KIA Motors
Reviews and Complaints

My car is a kia optima 2015 and the all of a sudden the engine failed. The car did show any alarm or no warning lights appear to let me know the engine was failing. We took the car to a kia dealership to get an initial diagnostic & they told us the car had an engine failure. We called Kia Customer Service to see if the engine failure was due to a recall issue and apparently this is not the case. Also, Kia Customer service told us that because I am not a first owner but a second owner that I am not entitled to the lifetime warranty. This has been a burden on me because now I either need to fix the engine for my car and pay it out of pocket or I need to see if I purchase a new vehicle. If I purchase another vehicle I will NOT purchase a Kia car. This was my first experience on buying a car from a dealer and even though this wasn't a brand new car I was really excited about this. I was also excited because I just paid off this car on June 2021.

The engine light on my 2014 Kia Soul started blinking and the vehicle lost power. It will not drive above 60mph. We know that you are not supposed to drive the vehicle when it is experiencing a flashing engine signal, so we called the local dealership (Kings Kia in Cincinnati, OH) and they will not even look at the vehicle until mid-October. Our Kia has less than 100k miles and is less than 10 years old, it is still covered by the powertrain warranty. Meanwhile they will not even offer us a courtesy vehicle until the car can be repaired. We need a vehicle. We specifically purchased a Kia because of the supposedly industry best warranty. Without this we would have purchased a different vehicle. I would prefer to have this problem addressed properly by Kia and would prefer not to become a loud and vocal critic of this brand in as many places as is humanly possible to drive away as much business as is humanly possible.

The radio screen is defective and peeling on the inside of the radio. The plastic is peel affecting the backup camera. A deflective part should be replaced and not fall under the mileage warranty. That is a bit ridiculous it's a radio and mileage has nothing to do with the radio. A radio that is defective should be replaced and sent back to the company like any other product. I do not want to pay $1000 to replace a defective item. This is the 3rd Kia I have owned. I forgot to mention I bought it brand new 0 miles and at 42, 000 miles the transmission went out and had to be replaced for a defective part. Kia kept the car in the shop for over a week. They offered no loaner and I had to pay out of pocket for a rental. I guess you get what you pay for now days with KIA and loyalty doesn't really matter.

On july 22, 2021 I took my 2017 kia sorento to paso robles kia for an oil change and tire rotation. After a two hour wait in the lobby, I was told by a staff member (a certain indivial whose name I will not say at this time) that I should have been gone a long time ago, the oil change should only take about 1 hour. I was told they could not find the receipt for my vehicle to check me out (charge me). Then I was told that the manager had it on his desk and had gotten on a conference call and forgot to send it to the front desk. I was told I would get a discount for waiting too long. My vehicle got parked at a different location other then where they normally park the vehicles that get serviced. After paying $75.45 I was walked to my vehicle and the same individual made a sarcastic remark as he shut the door to my vehicle. He said, "at least you got a car wash out of all this!" I told him I would have never suspected anything if he would have not made that sarcastic remark!" and I drove off the kia premises. I immediately took my vehicle to a local auto body parts and had the oil and tires checked. I was shown how dirty (dark) the oil was and all 4 tires were at 26 and 27 psi (low air on all tires!). I had a similar situation happen to me at the visalia kia and I chose not to report it, instead I chose to take my vehicle to paso robles kia hoping the services were better. Now I assume it's the same manager running both kia paso robles and visalia kia service departments.

The end of June we were traveling from Yuma toward Portland when our car lost power. We had to be towed because the light that came on showing car needed towing. My husband checked oil to find we were 3 quarts low and no oil light came on. (he filled it up before we were towed thinking oil light just didn't work.)
We were told engine problem - then the nice people at the Redding dealership told us we had to empty our car before they would look at it. I had to walk 3 blocks to get rental car in 108 degree weather then unload our car to have them look at it - we were exhausted (seniors) and hot. We were then told head mechanic was on vacation and they needed part. Since this was Friday morning they were unable to get part before Monday. We had to rent car and motel for 4 days costing about $1000. We have taken our Kia Soul, to Kia dealership for timely oil changes and all the recalls items as we received them. The dealer had no loaner cars and the hotels in town were full for small town and we had to drive several miles to find hotel.
dealer filled car with oil put on new sensor and suggested we get oil consumption test in the future. He told us our warranty was extended.
We continued to travel and found we are loosing lots of oil, we got a new oil change in Missoula and they also noted the loss of oil. Since the oil change we have had to put in 4 quarts of oil. for travels less then 2000 miles.
We just had another oil change and started consumption test with Weston Kia in Gresham Oregon.

Because this engine was a recall - no loaner car or parts with dealer, I applied to see if we could be reimbursed for the out of pocket expense and was told I would get email back. I did not receive anything. When I checked later said case was closed. You cannot talk to any one just voice mails for every number I tried

I do not feel that as a consumer who is on very limited income and has done everything to keep the car up on timely manner should have to endure all this. The engine is bad and it should be replaced after all it is on recall list, I am afraid to even drive it home to Yuma and it is our only car. We have loved it and the dealerships have been nice but it appears the headquarters do not care about the consumers.

I have all paperwork from this and would be happy to submit if asked.

2015 Kia Sorrento Poor/Unacceptable paint job. Paint Color: Snow White Pearl The paint has been peeling & chipping off the car since 2017 and has been touched up professionally whenever possible. A large piece of peeling paint was encountered and repaired on the passenger side front door pillar in 2019. The areas in question are around the roof above the windshield, front door pillars, front fenders since approx. 2017 & continues to deteriorate (chip/peel) to this day. (8/2021)

We purchased a certified pre owned Sorento with just over 12, 000 miles on it. We really like the car, and kept up with all the required maintenance. At about 50, 000 miles, the oil light came on in between oil changes. We asked the Kia of Beavercreek service department about the oil loss, and they told me that "Kia's just burn oil." Then, the oil light started coming on more frequently. We took it back to the service department, and they started the oil consumption test. It was losing 1.5 quarts of oil every 600 miles or so. We turned the car in to have it evaluated for leaks. The warranty company then asked us to pay for a compression test, that it failed. We had to wait for an inspector to come out. After the car sat at the shop for a month, we were told that we had to pay to have the engine torn apart to find the exact part that had failed. The original quote was for $1, 200, but that didn't include putting it back together. Total cost would be around $2, 600. And that was just so the warranty company could approve a new motor or not. I would be out that money, and still have a car with compression loss in 3 cylinders, and burning oil. Then we were told that there is a backorder on the engine we need, with no ETA on when it would be available. We took the car home. Now, it randomly stalls at idle. It is not showing an engine light on the dash. My wife is afraid to drive it. I still owe money on it, and can't even sell the car.

Evidently your corporate headquarter has no more authority than the average customer of Werner Kia because instill of a manager (she obviously had time issues as she put me with the first person who answered phone at Tallahasse Werner Kia regardless if he could help me or not she would be well rid of me) she put in contact with Russell (whose sole priority is to sell cars to heck with anything else) a salesman according to a phone call I got on my wife's phone while I was on phone with your corporate headquarter who introduced himself as the service manager & that he Russell couldn't set service appointments! I immediately called his number after my unpleasant discussion with Russell but only could leave a message which he never returned! My wife's appointment was at 8 AM (on time) but as they had vehicles left over from the day before it would take several hours to repair my wife's car! It is now 11:38 and counting it is pretty obvious this waiting is retaliation for my trueful review! I truly hope my review will help keep someone from experiencing Werner Kia of Tallahassee Fl. service after the sale which doesn't deserve one star!

Been going back and forth with a local Kia dealership about my engine cooling system for about a year now. I've changed EVERYTHING at this point. Sent my car in due to it over heating and they give it back to me 2x saying it's fixed for it to not even make it home before over heating. Finally (over the phone) they service advisor says it has to be the water pump. Well that part is on back order with no foreseeable date of it being available. The Kia advisor said I should just look to trade my car in. I don't have an extra vehicle or extra money to rent a car especially for an undetermined amount of time. I can't get my kids back and forth to school at this point. There should be something Kia could do since none of this is my fault but I'm the one stuck with no transportation even though I'm paying a $600 note still. Whether that be they trade my car without me having to jump thru hoops (I'm upside down on my notes) or get me a loner vehicle until the part becomes available.

My new car was recalled by Kia for a possible fuel leak. It's been 10 days since I took my car into the dealership and it is still there. I have tried multiple times to contact Kia customer service on a daily basis with no luck because they put you on hold for more than half an hour. Emailing them has been just as fruitless. I have no way of finding out when the part to fix my car will get to the dealership. I've been in contact with them and they can't answer that question because they aren't getting any updates from Kia. I have truly lost faith in Kia motors. The lack of communication and concern for their customers is really beyond belief. I can't begin to tell you how frustrating it is to have my brand new car "basically" being held in limbo because it is potentially unsafe to drive. Every attempt to get any information on the status of part or parts needed from Kia has been a total joke from their customer assistance center. After reading reviews from other disgruntled Kia buyers on social media sites, I think the only way you can get through to Kia how badly they are treating their customers, is signing on to a class action lawsuit.

I have lost total confidence in Kia and they have lost a customer who was planning on purchasing a replacement vehicle but due to their lack of customer service communication skills I will never purchase another vehicle from them.

On April 7, 2021 my daughter's 2019 Kia Forte was totaled. On May 23, 2021 Kia Finance cashed a $17, 400.00 check my insurance company sent them even though I only had a $4000.00 payoff with $13, 400.00 in equity. Over the last three months I have spoken with Kia Finance on multiple occasions, they have given me conflicting stories originally telling me the $13, 400.00 check will be issued in 7 to 10 business days, then one month, then unknown timeframe, and now possibly sometime in September. Kia Finance has been inconsistent, unhelpful and uncaring. Due to Kia's failure to issue a check in a timely manner this has created a transportation hardship which is unfair to my family and wrong! I am totally frustrated with Kia and the way they have poorly handled a fairly easy situation to rectify. Kia customers should not be treated like this and have to wait over 90 days for them to process / issue a check. This is unacceptable and Kia does not care about customers.

Kia will not honor the engine replacement due to not having the product improvement campaign done. I was completely unaware of this update & scheduled the soonest service date available (08/13/2021). (08/05/2021 is when the engine failed due to rods & bearings & engine knocking. I just purchased this car (02/24/2021 this year. Campaign was 2018. I feel there should be some goodwill here because I did not have the knowledge about the engine replacement recall nor the knock sensor update & when I did find out I was getting it taking care of until the engine failed before my soonest service appointment.

Hi,
My name is: Susanna Lang and I live in Mandurah WA. I have contacted the local Kia dealership regarding a navigation system update. I was informed that I have to do it on line. I mentioned that I can`t do it on line myself as I have no thechnical knowledge at all.
I was told that it is not hard, just follow the steps on the website. I was given : kia.com.au
I can`t even find the instruction on this site.
Can you please advise me where I can get the system update, who can update it for me in Mandurah WA if not the local dealer as they were extreamly unhelpful. My phone no : [protected]
Thank you, Susanna Lang

First off - I love my Sorento. But I keep getting helpful remarks from other motorists that my hood latch has popped. There is a prominent gap visible that gives the impression that my hood is not properly secured. I have tried to get the situation resolved at the dealership but they are unable to close up this obvious gap (see attached photos). Is there a way to adjust the hood mounting so that the gap is not so obvious?
Robert L Fillman
1878 Prestwick Drive
Orleans, ON K1E 2T4

Hi,

I bought KIA Rio in 2015 and all car maintenance are done on time. I have the car for 5 to 6 years bearing in mind that in COVID-19 situation, car was barely used for almost 2 years now.

I was complaining in my last car maintenance that the AC wasn't working and the cooler was working but not getting the temperature as low as it should be. Maintenance said we can't check it and I need to pay 1K to check AC. I also highlight that battery hasn't been changed for awhile and I might be travelling and I don't want it to have any problems when I travel. And guess what! the car didn't start on my way back because of the battery. I came back to the center and escalated then they checked the AC then they said that compressor needs to be replaced. I don't trust the outcome after what happened with the battery and I don't believe that a main component for AC should stop working all of a sudden for a car that is not considered old.
Thanks,
Sara

filed complaint yesterday checking to see what is being done. Avner Sawyer Kingman AZ KIA motors in Kingman on andy devine drive. please send email to [protected]@hotmail.com been trying to get my New KIA rtepaired started at 600 miles now I have 7500 oil change due with no service to repair my KIA. I have to give your service very poor. and will not tell other to buy KIA. Kingman you have to wait over 2 months try henderson nv they will not call back.

I bought my car in Dubai (2015) and have shipped it to the UK but have misplaced my documentation whilst moving back to UK

The car is KIA Soul 2015 (Automatic) Red and white colour

The car was manufactured 2014 Korea

I need a letter from KIA Motors confirming the year and place of manufacture so that I can register the car in the UK

VIN Number: KNAJP8149F7091704
Engine number: G4NAEH200486

I have a 2019 Kia sorento and am trying to get an oil change . I would like to know why I have to wait over a month to get an appointment for a 30 minute job ?
This is absolutely ridiculous !
This is my 3rd Kia and with service this terrible, i need to reconsider another one.
Fred Bean in Mechanicsburg Pa has a totally lousy service department with service appointments taking a month to get !

thank you for your time

Dr J DeBernardis
[protected]@email.com

Good day,

My Kia is having major engine problems. I was told by my mechanic to take it to Kia because my engine is going out and there is a recall on the engine. I took it to Kia to be serviced due to the recall on engines for 2015 Kia's. The Kia service mechanic department advised me that Kia would not pay for the engine recall due to sludge in the engine, My thought is, well of course sludge would be there if the engine is failing. I took it back to my mechanic to tell him what Kia service department said and my mechanic disagrees with it. A loop hole I'm sure Kia uses to NOT pay for a new engine. By the way they sold me a new 2022 Kia the same day. I am enjoying it, however now I have a car that is basically broke down and I still owe over 11, 000 on the loan. So frustrating! I need some options please. I can not afford to pay for a new engine. I have paid for 2 new oxygen censors, oil changes, tune up, breaks, tires, AC serviced, etc. I have taken care of this car and it is so upsetting that Kia will not replace the engine.

Can you help me with this?

Thank you,
Mary Butler
[protected]
[protected]@yahoo.com

Someone tried to steal my car, fortunately he couldn't but as result to this trial he took that part where you insert the car key to start the car ( contact ) as we call it here, I took my car to you service center here in Egypt, Cairo, AbuRawash, they checked the car and informed me it took them almost five months to deliver that part, so I'm writing to you now because this SLA is too long and really lakes to logic, I even offered to pay more fees for express delivery for this part, unfortunately they told me there in the service center we don't offer that option, I'm complaining from the SLA which is incredibly long and as well be au the staff there are willing to help and justifying everything thing that this is policy take or leave it, they are not professional at all, so I'm really frustrated from my experience although I'm a loyal customer to your brand and even marketing for it as word of mouth, but now when thing are getting complicated because your agent here Egypt, unfortunately I'll be you big detractor, my first visit was on 18th of July 2021.
My second visit was today's morning 8th of August 2021
Vin# 5544409
Motor# 602283
I urge your your urgent feedback