2023 Kia K5 Powertrain (other) Problems

I’m loosing power when i drive

NHTSA ID

11694906

Incident

Oct 22, 2025

While driving at about 70 MPH the right rear tire locked up temporarily causing loss of control of the vehicle. Luckily there were not other cars around as the car was in 3 lanes prior to coming to a complete stop. If this happened in traffic it could have caused a significant accident. There were no warning lamps on dash before or after the incident. After inspecting vehicle on side of road I could not see any issues. Drove about 15 yards and heard a grinding noise. Vehicle was towed to dealership. Dealership has inspected vehicle and advised it was caused by a failed awd coupler. The repair will be covered by warranty.

NHTSA ID

11689946

Incident

Sep 23, 2025

My 2023 Kia K5 GT (VIN: [XXX]) is experiencing a dangerous complete power loss at highway speeds. I was driving at the speed limit on [XXX] when the vehicle lost propulsion, entered limp-home mode, and illuminated every warning lamp. This has happened six times since purchase. The car is currently parked, and I am not confident enough to drive the car; I nearly missed a crash pulling into the emergency lane from the leftmost lane to the rightmost lane. After losing power in the engine, that was a traumatizing experience. I tried to explain this to people multiple times at different service centers, but they care less: "We can't fix it unless we can reproduce it," but this happens randomly; I cannot make it happen at the service center. This matches the recall SC250 symptoms exactly, though my VIN is excluded. I have tried with Multiple dealers before, but they cannot fix it. They say, "We cannot fix it unless we can reproduce it." INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11664652

Incident

Jun 2, 2025

2023 Kia K5 GT1, once at 16k miles and now again at 26k miles, while driving, the dashboard console flickered on me and the car lost complete acceleration and power, fortunately on urban roads or else would have been extremely unsafe and dangerous if high speed, especially since I have a child. Pulled over and turned off vehicle, and turned back on acceleration regained but check engine light remains solid. Took it to dealer at 16k miles and they checked it out and just reset the codes, advised if it happened again to bring it back right away. I am aware of the open recall on this Kia model, but my specific vehicle VIN is not impacted. However, I suspect the sudden power loss issue is the exact same issue. This is an extremely dangerous and unsafe issue with this vehicle, particularly if you have kids or are driving high-speeds on the highway!!!!

NHTSA ID

11651455

Incident

Mar 27, 2025

The contact owns a 2023 Kia K5. The contact stated while driving at approximately 70 MPH, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted, shuddered, and there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. The Electronic Stability Control Warning Light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 18,000.

NHTSA ID

11646614

Incident

Oct 5, 2023

Mileage

18,000 mi

One day I was driving and my car began to shake really bad. It doesn’t transition smoothly when switching gears in transmission. Sometimes it doesn’t accelerate and I’d have to floor the gas to get it going. Rough acceleration. Car would even shake in idle sometimes. It has been doing this ever since. One day it’ll shake, the next day it might not. It doesn’t matter if I drive slower or faster, the car still shakes, has rough to no acceleration, and shifts gears roughly. Engine light is on and is reading misfire of cylinder 3.

NHTSA ID

11613925

Incident

Aug 1, 2024

Transmission is itself in neutral while driving. Resulting in irratic RPMs, hesitating acceleration and rough transition to gears. Took care into dealership service department. They seemed that I would need a transmission replacement. Kia approved the request. Still waiting on transmission to be put in.

NHTSA ID

11609954

Incident

Jul 9, 2024

The contact owns a 2023 Kia K5. The contact stated that while driving on several occasions at various speeds, while the transmission was changing gear, the vehicle hesitated and jerked abnormally. The vehicle was taken to a dealer however, the failure could not be replicated. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 34,000.

NHTSA ID

11608506

Incident

Sep 7, 2023

Mileage

34,000 mi

WHEN DRIVING MY CAR WILL SEND OFF ALL DASHBOARD LIGHTS, SOUNDS. LOSE ACCELERATION. PULL OVER, RMPS FLY UP AND WON. TURN CAR OFF AND TURN BACK ON TO REGAIN ACCELERATION. ENGINE LIGHT REMAINS ON. I KNOW THERE IS A RECALL FOR THIS FOR MY EXACT CAR TYPE, BUT THE RECALL DOES NOT SHOW UP UNDER MY VIN. AFTER A PHONE CALL WITH NHTSA, I WAS TOLD TO REPORT MY VEHICLE TO THE WEBSITE. MY SAFETY AND OTHERS IS AT RISK FOR OBVIOUS REASONS. THIS CAN EASILY CAUSE A CRASH. THIS HAPPENED ONCE AT 5K MILES, DEALERSHIP SUPPOSEDLY FIXED IT. BUT IT HAPPENED AGAIN THE OTHER DAY AT 19K MILES. THERE ARE NO WARNINGS PRIOR TO MY VEHICLE GOING INTO SAFE MODE.

NHTSA ID

11563677

Incident

Jan 3, 2024

Received an oil change as part of normal service schedule on a 2023 Kia K5 vehicle purchased August of 2022 (from different dealership). 4 days after this service was conducted, the drain plug in the oil system of the vehicle fell out of my car, therefore draining my vehicle of the oil it needs to operate normally, causing the car to completely stall near my home. I had to pay out of pocket at a nearby Express Oil Change facility to have a new drain plug and oil put into car, after which I immediately brought my vehicle back to this dealership to ascertain what happened. This is the SECOND time this same exact issue has occurred with my vehicle (the first time occurring after an oil change at a different Kia dealership in Charlotte, NC), which I brought to my service advisor's attention prior to them beginning the oil change service. I expressed to this service department that I am extremely concerned there is something malfunctioning or defective within the vehicle that has caused this issue TWICE in an almost-new vehicle, and that I was now concerned there could be possible damage to my engine from this reoccurring issue. The service department at Kia Wesley Chapel did absolutely nothing to address my concerns or the issue other than replacing the drain plug (yet again). This Kia service department, and KIA overall, refuses to recognize or admit to any issue within the vehicle, and I was told to "wait and see if it happens again".

NHTSA ID

11536967

Incident

Aug 5, 2023

My wife was driving down the highway with her cruise control set to 75. She noticed she was only doing 71 and pushed the gas pedal manually. The rpm's increased to between 4000-5000 but there was no acceleration with the car. The car then dropped to 68 mph and would not accelerate at all. After pulling over and turning the car off and then restarting it started working ok. This seems to match the transmission recall of the 2023 Kia K5 GT-Line but this car is not currently included in that recall. This recall should be investigated and possibly expanded.

NHTSA ID

11502507

Incident

Jan 18, 2023