KIA Motors
Reviews and Complaints

My wife has a 2013 Kia Sportage, that she has cherished since she purchased it in 2015. It has served her well, other than a few electrical issues. She has serviced it regularly. 3 weeks ago it began making a knocking sound. We were told not to drive it due to this issue. We had it towed to the dealership where we bought it 7 years ago, at Geweke Kia in Yuba City Ca. We found out there was a recall, that we never were contacted about in 2017. The recall was due to “machining errors during the engine manufacturing process” It continues that it may cause premature bearing wear within the engine. After the dealership checked our vehicle they confirmed we had bearing material come apart internally, thus they would have to replace the engine. They told us that it would cost us over $13,000 to repair. I recently checked the value of our car and it was closer to $5000 at the most $6000. But nowhere near the repair cost. We are extremely frustrated, due to not being notified that our car needed this recall so we wouldn’t basically lose a vehicle that we paid off. Especially in our current situation where used cars are so expensive. We really loved our Kia and were planning on staying with Kia. But at this time we are having second thoughts.

Bought my 2019 Sorento new in 2019. Complained about radio since new. Service writer kept telling me not to worry about getting the car in as it was under warranty for 3 years. Every time I take the car in for the problem, they keep saying they have to hear the problem, even when the tech was in the car and agreed with me. Finally they said they were putting in a radio, which they did and no change. It's so bad you can't turn the radio on. Showed the manager the problem one day and he went off and came back with another antenna off a car on the lot. No change, he said he had to order the mast head and would have it and would call me within 3 days. The story of my life with this guy. Checked with parts dept. and they said he does this all the time and No he had not ordered it. No I call and find out he is no longer there, so now my service adviser tells me that the tech has to see and hear the problem. Have done this many times with them. An hout before I was supposed to bring car down I get a call that the will have to get back to me as they were swamped with motor jobs. Excuse me, I have been waiting for 3 YEARS. No rescheduling from them yet. Car is off warranty in 2,500 mi.

I bought my new Kia optima 2015. I never had a problem with it. change the oil when scheduled I shipped the car to phoneix and gave it to my son Sept 2021. Car had 110,000 miles on it. I drove the car for a while in Phoenix everything was working okay

7/5:2022 : Car starts making a ticking sound

7/15/2022. Car as 118,000 miles on it. Took to the Dealer he told me I need a new engine.

The car had been running fine. I definetly changed the oil

Vin

5XXGN4A73FG369204

On July 12, 2023, I drove over 180 miles to purchase a 2023 KIA Seltos EX. The reason I drove so far is because they were the only dealership within 200 miles that had the car I wanted to buy. I spoke with Luis over the phone and made arrangements to meet him at the dealership between 9AM - 10AM. When we arrived, he met us and showed us the car. We took it for a test drive and then went into his cubicle to discuss the purchase. We waited over 5 hours for the paperwork to be completed. Once we went into the finance office and finally completed the paperwork, we then went out so I could be schooled in all the features of the car. The exterior looked beautiful; the interior was another story. It was filthy, there was even a ring left over from what appeared to be soda can on the front passenger’s seat and the rear-view mirror was so cloudy it was difficult to see out of. All the plastic that is placed inside the car from when it’s manufactured was still on and I noticed what appeared to be a burn spot on the rear of the back passenger seat. When I pointed out the burn spot Luis said, "Let me talk to my manager". When he returned, he told me I would have to file a claim to have it fixed. Mind you, I haven't even driven this car off the lot, and I already must file a claim! I was then told I could file the claim and it could be fixed at any KIA dealership. I then told Luis we were going to go and get something to eat (because by now we have been at the dealership for over 6 hours). We would be gone for about an hour, please have this car's interior cleaned so when we return, I can leave for home. It was 2:30 PM when we left to eat. We returned at 3:30PM and the car wasn't ready. We had to wait another 30 minutes. Once the car was finally cleaned my salesperson Luis left. I am not quite sure where he went, but I went into dealership and met a saleswomen named Samina. She was the one bright spot of the day. I hadn’t been given any instruction on how to use ANYTHING in the car. She showed me how to set the navigation system, how to set stations on the radio, and how to use the key. She also showed me how to charge my phone and let me know that all the doors needed to be closed for it to charge. I then drove my new car home over 180 miles away. I truly had no idea what the beeps were that I heard every time I put the turn signal on...although I kind of got the idea what it was for. I also had no idea why my steering wheel seemed to move itself. This was very unsettling for me. No customer should ever be put in this position. A couple more issues: My KIA was not linked to your KIA Access app. Many attempts were made at the dealership, but they simply were not able to link it. John (another bright spot in the day) attempted and thought it might be linked up by the next morning. When I woke up the next morning, I checked the app and it still showed that it was not linked to my car. I called John (this young man was again, so helpful even though he was not my salesperson), and he gave me a toll-free number for assistance. Fortunately, I was able to link it up thanks to your employee at the KIA Access desk. I am a retired U.S. Air Force Veteran; I was told I would receive a Veteran’s discount. When it came time to apply the discount, I was asked for my DD Form 214. At NO time was I told to bring this form with me. After much discussion, it was decided we would write two checks: one for the total purchase price of the car, and the other for the amount of the Veteran’s discount. If I failed to fax them a copy of the DD Form 214, they would cash that check too. I scanned the form the minute I got home and emailed it to the finance employee. When we originally spoke to Luis over the phone, we informed him we would be paying by check for the entire amount. We asked him if a personal check would be ok, and he said yes. Once it came time for us to pay, we were told that a cashier’s check would be the preferred method. Our bank is not in the area of the dealership, it would be impossible to obtain a cashier’s check. We offered to call our bank and have them wire the money, but Luis said that would not be acceptable as it would take too long. Luis knew we were driving over 180 miles, yet he failed to mention many of the things we would need to purchase this car. It is still amazing to me that I didn’t just tell everyone at the dealership to forget the whole thing and leave without buying.

Now I must make an appointment to take my new car to the dealership near my home, Visalia KIA so that I can have the burned area of the seat fixed.

This whole experience has soured me on KIA. I sincerely hope I learn to like my car and learn all that it has to make my driving experience a pleasant one.

Sincerely yours,

Jacqueline Cardoza

P.S. It is not my intention to get Luis or anyone else at Stockton KIA in trouble. It is hoped that they learn from their mistakes because currently, they are not good representatives for KIA.

Unprofessional my car broke down in June and nobody will help me get it fixed it’s still know how to 2018 Kia Sportage. Kia dealership in Stockton told me that they could get me into a different car they ran my credit 20 times and then at the end of the day they still couldn’t help me. They still have my car they said they were going to see it was going to be about $9000 to fix my Kia. Which I still owe one and it’s worth 15,000. Nobody has helped me I piled filed and filed complaints to see if there’s any other thing I could do with no response.

My vehicle has been in an accident well over 30k in parts. Kia does not make the parts for my brand new vehicle and or the parts are on a back order and they are unable to tell me how long it will take. It could be up over 6 months. I am still having to pay for my vehicle plus now i have to pay for a rental to be able to get to work and pay for my Kia i am unable to drive, I feel because Kia cannot provide parts for my vehicle i would like my payments stopped until parts can be delivered and I am driving my vehicle again

My husband was in a severe car accident he was wearing a seat belt he was in trauma ICU for 3 weeks he has fractured disc's in his neck 3 of them plus concussion with brain bleed my problem is the car was totalled and the air bags didn't go off if he had not been wearing his seat belt he would have died he is still in terrible shape

I have a 2021 Telluride that has been in service at KIA Van Nuys in California since March of this year. They miss diagnosed the issues the car was having, costing me several hundred dollars in unnecessary repairs, only to find out it needs a new transmission. They have not been able to locate a new transmission for this vehicle for more than 2 months now. I have begun the legal process to lemon-law this vehicle per CA law.

I have had to replace the windshield in my 2022 Kia Telluride twice in the last 2 months. On both occasions a small pebble hit the windshield and within 2 minutes the windshield split the entire length of the windshield. Upon further investigation I have learned that this seems to be a frequent occurrence with the Telluride windshield.

The first windshield broke in May 2022 and now the second was July 1, 2022.

I bought my vehicle with 11,000 miles on it the pearl white paint started peeling off at 54,000 miles a Kia dealership told me that the warranty doesn’t go over to a 2nd owner but since then it has come off all over the hood I called Kia and they told me to send pictures and get 3 estimates and I sent it to them two months went by and I called them today only to hear that it is out of the 60,000 mile warranty and it was up to me to pay for it that is so wrong! My “[protected] email is [protected]@gmail.com

I am dealing with Kia of Tacoma. The battery on my Sorento totally died. I called the dealership with the problem. They said to bring it in. I said it will not start so that can't happen. I finally opened the hood and checked the water levels on the battery. Totally dry. I filled the battery with distilled water and put a trickle charger on it overnight. The battery charged and I was able to drive the car to the dealership the next day. I said there is no way a sealed battery should lose all its liquid. They said that is unusual. They checked the battery and supposedly the charging system. they found nothing wrong.? I said that there is no way the battery should be able to dry out in such a short time. I wanted to have the battery replaced under warranty. They said they can't do that. they do not have the proper authority or clearance since the tests came up negative. They did give me a phone number to call Customer Service. I did. On hold for an hour then they disconnected. Today I decided to check battery. had to add 12 oz of distilled water. Not happy. Called again today. on hold for 59 minutes and then gave up. Looked for another way to malke contact.

I schedule a oil service for my 2020 Kia Telluride The appointment was for 12:20, i arrive around 12:10. Talk to the service guy and told him the front tire alignment was wrong. The steering wheel was not straight. They pass me to the guy who took care of it. He cancel my 12:20 appointment and made me another for 2:30. Never told me, every time I ask him the oil change was done. Came to found out nothing was done to the car. 3;00 o'clock came and nothing. I ask for my car because I miss a doctor appointment. No communication with the customer at all. Very poor service. not a free oil change. please help [protected]. thanks This was at City Kia Orlando Greates on Orange Blossome Trail, Orlando Florida

Purchased this lovely van used in 2018 (I think) w/ low mileage. By time we finished paying it off in 2021, it cost us maybe $22 k. We started having oil pressure issues in Oct. of 2021... of course as soon as it's paid off and the 60 k mileage warranty is passed! We contacted Motion Kia in Hackettstown and they wanted $400 to diagnose it and $20 k for a new engine. Of course we couldn't see spending $40 k for a used van! Then we get a letter in Feb. 2022 stating that the oil pressure switch was faulty and the mileage warranty was extended to 150 k miles / 15 years... neither which has been exceeded. But after the switch was replaced, the damage was done w/ the low oil pressure all these months. They are still saying it needs a new engine!

This is an LX with SWP paint that has peeled down to the metal, on the hood and both bars on either side of the windshield. The vehicle has less than 75,000 miles on it and should not be losing any paint, let alone chunks of paint. I called the Kia line and yet there isn't a recall? This vehicle is now subject to rust and corrosion and Kia won't take responsibility for repair.

VIN 5XYKT3A61FG566949

I bought a Kia 2014 Sorento brand new in August of 2013. Around 2017, the pearl white paint began chipping away. Starting right above the windshield and continued to spread. I am retired now, but I do not like to drive this car because of the terrible appearance. It is embarrassing to say the least. I took to a local body shop for an estimate. $3400,00 is out of my range as a retired educator. I plead for Kia Motors to pay for at least half of the cost. This is my third sand last Kia I shall ever own. This car has had many recalls.

I have had engine issues with my Soul. The company will not help and due to sending a letter I did not receive they will not assist. The car is having Cat issues, heats up to 1400 in less than a mile and will catch on fire if I continue to drive the car. There is a class action lawsuit that covers this but they will not honor this lawsuit and the terms. I am still paying on this vehicle, can not get it fixed, can not trade it in and can not afford another one. I am essentially without a vehicle thanks to Kia's shotty parts and terrible customer service.

May 28th 2022 on our way home our vehicle started to make a weird noise we pulled over immediately and got it towed to our nearest Kia dealership. The dealership told us the engine has failed and we were suppose to get a software updated on the car. Well we never received the notice so we were not aware of any update we should of received. The vehicle stalls and jerks at times and we’ve been taking it to Kia to rectify that issue. We called the corporate office and spoke to Randy he basically told us we are out of luck. We explained that we never received the letter and explained that the dealership is saying that this is a Kia issue. He basically told me if take my car Kia to get serviced I wouldn’t have this issue. Well sorry that I can’t always afford to do that. Kia needs need to take responsibility of their faulty engines.

I purchased my 2016 KIA Soul! on June 21, 2018 with 38,706 miles. it has operated flawlessly until May 26, 2022. On that day, I took a trip from Plano, TX to Marietta, OK and returned. Before I got home, I made a quick stop where I turned off and exited the vehicle. Five minutes later, when I re-entered the car and started it, after a few seconds it started shuddering and then stopped. I immediately tried starting it again but it immediately shuddered and stopped. I looked both times to see if the "Check Engine" light was on but it didn't come on. I waited 5-10 minutes to start the car and it started, with no shudders and it continued running.

I was able to get the car home and once I parked it, I turned the car off, waited a few minutes and then started it again. It started beautifully and ran until I turned it off.

It continued to run without incident until June 2, 2022. I was out running a number of errands. On my last stop before heading home I got out, took care of my business and entered the car. I started it and after a few seconds it shuddered and then stopped. I looked at the dash for the "Check Engine" light but it did not come on. Again, I waited 10 minutes and was able to get the car home. On June 3 I took my car to a KIA dealership where I had KIA essentials service (oil change, tire rotation, multi-point inspection, etc) performed on May 24, 2022. They kept the car until end of day June 4, 2022. They ran a complete diagnostics to see if there were any codes stored in memory and there wasn't. There was no charge, so I took the car home.

I decided to take the car to Pep Boys where they did a complete diagnostics, they couldn't find anything.

I took the car back to KIA on June 17, and they suggested several possible solutions (with no guarantee). These suggestions included Fuel Induction Service, Replace Dirty Cabin Air Filter, Replace AGM Battery and Replace Crank Shaft Position Sensor. I decided to have the Crank Shaft Position Sensor at a cost of $462.62.

I picked up the car on June 22nd and the car ran smoothly. I made a quick stop at Kroger's which was about 3 miles from the dealership. I noticed as I was about to turn off the car, it shuddered a little. I went into the store and when I got back into the car I tried starting it - it shuddered and stopped. At the time it was about 100 degrees. I waited 10 minutes and tried, the same results (shuddered and stopped). I waited 20 minutes and then 30 minutes - same results.

I called AAA and had the car towed to my home. I tried starting it later that evening but it shuddered and stopped. Finally, the next morning (June 23) I started the car and it started.

At this point I don't trust the car. How can I get it fixed if there aren't any codes to chase down the problem? I'm not going to throw good money after bad. Where can I get resolution?

There is peeling paint on my 2015 Kia Sorrento, SUV, big space on hood, smaller ones on side. I was left this vehicle after my mother died in October 2021. I have photos on my phone that the transporter is on his way and I will get more pictures when it gets to North Carolina.

I have had this car for less than a year. I bought this car MAINLY for the security features. Ever since I bought I have had troubles with the screen. Inconsistent, but often, the screen fritzes out. Freezes. Screens overlap. The maps crash. The bluetooth or CarPlay disconnects, buttons dont work... THIS IS DANGEROUS! I have had to pull over many times just to turn off the car and reset the connetion. Ed Voyles Kia has been nonchalant about the whole thing and has pushed my service appointment months away because they believe its a non-issue, and not as important as others. I am still paying off this car, and I want to throw it in the river. If I had a choice, I would NOT get this car again or deal with Kia.