2023 Kia Sportage

2023 Kia Sportage recalls (6)

• ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ALTERNATOR/GENERATOR/REGULATOR

  Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023 Sportage vehicles. The alternator battery positive terminal nut may loosen, which can result in an engine stall or an electrical surge.

  Remedy: Dealers will inspect and tighten the alternator battery positive terminal nut, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 23, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC248.

• AIR BAGS:SIDE/WINDOW:CURTAIN

  Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023 Sportage vehicles. The side curtain air bags may have been twisted during installation.

  Remedy: Dealers will inspect and reinstall the side curtain air bags as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 28, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC257.

• ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL

  Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023 Sportage, Sportage Hybrid, Sportage Plug-in Hybrid, Niro Hybrid, Niro Plug-in Hybrid, Soul, and Telluride vehicles equipped with a digital instrument cluster containing a 4.2" LCD screen.  The instrument cluster may fail to display any information when the vehicle is started.  As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard numbers 101, "Control and Displays," and 138, "Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems."

  Remedy: Dealers will update the instrument cluster software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 26, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC270.

• SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:POWER ASSIST

  Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023 Sportage vehicles. The brake booster diaphragm may become misaligned and cause an internal vacuum leak, which can result in a loss of power brake assist.

  Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the brake booster as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 21, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC272.

• POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:FLUID/LUBRICANT:PUMP

  Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023 Soul, Sportage, and 2023-2024 Seltos vehicles. The electronic controller for the Idle Stop & Go oil pump assembly may contain damaged electrical components that can cause the pump to overheat.

  Remedy: Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will inspect and replace the electric oil pump controller, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed September 28, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC275.

• STRUCTURE:BODY:ROOF AND PILLARS

  Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023-2024 Sportage and 2022-2024 Carnival vehicles. The roof molding may loosen and detach.

  Remedy: Dealers will inspect the roof molding and replace or secure it as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 15, 2024. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC292.

2023 Kia Sportage safety ratings

Source: NHTSA NCAP ratings.

2023 Kia Sportage owner complaints (15)

• ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,ENGINE

  The contact owns a 2023 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25-35 MPH on the highway, the engine and oil check warning light was illuminated. The Kia App alerted the driver to check the engine when convenient. The accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to accelerate as needed. There was a loud knocking sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with internal rod bearing failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and declined to file a complaint. The failure mileage was 120,100.

• ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEATS

  Seat warmer started to catch on fire

• ENGINE

  It was roughly 2000 miles since my last oil change on my Kia Sportage. A spot of oil appeared in my driveway. I thought it could be from a delivery truck. I started parking my car in another spot and didn’t see anymore oil on the pavement. Three days later the low oil light came on. I had my car towed to a Mavis tire center they found that the oil drain plug was loose. They told me the car needed to go back to the dealership. They gave me a copy of a memo that they have sent to all of their shops reporting that NHTSA is investigating this problem with Hyundai and Kia vehicles. The Kia dealership is not concerned about this. The documentation for this service says last visit we did not tighten the drain plug properly and another shop confirmed that. Please check oil level, drain plug, and filter to ensure proper levels/tightness and report MISC drain plug was found loose. They observed it for two hours. They also noted that mileage coming into the shop was 61212 mileage, out of the shop was 61212. Please note they had not done previous oil change as noted in their documentation. I have a service contract with this Kia dealership where I bought the car. I stopped going there because they recommended that three of my brakes needed to be changed on March 4, 2025. In spring of 2025 I had two different mavis shops. Tell me that my brakes did not require changing. One set had 30% wear, the other set had only 20% wear. It is now June 25, 2026. My break still have not required being changed. That was not recommended Service today either.

• SERVICE BRAKES

  I have had repeated failure/wear of my rotors on my 2023 Kia Sportage X-Pro Prestige, starting at about 12k miles and recurring roughly every 3 months from there. I have had multiple dealers look at it and they keep blaming me for the problem. I am not a rough driver, I drive mostly freeway, do not brake constantly or hard unless absolutely needed, etc. The symptoms are that typical vibrating of the car when stopping and the brakes have been squeaking terribly since the first replacement, they have never not squeaked even though I asked them to address it. Neither the dealer or Kia Corporate are helpful, this is obviously a defect as multiple online forums talk about the issue consistently with this car. I had a case open with Kia to find the cause so I can stop fixing the system, but they were unsuccessful in doing so. I just want it to be fixed so I can stop wasting time and money, I bought a brand new car for the first time ever to avoid worrying about repairs for a while. Biggest regret ever and based on how I have been treated I will never buy Kia again.

• ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE

  The contact owns a 2023 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that upon coming to a stop at a stop sign, the vehicle stalled. The accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to respond, and the infotainment screen was turned off. The contact stated that the vehicle became operable after approximately two minutes. The contact stated the failure was recurrent. The local dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 48,000.

• SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

  This is a statement from my daughter: I was driving and noticed a vehicle stopped in front of me. When I attempted to brake, I could feel my brakes sink all the way to the floor. I also didn't receive an alert from the Front Collision Avoidance system or any assistance from the Automatic Emergency Braking system. The vehicle was a CPO that had always been serviced at the dealership. Because of various surgeries I have had, depending on the severity of the crash, I could have been paralyzed for life.

• VISIBILITY

  I had gotten my windshield replaced by safelite last year. On a cold day while driving to work, I went to adjust my rearview mirror and the rearview mirror came off from the windshield. It completely detached. I was adjusting it as I would any other time I adjusted the rear view mirror. This obviously left me in a lurch because I had to go to work. So I drove without a rear view mirror until I could get a replacement after the work day. This is obviously a dangerous situation to be in. I reached out to safelite because they have a lifetime warranty. They informed me that they will not cover replacement because a small piece of glass came off of the windshield which according to them means it must have been a result of force.

• UNKNOWN OR OTHER

  I have a 2023 Kia Sportage I purchased and I was driving one day and my entire cars power shut off & so did the engine while I was driving on the highway going 70mph + and when I’m driving on the regular roads as well I’ve almost gotten into an accident over this issue already once when I went to go take it into Jeffery Kia in Roseville Michigan and asked for it to be looked at i was immediately dismissed and they would not look at my car at all so then I called summit place Kia in Clinton Township where I told them what was happening I then had to wait two weeks before I could even get my car in to be seen by them when it was seen by them they did ever test on it and said that everything came back good but they knew obviously something was wrong with it because it acted up for them as well they documented it then said they were going to call corporate and see what they should do next so today I got a call and a voicemail basically saying they still don’t have a diagnosis for my vehicle they’re just going to order some new parts and put them on there and hope that they work

• STEERING

  The contact’s daughter owns a 2023 Kia Sportage. While the owner was reversing from the driveway, the driver’s side wheel collapsed outside of the wheel well at a 90-degree angle. While inspecting the failure, the contact became aware that a bolt for the upper knuckle was missing from the strut bar used to connect the control arm to the wheel bearing, causing the wheel to collapse outwards. There was rust where the bolt was missing. The vehicle was towed to a dealer, and the missing bolt was confirmed; however, a cause for the failure was not provided. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 58,901.

• SEATS

  Within just two years of normal use, the front driver-side leather seat in my vehicle has developed multiple cracks. I contacted the dealer and was dismissively told this obvious defect is considered “normal wear and tear” and therefore not covered under warranty. I then contacted Kia customer service, only to be told they “do not handle warranty issues” and that everything is the dealer’s responsibility. This complete lack of accountability is unacceptable. If Kia’s so-called “leather” seats cannot last more than two years, then the product is clearly substandard. Had I known the materials were this poor and customer support would be this unhelpful, I would never have purchased a Kia—let alone paid extra for a leather interior. Between the low-quality materials and the ineffective customer service, this has been an extremely disappointing ownership experience.

• SERVICE BRAKES

  Vehicle: 2023 Kia Sportage Issue: Service Brakes / Premature Rotor Failure / Grinding Within approximately six months of purchasing my vehicle new, I experienced brake grinding and premature rotor failure. This condition has reoccurred multiple times despite repair attempts at authorized Kia dealerships, including rotor replacement under a Technical Service Bulletin. Multiple dealerships acknowledged the issue. A Kia service manager advised that factory brake and rotor components are prone to premature failure and stated that reinstallation of original parts would likely result in recurrence. They recommended aftermarket brake components to correct the defect. Despite this acknowledgement, Kia America has failed to provide a permanent fix and continues to rely on reinstalling the same materials associated with repeated failures. The defect remains unresolved and presents an ongoing safety risk due to compromised braking performance. This issue appears consistent with known defect patterns affecting Kia Sportage vehicles manufactured between 2022–2024, with widespread consumer complaints reporting premature brake wear, grinding, vibration, and repeated rotor failure. I am submitting this complaint due to the safety implications of repeated brake failure, Kia’s failure to implement a corrective remedy, and the risk posed to drivers and the public.

• UNKNOWN OR OTHER

  I was driving on the highway around 50 mph when my car sudden if turned off. The dash said something about loss of power and to pull over. It would not start again and I had to call a tow truck.

• STRUCTURE

  I was driving and heard a loud pop like a gunshot and then the sound of glass breaking. When I inspected, the sunroof had just shattered for no reason. All the edges of the sunroof have a shatter line along them with no damage in the middle of the glass

• SEATS

  I purchased this car from a dealership. After getting home, I realized the rear safety head restraints were missing. After multiple attempts to contact and ask for this to be fixed, I don't get returned calls and have not received the replacement head restraints. I was NOT notified at the time of purchase these were missing. I will not let passengers sit in my rear seat without these safety headrests.

• ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

  When driving the cluster screen goes black and remains black until like 24hours later when buttons on the screens reappear. When it happens the odometer reading, speed reading does not appear. This issue started happening when I passed 40000 miles on the vechile