2015 Kia Cadenza Electrical Problems

Vehicle: 2015 Kia Cadenza Issue: Open HECU Safety Recall — Fire Risk I am the owner of a 2015 Kia Cadenza with an open HECU recall related to a known fire risk. I have been experiencing a burning smell inside the cabin of the vehicle, consistent with the recall defect. Upon contacting Kia Consumer Assistance, I was advised not to drive the vehicle due to the fire risk and to have it towed to a dealer. However, after calling multiple Kia dealers in the Pittsburgh, PA area, the earliest available appointment is over one week away. Kia Consumer Assistance called dealers on my behalf and was unable to secure an earlier appointment. They said they could "Look into a potential reimbursement of $55/day for a rental vehicle." but could not confirm a loaner. I am concerned that Kia is not treating this recall with the urgency a fire risk warrants. I WAS NOT PROACTIVELY CONTACTED ABOUT THIS RECALL DESPITE MY VIN BEING AFFECTED. I am now without transportation, my vehicle cannot be safely driven or stored in an enclosed space, and I am waiting over a week for a repair on a vehicle that could combust. I am requesting NHTSA review whether Kia is adequately addressing this recall with appropriate urgency and dealer capacity.

NHTSA ID

11726927

Incident

Mar 25, 2026

My entire Dash went Black. I could not see speed, gas level, milage. This is an extreme Hazard! I brought the car into "Crown KIA" in Clearwater to run a Diagnostic Check for 0.5 hour at $150 and they could not find the problem. I had no money to pay for additional time! I did research on this and found that this is a common problem with KIA's no matter what year!! Just because my particular VIN # is not on the recall should not absolve KIA from their duty to provide a safe reliable car!

NHTSA ID

11714783

Incident

Aug 24, 2025

I received a letter dated November 14, 2023 from KIA America identifying a defect in my vehicle which relates to motor vehicle safety. The defect in the hydrolic electronic control unit (HECU) may experience an electrical short in the engine compartment which can result in an engine fire while driving or parked. It is recommended to park outdoors and away from other vehicles. Status checks on the recall were done on 3/10/2024, 4/24/2024 and 5/17/2024 with KIA Customer Care Center at 800-333-4542 which as ot today the recorded message indicates no solution is available yet. I am preparing to take my family on a road trip in July and I am not happy about the suggestion of parking my car outdoors during Nebraska storm season.

NHTSA ID

11589376

Incident

Nov 23, 2023

I received a recall letter dated [XXX] with NHTSA Recall #: [XXX] for 2015 Kia Cadenza Vin# [XXX] . I contacted Kia's customer care number on or around January 17, 2024 as I had started having more and more electrical problems associated with this recall. My compass direction on my rear view mirror has not worked for well over a year and a half. I cannot lock my car with my key fob going on a year now. If I do lock it with the key fob, my car alarm randomly goes off multiple multiple times. Now my interior lights are not properly going off when you shut the door, and flicker when manually turning them on. The letter clearly states that a fire could happen either while parked or driving. This is my primary means of transportation, but at this point it is going on 5 months since the recall was issued. I definitely have safety concerns at this point, and feel that this has taken far longer than should have. What are the next steps to actively get the ball rolling to get this taken care of so that we don't have to move forward in far more complicated ways? Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you with an active solution. : ) INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11579621

Incident

Nov 14, 2023

Kia has issued a partial recall, NHTSA Recall Number 23V652000, but has still not established a remedy so that dealers can alleviate the problem. The current recommendation is to not park my car in a garage or near other objects. So, it is a potentially dangerous situation and the delay in Kia's finding a remedy is unacceptable. I have contacted two dealers and their hands are tied until they are told what to do.

NHTSA ID

11570350

Incident

Oct 1, 2023

There’s something drawing the battery AMPS down. This has been an ongoing problem for the last 6 months. Per Kia techs, it was my battery and grounds needed cleaning. Battery changed, techs cleaned all the grounds the problem still exists. I was informed that it was the alternator, new alternator installed. Problem still remains. A new starter installed, problem still exists.

NHTSA ID

11561995

Incident

Dec 26, 2023

UNKNOWN, for the past few weeks I have been driving my car and smelling what I believe is something burning. Once I received the letter stating the safety recall, I spoke with Kia customer service and they are not helpful on time frame of when it will be fixed. This is my only car and the fact that I was told by the representative that it would be up to me to find my own means of getting to work, or if I drove the car, it would be on me, without giving any help or refund for needing to rent/lease a car. I feel that for a recall of this matter, Kia should be responsible in renting cars to people that are driving their vehicles, as for my case, I either risk driving a car that could start a compartment fire and seriously injure myself/my family/ or others driving/walking near my car. Something needs to be done, and as the representative stated, they do not have a timeframe for a remedy to fix this issue

NHTSA ID

11560688

Incident

Dec 18, 2023

The contact owns a 2015 Kia Cadenza. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the heat was activated, and the contact became aware that the temperature gauge was inoperable. The contact stated there was no heat blowing out of the vents and the radio volume on the steering wheel was also inoperable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The dealer was made aware of the failure but confirmed that parts were not yet available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 113,925.

NHTSA ID

11558826

Incident

Dec 1, 2023

Mileage

113,925 mi

The vehicle steering wheel became hard to turn while driving. This could have caused serious accident and injury. The car also died on me while driving and impossible to turn the steering wheel while the vehicle is in motion. I then noticed a flashing light. This happened all at the same time and without notice. This could have been a major accident and I believe a serious defect as I saw too many KIA and Hyundai vehicles with the same complaints. Can this please be looked into? The vehicle next day refused to start. I paid $209.00 to get a new battery and then drove for about 1 hour, the same problem. The vehicle steering wheel locked up while I’m driving and almost didn’t turn while I going around a deep bend. Now it refused to turn on.

NHTSA ID

11501155

Incident

Jan 7, 2023

MY KIA K900 WOULD NOT START WITH LESS THAN 2 YEARS ON THE BATTERY, I WAS TOLD IT'S NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR SO I PAID NEARLY $700 TO REPLACE IT. I HAVE A HAD A HOST OF ELECTRICAL ISSUES OVER THE YEARS AND MOST RECENTLY, MY CARD WOULD NOT TURN OFF. I WAS TOLD BY THE DEALER HA I ALSO NEEDED A NEW BATTERY WITH IT BEING LESS THAN 2 YEARS REPLACED. THEY HAVE HAD MY CAR FOR OVER 2 WEEKS, THEY REFUSE TO RETURN MY CALL.

NHTSA ID

11287179

Incident

Nov 8, 2019

I WAS DRIVING HOME FROM WORK TUESDAY EVENING, THEN I NOTICED MY HEAD LIGHTS FLICKER TWICE. I THOUGHT NOTHING OF IT THEN THEY SUDDENLY SHUT OFF. I FLIPPED THE SWITCH BACK AND FORTH UNTIL IT TURNED ON. THEN 5 MINUTES INTO THE DRIVE THEY COMPLETELY SHUT OFF AGAIN BUT THIS TIME THEY NEVER CAME BACK ON. I HAD TO DRIVE 10 MINUTES TO MY HOUSE WITH MY HAZARDS. I GOT PULLED OVER BUT LUCKILY MY BROTHER IS A COP AND I WAS ABLE TO PROVIDE HIS GOLD CARD AND GOT A PASS FROM A TICKET. THE NEXT DAY I CHECKED ALL THE RELAYS AND FUSES IN THE CAR HOPING ONE HAD BURNT OUT, BUT THAT WAS A NEGATIVE. I SCHEDULED MY APPOINTMENT WITH KIA AND IT TURNED OUT THE MULTI FUNCTION SWITCH ASSEMBLY WAS FAULTY. IT STOPPED SENDING THE SIGNAL OUT TO TURN THE HEADLIGHTS ON. I ASKED WHAT COULDVE CAUSED IT AND THEY DIDNT KNOW, POSSIBLY A MANUFACTURE DEFECT LIKE THE K900 RECALLS. I ASKED IF THE CADENZA HAD THE RECALL THEY SAID NO, THEY CAN SWITCH OUT THE ASSEMBLY WHICH COST ME $500+ BECAUSE I WAS OUT OF WARRANTY. MY LUCK!!! WHICH I STILL THINK THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE THAT SHOULD BE RESOLVED BY THE MANUFACTURES/ DEALERS NOT OUT OF THE CUSTOMERS EXPENSE.

NHTSA ID

11222347

Incident

Jun 18, 2019

Mileage

78,000 mi

WHILE DRIVING HOME MY VEHICLE BEGAN TO SMOKE AND LEAVE FUMES WITHIN THE CAR. I PULLED THE VEHICLE IMMEDIATELY TO INSPECT TO FIND THAT MY KICKPLATE WAS ON FIRE FROM BELOW THE KICKPLATE. I PULLED THE PANEL OFF AND DOUSED OUT THE FLAME. NOW WITH THE VEHICLE HOME I DO NOT FEEL SAFE DRIVING THIS VEHICLE KNOWING SOMETHING LIKE THIS IS EVEN REMOTELY POSSIBLE.

NHTSA ID

11207099

Incident

May 12, 2019

Mileage

55,950 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2015 KIA CADENZA. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS BEING OPERATED, THE FRONT SEAT PASSENGER NOTICED SMOKE AND A BURNING ODOR COMING FROM THE AIR VENTS. THE FAILURE OCCURRED WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT PULLED THE VEHICLE OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND EXITED BEFORE THE VEHICLE CAUGHT FIRE. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A SALVAGE YARD AND WAS DEEMED DESTROYED. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 13,000.

NHTSA ID

10877062

Incident

Jun 15, 2016

Mileage

13,000 mi