2025 Kia Sportage Hybrid

My 2025 Kia Sportage Hybrid SX-Prestige AWD has experienced two recent episodes of significantly reduced acceleration despite accelerator input. The first occurred approximately 3-4 days before November 2, 2026, while driving downhill. The vehicle did not accelerate normally. I did not observe a warning beforehand. The second occurred on November 2, 2026, less than half a mile after leaving home. The vehicle again failed to respond properly to accelerator input and displayed a limited-power warning on the instrument cluster. I pulled over, stopped and restarted the vehicle. It subsequently appeared to operate normally. Separately, for several months, the AWD Lock and downhill-control indicators have activated intermittently without my selecting those functions. It is unknown whether these symptoms are related to the acceleration failures. Unexpected loss of acceleration creates a potential collision hazard, particularly when merging into traffic, crossing intersections or maintaining speed among other vehicles. The cause is unknown. The vehicle has approximately 38,000 miles. No diagnosis or repair has yet been completed for these incidents. An appointment is scheduled with an authorized Kia dealership for November 6, 2026. Kia Corporate was notified on November 2, 2026, and a case was established. As of November 4, I have not received a technical explanation or safety guidance. I request that these intermittent acceleration failures and unexplained system activations be evaluated as potential vehicle safety defects.

NHTSA ID

11775596

Incident

Nov 2, 2026

On [XXX] in West Danville, Vt, leaving [XXX] onto [XXX], we experienced complete brake failure, the brake pedal sank completely to the floor, allowing the vehicle to roll into a high traffic route before the manual caught at the bottom. This created the potential for a catastrophic impact situation. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11773628

Incident

Oct 24, 2026

Horn stopped working

NHTSA ID

11739766

Incident

May 11, 2026

Two occurrences. First, it was sprinkling rain when breaking before a stop sign at an intersection near my job, with no stop for oncoming traffic. I drove over a bump and it’s as if the car got confused and didn’t want to stop. I had to release the brake and slam on the brakes to stop. Second, same situation different location and no rainy weather. Hit a bump while coming to a stop light at the intersection and it was as if the car lost traction and couldn’t grasp correctly to break safely. Instead it felt like it skidded to a stop.

NHTSA ID

11738001

Incident

May 13, 2026

The hybrid system completely failed and ev battery completely discharged. That issue is a major safety concern and I no longer feel confident driving myself and my child in that vehicle. I was on a hilly 55mph County Road, with few turn offs, when the hybrid system failed, resulting in a loss of acceleration, power steering, power brakes and heat. Check engine light, Oil Light and battery light illuminated while entire dash display started flashing red with critical fault message. The vehicle then went into limp mode. Dash showed that hybrid battery was completely discharged and warning message displayed saying vehicle would shut off in 5 minutes. Able to restart after a few minutes, but warning light said vehicle had to be left in park and vehicle started shuddering hard. It was a frightening few minutes trying to get to a safe place to turn off and park with the dashboard flashing red. The vehicle had to be towed to the dealership. The vehicle would not go into neutral and the tow company had to drag the vehicle with wheels locked onto the flatbed. The Kia dealership service department states both the wiring harness and wiring fuse box need to be replaced as a result of the hybrid system failure. I have reached out to Kia Customer Care and currently have a case opened with Kia that has been escalated. Prior to the hybrid system failure, after vehicle was at dealership for routine maintenance, a code P052400 appeared and vehicle had to return to service dept to address code. That code was NOT present when vehicle went in for its routine oil change and tire rotation. I still do not have my vehicle back. It has been at the dealership in service since December 1, 2025. According to the service department, the parts needed are on backorder with no ETA.

NHTSA ID

11709553

Incident

Dec 1, 2025

While driving home today, Sunday, October 6, 2025 in my BRAND NEW Kia Sportage with 1,325 miles on it, I stopped in traffic and my car refused to move forward. Suddenly, multiple alerts popped up on the screen: Ultrasonic sensor error or blockage, check blind spot safety, ABS, and eventually: U010100, U100387 and C161287. My car eventually lost complete power, I was unable to start it, and when started, it would not shut off. I had to call the police and have a tow truck sent out to tow the car home. Yesterday, while backing up, my car also stopped suddenly with a warning that there was something behind my car, when there was nothing. This had happened once, but I thought maybe I was too close to another car and didn't realize it. This is the second time that I've had MAJOR issues with a Kia. Recently, I had to sell my 2025 Kia Niro back to the dealer because I received several warnings including: P090B78. The Niro would not accelerate, often jerked forward, and veered to the left. After almost a year of complaints, they finally agreed to buy the car back and I leased the Kia Sportage. The Niro needed a huge amount of work, though they wouldn't tell me what was replaced ultimately. Thankfully no one was hurt and I was able to get the car towed, but the fact that this has happened with two brand new cars from Kia is incredibly concerning.

NHTSA ID

11695673

Incident

Oct 26, 2025

I have a hybrid and 4 times now since we've owned it I experienced a lag during the transition from electric to gas power when I am stopped and try to move again (example at a stop sign or traffic light), which followed by a sudden, lurching acceleration when the gas does finally kick in. It's almost caused me to hit a car infront of me once and side swipe a car that was passing as I was making a turn because I wasn't expecting it to do that the 1st time it happened. It doesn't do it consistently just randomly as I said its only happened to me 4 times and I'm the only one that drives the car and we've had it since July 2025 I believe and it has under 4000 miles on it at this point.

NHTSA ID

11694905

Incident

Oct 21, 2025

On [XXX], at approximately [XXX], while driving my 2025 Kia Sportage with the lane assist system engaged in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, near the AT&T building at [XXX] , the system suddenly jerked the steering wheel sharply to the right while I was crossing an intersection. I had my hands on the wheel, but the force was so strong it felt as if someone else had grabbed it and tugged it hard. Despite trying to react immediately, the car slammed into a guardrail. This was an extreme safety issue, especially since I am [XXX]. The incident caused significant vehicle damage, leaking fluid, and left me stranded on the side of the road in unsafe heat conditions without being able to keep the car running for air conditioning. No warning lights appeared before the failure. The system appeared to malfunction without cause. This unexpected steering correction created a serious risk to my safety and the safety of others on the road. I trusted this safety feature, but instead it caused an accident. The vehicle is available for inspection by Kia, insurance, or investigators. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11685891

Incident

Sep 8, 2025

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: WARRANTY EXTENSION CAMPAIGN: REAR SHOCK ABSORBER INSPECTION & REPLACEMENT (WTY047) - This bulletin provides information associated with the ‘Warranty Extension Program’ (WTY047) to inspect, and if necessary, replace one or both left and right rear shock absorber assemblies on certain 2023-2025MY Sportage (NQ5), Sportage Hybrid (NQ5 HEV), and Sportage Plug-in Hybrid (NQ5 PHEV) vehicles listed in the table below and were originally sold or are currently registered in one of the 28 states where heavy amounts of road salt are used. The 28 states where heavy amounts of road salt are used are: AK, CT, DC, DE, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SD, UT, VT, WI and WV. The warranty coverage for repairs related to the replacement of the rear shock absorbers due to corrosion or oil leakage will be extended from 5 years / 60,000 miles to 7 years / 90,000 miles, whichever comes first, starting from the date the vehicle was first put into service.

WARRANTY EXTENSION CAMPAIGN: OWNER NOTIFICATION (WTY047) - This document is the owner notification advising that Kia is extending the New Vehicle Limited Warranty coverage to owners for certain repairs related to oil leakage from the rear shock absorbers on the following vehicles that were originally sold in or are currently registered in states where heavy amounts of road salt are used on certain 2023-2025 MY Sportage vehicles manufactured from December 15, 2021 through January 21, 2025, certain 2023-2025 MY Sportage Hybrid (HEV) vehicles manufactured from March 2, 2022 through January 25, 2025, and certain 2023-2025 MY Sportage Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) vehicles manufactured from June 16, 2022 through January 22, 2025.

WARRANTY EXTENSION CAMPAIGN: REIMBURSEMENT FORM (WTY047) - This document is a Reimbursement Request form that was mailed with the customer letter advising them to submit the form if they had paid for repairs for this same matter prior to the warranty extension campaign program launch.

WARRANTY EXTENSION CAMPAIGN: REIMBURSEMENT FORM (WTY047) - This document is a Reimbursement Request form that was mailed with the customer letter advising them to submit the form if they had paid for repairs for this same matter prior to the Warranty Extension Campaign program launch.

WARRANTY EXTENSION CAMPAIGN: DEALER PARTS AND SERVICE MANAGER MEMO (WTY047) - This document is the announcement to dealer Parts and Service managers advising that Kia is extending the New Vehicle Limited Warranty coverage to owners for certain repairs related to oil leakage from the rear shock absorbers on the following vehicles that were originally sold in or are currently registered in states where heavy amounts of road salt are used on certain 2023-2025 MY Sportage vehicles manufactured from December 15, 2021 through January 21, 2025, certain 2023-2025 MY Sportage Hybrid (HEV) vehicles manufactured from March 2, 2022 through January 25, 2025, and certain 2023-2025 MY Sportage Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) vehicles manufactured from June 16, 2022 through January 22, 2025.

WARRANTY EXTENSION CAMPAIGN: DEALER PRINCIPAL MEMO (WTY047) - This document is the announcement to the dealer principals advising that Kia is extending the New Vehicle Limited Warranty coverage to owners for certain repairs related to oil leakage from the rear shock absorbers on the following vehicles that were originally sold in or are currently registered in states where heavy amounts of road salt are used on certain 2023-2025 MY Sportage vehicles manufactured from December 15, 2021 through January 21, 2025, certain 2023-2025 MY Sportage Hybrid (HEV) vehicles manufactured from March 2, 2022 through January 25, 2025, and certain 2023-2025 MY Sportage Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) vehicles manufactured from June 16, 2022 through January 22, 2025.