2020 Kia Sportage ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
Car was driving, stopped at a stoplight, never moved again. 3 lights came on, Check Engine, Check Oil (Which had been serviced previously by a month and a half), and Check Battery. Bob Sight Kia has stated Engine issues associated with the rods failing and the starter not functioning due the the manifold, I am uncertain to the technical terms. It was late at night, the area only semi lit up and I had to wait for a tow in unsafe conditions as I was stuck in a turn lane. Prior to the failure, no issues. This is my only means of transport as a waitress, I had recently moved into this area and plan to move again at the end of year, so my car is much needed. From the theft issues of this car to the mechanical issues over the last year, I can honestly say I will not be buying a Kia again. What I need to know now is has the threshold been met by the standards you have set through complaints by consumers like myself and the manufacturer information that a recall or a means of financially assisting this situation exist yet? The repairs quoted are literally almost half of what I owe on the car left and I do not know what to do, but am hoping to hear from you.
I came home from vacation and found my car completely dead. We took the battery in and ended up changing this. Soon later my cars power steering and dashboard would go in and out. I took it to Mark Kia who believed it to be the alternator, so they replace this. I picked the car up and not even 20 minutes later the same issues were occurring so I took it back where then they replaced the connector. I picked up my car and about a month went by and same thing occurred while I was driving even having my car completely die while driving it. I took it back in and now they believe it to be the engine harness.
My Kia Sportage was stolen, however a couple of years ago I had the Kia Anti Theft Logic software updated on the car. I’ve been told that although it does not prevent anyone from breaking in, they should not have been able to move the car. Prior to this, the engine is running on 3 cylinders instead of 4 which has caused major issues with the car burning oil rapidly.
Update: after second opinion from another auto shop they said my car entered limp mode to prevent fire. Again, I had no warning! Kia tried to tell me the engine light must have came on and cleared itself (engine lights don’t clear themselves) and they refuse to check the recall fix of the HECU. They tell me the recall has been fixed so it can’t be the problem. Myself and my kids were put at risk as this problem causes risk of wrecks or even fires and Kia is not wanting to take any responsibility for it. These are the same issues as other Kia’s but because of my vin number they won’t even speak to me (literally, called Kia Clarksville and left a message with a woman for service to call me back for repairs and they won’t even call me back to schedule the repair - they are charging me over $6000)
Just got my oil changed 2 weeks ago and the oil light came on, checked and there was no oil, so been adding oil and it keeps burning it up, after reading a bunch of forums I see that I’m not the only one to have this issue. This isn’t the first time I’ve had this issue, I figured first 2 times were accidental but now that I’m on my 3rd time I believe that something is wrong.
My car caught on fire in campground where I was staying. Also burned up 2 other vehicles, my RV was deemed a total loss and it also damaged 2 other campers. There was a fire investigation which was ordered by my insurance and there is another mechanical engineer investigation pending. There was a recall on my car and I had taken it to dealership last year for repair. There was no warning lights.
Trend Over Time
Complaints by year
Other Issues
Common problems reported
Quick Summary
The 2020 Kia Sportage has 6 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.