2015 Kia Cadenza 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.

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!

Engine seized. 3.3L Lambda II GDI. This is the 2nd Hyundai/KIA product that the engine has seized on me. Both with bearing failure. Neither on the list of recalled engines. You need to do a more thorough investigation into Hyundai/KIAs engines. The brands share the same power trains across the entire line up for a number of years. This class of engines has been produced for YEARS along with the Theta class of engines that you already forced Hyundai/KIA to recall. This seizure has cost me THOUSANDS and additional THOUSANDS that I am unable to pay. I was forced to do a voluntary surrender of the vehicle due to this repairs! BEFORE completing the suggested maintenance totaling over 5 thousand dollars the service tech should have warned me that the engine wasn't going to last much longer instead of telling me that the repairs were necessary and could be dangerous. The dealer and this company took advantage of me and who knows how many others! NHTSA needs to do something about Hyundai/KIA!

There are thousands of vejicles with a variant of the 3.3L V6 Lambda II GDI Hyundai/KIA class of engines on the road. There are hundreds if not thousands of complaints regarding different variants of this engine throught Hyundai/KIAs line up. All of them with seized engines. There are class action lawsuits in other countries regarding this engine. They have known since before 2015 that these engines were defective! Just like with the Theta class of engines these engines also have bad engine components. The metal that is used is subpar. These engines need to be recalled. Every owner needs a replacement engine. The little people need justice. Every day someone is affected by a Hyundai/KIA product in a major way. $11,000 dollar engine. Every service completed every repair completed every recall completed thousands of dollars invested into this vehicle only to have it fail me. Now I am stuck like many others with a car that I am forced to surrender to my lender because of the negligence of a huge corporation.

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!

While driving on the freeway my rearview mirror suddenly came down causing a Crack across the windshield. "Recall on windshield"So I looked up recalls seen there is one for a loosening windshield. I took it to the dealership he said that couldn't happen and there is no way he can take windshield off to find out due to it being cracked. It's obviously the reason why. I can feel cold air when driving on freeway driverside top of windshield now that it's cold out. I was sent on my way. [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

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 the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect. The contact stated this still does not resolve or fix the problem and does not want her or anybody else vehicle to catch on fire.

The same engine in these 2015 - 2016 Kia Cadenzas is the same engine present in the Kia Sorentos which have been being investigated for early failure, My kia cadenza stalled at 63 miles per hour on route 73 in new jersey and ever since I've been terrified of it, the dealer (Burlington Kia of South Jersey) told me this is common, and they have stingers and most cars with this same 3.3 engine in for the same failure and it just boggles my mind, I was driving and stalled at 68 while cars are flying by me all because of a known failure? Something that is common and known? I looked up what my diagnosis of my engine was when it was towed into the dealer and my searches lit up with the same problems and the same story from others, I'm just more concerned on how this isn't a recall, if it's known the vehicle can smoke overheat and stall while moving why not warn anyone? If I would of known this I could of done something rather then be put in a situation where I bought a $11,000 car with no warranty as it had only 85k miles, and it blows up in less then a year due to something that is known. The only reason I came to find out about how common this is, is because my mechanic (a secondary shop) told me this is very common with these 3.3 Lambda engines, yet kia still fails to let people know.

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!

The bulbs had originally been replaced in 2021 at the dealer. We took the car to the dealer November 26, 2024 having noticed how dim they were around May 2024. The dealer states no problem was found, lights appear to be working normally. These are HID lights. The DS1 bulb color is white, and the composite lens color is clear. The dealer has no idea what the problem could be. Called the xenon bulb manufacturer. They believe that with the bulbs only being 4 years old and the light being bright and even white(they're rated 5K) the problem is elsewhere in the electrical system. The dealer made a similar comment about their color when the car was checked. The dealer rechecked the lights 01/26/25, still could not identify a problem, and suggested that we start by replacing the bulbs, then move on from there. These bulbs retail for $400 and headlight assemblies run about $1700 ea. I advised that you cannot see much past the front of the car with the lights on and that either the high beams or fog lights need to be on when conditions dictate the use of the lights. It is nearly impossible to discern road hazards such as potholes or potential problems on the roadside within the headlamps arc.

The same engine in these 2015 - 2016 Kia Cadenzas is the same engine present in the Kia Sorentos which have been being investigated for early failure, My kia cadenza stalled at 63 miles per hour on route 73 in new jersey and ever since I've been terrified of it, the dealer (Burlington Kia of South Jersey) told me this is common, and they have stingers and most cars with this same 3.3 engine in for the same failure and it just boggles my mind, I was driving and stalled at 68 while cars are flying by me all because of a known failure? Something that is common and known? I looked up what my diagnosis of my engine was when it was towed into the dealer and my searches lit up with the same problems and the same story from others, I'm just more concerned on how this isn't a recall, if it's known the vehicle can smoke overheat and stall while moving why not warn anyone? If I would of known this I could of done something rather then be put in a situation where I bought a $11,000 car with no warranty as it had only 85k miles, and it blows up in less then a year due to something that is known. The only reason I came to find out about how common this is, is because my mechanic (a secondary shop) told me this is very common with these 3.3 Lambda engines, yet kia still fails to let people know.

On 5/2023, my ‘15 Kia Cadenza broke down due to the front right coil spring breaking. I was driving 25mph on a flat surface. After it broke, there was continual clicking to the right side of the vehicle, a loud airplane-like noise, and the sound of metal grinding. Nobody was hurt, more scared. No messages appeared on the dashboard. The coil spring breaking caused a domino effect of other damages to the vehicle’s right side: strut, insulator, speed sensor, and tire. It made steering difficult and the vehicle undrivable. The vehicle had to be towed to the nearest mechanic. The mechanic explained what was replaced to the right should be performed to the left at the same time (excluding left tire). The total amount to complete the work was $1,681.98. I received the KIA Recall Service Campaign to the front coil springs on 10/23, (5 months after). On 11/8, the KIA replaced a hood switch (unrelated to this claim for reimbursement) and to look over the coil spring work not performed by them. (See the dealer invoice). A reimbursement request was sent 11/12. On 12/8/22, KIA expressed that my claim “has been reviewed and we are happy to inform you that we are working on processing your total reimbursement” (see email attachment). On 2/1/23, a check arrived in the mail for $746.75 - not the “total” amount I submitted for. Their communication is misleading! Kia states, “this does not include other parts of the front suspension that might require replacement due to normal usage or wear and tear.” I beg to differ because the breakage of other parts of the front suspension was not due to "normal usage or wear and tear," it was caused by the domino effect which originated from the coil spring breaking. The mechanic had to get the parts directly from KIA. The mechanic tried to get the parts from third party companies, but no one was selling them anymore. To me this means there is a known issue. I am still seeking reimbursement for the remaining money: $935.23.

Major concern for the safety of my passengers, myself, and anyone around my vehicle if a frontal crash was to happen. This is due to the lack of seal/adhesive holding the windshield to the vehicle. Started as small puddling on the floormats in the front and has since progressed. While attempting to clean the inside of my windshield I noticed movement to find there is absolutely nothing holding the windshield to the body of the vehicle aside from the weight itself. My concern is; if an accident was to occur, there would be no way to know where my passengers (if they were to slip out from the seatbelts) or myself would go. The same goes for the windshield and the potential unknown damage or death it is capable of causing. Talked to the dealer on the phone and was told its not a common issue and surprised this site has only one complaint because if you can check any of the cadenza forums online you'll quickly see that probably most if not all of these cars will or have already had this issue. Which is very alarming due to the very low numbers per year (less than 10k) that were available to the US market. So since I purchased my car used; the great warranty they pride themselves on was no longer in affect since it gets shortened to a term of the amount of years and mileage the average person takes to pay a vehicle off and once it's no longer titled to the original owner the warranty is pretty much expired and kia is no longer responsible.

WHEN I AM DRIVING HOME JUST A MILE AWAY FROM HOME I HEARD A POP NOISE SIMILAR TO A BALLOON AND MY KIDS WITH ME AND I ASKED THEM DID THEY HAVE ANY BALLOONS WITH YOU ALL . THEY SAY NO AND HEARD THE SAME NOISE AND I WAS THINKING MAY BE THE TIRE POPPED BUT I DIDN'T FEEL ANYTHING IN MY STEERING WHEEL . THEN I STARTED HEARING WIND NOISE COMING INTO THE CAR. THEN I REALIZED THE SUNROOF MUST HAVE EXPLODED. I GOT TO MY HOUSE AND GOT OUT CHECK IT OUT FIND ITS STARTING CRACK ALL OVER THE FRONT MOON ROOF. I COULD HEAR IT'S SLOWLY CRACKING WITH SUEAKY NOISE WITH PRESSURE AND ITS LIFTING SLIGHTLY OVER ITSELF. WE ARE SAFELY CONE OUT OF THE CAR BEFORE THE GLASS CAME DOWN.I HAVE HEARD SIMILAR PROBLEMS WITH KIA SORENTO BUT NEVER WITH CADENZAS.NOW I SEE THE PROBLEM OF USING TEMPERED GLASS IT SEEMS VERY DANGEROUS THEY ARE VERY SHARP. I CONTACTED KIA AND THEY SAID WILL CALL BACK IN 2 DAYS AND THEY CALLED BACK BUT I COULD COULDN'T PICK UP, NO ONE ANSWER MY RETURN CALL I AM WAITING FOR 4 DAYS NOW FOR A SOLUTION TO THIS.

On 5/2023, my ‘15 Kia Cadenza broke down due to the front right coil spring breaking. I was driving 25mph on a flat surface. After it broke, there was continual clicking to the right side of the vehicle, a loud airplane-like noise, and the sound of metal grinding. Nobody was hurt, more scared. No messages appeared on the dashboard. The coil spring breaking caused a domino effect of other damages to the vehicle’s right side: strut, insulator, speed sensor, and tire. It made steering difficult and the vehicle undrivable. The vehicle had to be towed to the nearest mechanic. The mechanic explained what was replaced to the right should be performed to the left at the same time (excluding left tire). The total amount to complete the work was $1,681.98. I received the KIA Recall Service Campaign to the front coil springs on 10/23, (5 months after). On 11/8, the KIA replaced a hood switch (unrelated to this claim for reimbursement) and to look over the coil spring work not performed by them. (See the dealer invoice). A reimbursement request was sent 11/12. On 12/8/22, KIA expressed that my claim “has been reviewed and we are happy to inform you that we are working on processing your total reimbursement” (see email attachment). On 2/1/23, a check arrived in the mail for $746.75 - not the “total” amount I submitted for. Their communication is misleading! Kia states, “this does not include other parts of the front suspension that might require replacement due to normal usage or wear and tear.” I beg to differ because the breakage of other parts of the front suspension was not due to "normal usage or wear and tear," it was caused by the domino effect which originated from the coil spring breaking. The mechanic had to get the parts directly from KIA. The mechanic tried to get the parts from third party companies, but no one was selling them anymore. To me this means there is a known issue. I am still seeking reimbursement for the remaining money: $935.23.

4/2019 at 34,038 miles front drivers side spring broke while backing out of driveway. It was towed to dealer and repaired. A day or two later after driving from NY to NC the passenger side spring broke. Again car was towed to dealer. Parts were back ordered and car was in shop for approximately 2+ months before it was finally repaired. Was told it was faulty materials. Was fixed under warranty. This is a known issue in Cadenza forums online. One of many.

UPON PRESSING ENGINE PUSH BUTTON START A STRONG ODOR OF GASOLINE FILLED THE CABIN COMPARTMENT DURING IDLING WHILE THE CAR WAS IN PARK. THE ENGINE STARTED AS NORMAL WITH NO INDICATION OF MALFUNCTION. AS CAR WAS PUT INTO DRIVE AND DRIVEN A SHORT DISTANCE LESS THAN 500 FEET FROM MY STARTING POINT THE GASOLINE ODOR WAS OVERPOWERING IN THE CABIN COMPARTMENT AND THE CAR WAS UNABLE TO CLIMB A SMALL INCLINE IN THE ROAD AND THE ENGINE WAS NOT ABLE TO PROVIDE SPEED OVER 5 MPH. I WAS ABLE TO TURN THE CAR AROUND AND RETURN HOME. THE CAR WAS THEN DRIPPING GASOLINE FROM UNDER THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT WHEN PARKED AT THE ORIGINAL STARTING POINT AND A PUDDLE OF FUEL WAS OBSERVED ON THE ROAD WHEN THE CAR WAS TOWED AWAY TO THE DEALERSHIP. THE CAR WAS PURCHASED TWO MONTHS AGO AND ONLY 1,322 MILES WERE ON THE ODOMETER. A SLIGHT ODOR OF GASOLINE FILLING THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT BEGAN A FEW DAYS PRIOR AND AN APPOINTMENT WAS SCHEDULED WITH THE DEALERSHIP TO HAVE THE CAR INSPECTED UNFORTUNATELY THE CAR MALFUNCTIONED BEFORE THE SERVICE INSPECTION DATE. NO INJURY OCCURRED TO ME ONLY ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARD WITH FUEL LEAKING THE ENTIRE TOW TO DEALERSHIP. WOULD LIKE FOR NO HARM TO COME TO OTHERS IF PROBLEM NOT AN ISOLATED ISSUE. NO WORD FROM DEALERSHIP ON DIAGNOSTIC ISSUE. WILL UPDATE WHEN DIAGNOSTICS ARE AVAILABLE. *JS

Faulty back up camera. This is the second time in 4 years it needs replacing. The screen is black but occasionally the lines will be there. I had it replaced at dealer the first time. And while at dealer for the recall of windshield they told me it would be over $800 to replace camera again. I did not have it replaced

I was driving down the road going 70mph and then another vehicle swerved and struck my vehicle causing us to hit barrier and rollover 4-6 times. None of the airbags went off and me and 2 other passengers sustained injuries

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.

On 5/2023, my ‘15 Kia Cadenza broke down due to the front right coil spring breaking. I was driving 25mph on a flat surface. After it broke, there was continual clicking to the right side of the vehicle, a loud airplane-like noise, and the sound of metal grinding. Nobody was hurt, more scared. No messages appeared on the dashboard. The coil spring breaking caused a domino effect of other damages to the vehicle’s right side: strut, insulator, speed sensor, and tire. It made steering difficult and the vehicle undrivable. The vehicle had to be towed to the nearest mechanic. The mechanic explained what was replaced to the right should be performed to the left at the same time (excluding left tire). The total amount to complete the work was $1,681.98. I received the KIA Recall Service Campaign to the front coil springs on 10/23, (5 months after). On 11/8, the KIA replaced a hood switch (unrelated to this claim for reimbursement) and to look over the coil spring work not performed by them. (See the dealer invoice). A reimbursement request was sent 11/12. On 12/8/22, KIA expressed that my claim “has been reviewed and we are happy to inform you that we are working on processing your total reimbursement” (see email attachment). On 2/1/23, a check arrived in the mail for $746.75 - not the “total” amount I submitted for. Their communication is misleading! Kia states, “this does not include other parts of the front suspension that might require replacement due to normal usage or wear and tear.” I beg to differ because the breakage of other parts of the front suspension was not due to "normal usage or wear and tear," it was caused by the domino effect which originated from the coil spring breaking. The mechanic had to get the parts directly from KIA. The mechanic tried to get the parts from third party companies, but no one was selling them anymore. To me this means there is a known issue. I am still seeking reimbursement for the remaining money: $935.23.