jan 2023 | ENGINE | While driving on the engine turned off without warning The car stalled in the middle of traffic. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The battery dead without unannounced. I turn the vehicle off and later did not turn it on. I was on a cold night. The vehicle was stopped and turned off when I tried to turn it on again; did not turn it on. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,POWER TRAIN | Numerous times our AWD system has failed to work at all and reverts to standard FWD, even while actively driving down the highway in a blizzard! KIA has had it in the shop a minimum of three times for this same issue since we bought it earlier this summer. Now that winter has come it’s even more of a danger! The problem comes and goes and you never know when it will stop functioning. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I was driving to Christmas Eve service and heard a very loud explosion from the top of 2023 Kia Sportage. I then started hearing air coming from my panoramic sunroof. I pulled to the side of the road to inspect, and found that my sunroof had basically exploded. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | It would be easier to explain to someone over the phone as there are a lot of details. Phone number is 8135177176 kia did look at it after when I went in for oil Change as I tried to get ahold of corporate. I tried to explain to police also. I have a screen shot on the original day where it shows in the Kia app that the problem was showing in the app at 10 am because it had not updated since then and it was around 10 pm. | Crash: Yes Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | On Aug 25th I was driving and the screens all shut off while driving, I didn't think anything of it, but a few hours later in ocala fl, cars had started breaking and slowing down, but then started again, but one lady had not started moving and I ended up hitting her I didn't have no warning telling me I was getting close to a car nor did it break at all like it's supposed to. It beeps when you park but now on dec 5 a truck cut me off and it I couldn't break fast enough but the car is equipped with safety features that aren't working and now I'm injured and they won't total my car because it's 2023, I don't feel safe driving a car I spent alot of money on and now I have no choice because I won't ever be able to get close to what the cars worth as a trade in. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed Medical attention | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | This vehicle is equipped with an extended dual-screen display. Purchased in June 2023, two weeks after purchase, the right half of the display screen keeps on and off. This can be very distracting while driving, especially at night. The KIA car dealership "BUICK GMC KIA GREENBRIER" has been informed of the defect and has performed a diagnostic. They stated the entire assembly will have to be replaced. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | For the two months I have had my car I have had problems with indicators going off on my dashboard warning to check various parts of the driver’s assistance system. I took it to the dealership three times and was told they cannot help because when they had the car for three days they didn’t have any problems and unless they get a code there wasn’t anything they could do. However, recently when it happened again I used the Kia Connect App on the dashboard to select the vehicle diagnostic, and it indicated there was a problem with the integrated breaking and body control system, lane assist, and airbags. It seems weird that the car itself is able to diagnose there is a problem but the dealership cannot. Also, the rear cross traffic control system has repeatedly come on when reversing causing my car to hard stops even though there is nothing behind my car. Then, yesterday when at a stop light the car stalled and a loud warning sound was blaring in the car. When I got the car working again the AC wouldn’t work for the rest of the trip. Each time there is a problem the problem will clear up after turning the car off for a period of time. But then the next day the problems will start back up randomly when the car is driving. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |