2025 Kia Sportage Hybrid Owner Complaints

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

The vehicle was being driven southbound on I135, near McPherson, KS, at highway speeds in good weather when the rear panel of the panoramic sunroof glass exploded/shattered for no apparent reason. The interior sunscreen was closed at the time or glass would have potentially fallen on the driver, thus distracting or potentially injuring the driver while traveling at highway speeds. The vehicle has not been inspected by the police as no criminal conduct is believed to have caused the glass to break. The local dealer claims no responsibility and doesn't even complete the repairs - send to a local auto glass repair company, which will inspect the glass when the new glass arrives. This appears to be a material defect or design issue as there have been multiple other Kia owners who have experienced similar sunroof glass failures, including a previous class action suit against Kia Motors for a similar issue.

NHTSA ID

11682860

Incident

Aug 24, 2025

The highway driving assist in my vehicle turns off without warning. It’s having control of the steering and speed but randomly even when the hands are on the steering it switches off with no warning. Because it has control on the steering it tries to adjust even if we are to move it a little, But when it disengages there’s no warning or indication. This is a dangerous and it needs to notify the driver when ever it’s disengaging. It either needs to have a warning or needs to be disabled by Kia through a recall. This seems to be a common problem in Kia vehicles as reported online. Kindly look into the issue!

NHTSA ID

11681211

Incident

Aug 16, 2025

My four month old Kia Sportage suddenly lunged forward two times. sudden Acceleration incident. [XXX]

NHTSA ID

11675063

Incident

Jun 23, 2025

I have a 2025 KIASportage Hybrid that I loved due to all its safety features. Yesterday I was pulling into a parking space when my car lunged forward two times making very loud sounds. I was near a brick pillar it it tore off the right front of my car. The bricks were damaged. When I came home I looked up Kia Sportage lunching problems. There are many to read. They talk about “sudden acceleration’” and that is exactly what happened. It just lunged forward. Thankfully a human was not on the sidewalk. It went up over the curb and on the sidewalk. It’s called a jerking car in articles. Even if my car is fixable I won’t trust it. If this problem IS FIXABLE, why isn’t it fixed before selling the car to consumers. I’m quite distraught about this event. Warning must go out to consumers. I called a collision center this morning and they have seen this before. On the Cars Connect website, it tells of this event on 2020 Kia Sportage. It says ‘’Violent, scared the heck out of me.” So, what is happening and why hasn’t it been fixed? I could have injured someone badly. [XXX] [XXX] Arlington, Texas INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11668898

Incident

Jun 23, 2025

My KIA Sportage Hybrid SX Prestige, bought brand new on 4/29/2025 and had 250 miles when I had transmission problem on weekend after 3 days of ownership. The car, when slowed down to about 30 miles/Hr, transmission suddenly shifted to neutral and the engine became dead. This happened 3 times within half an hour on freeway during the time of high traffic. I had to pull over and restarted the engine. I brought the car to the dealership on Monday, May 5 of 2025 and it took them 3 days to reproduced the problem to send to KIA service headquarter and today is May 29 (3 weeks and 3 days later) the car is still in the shop waiting for a new transmission replacement.

NHTSA ID

11663691

Incident

May 3, 2025

Driving home from work on 5/16/2025 and my sunroof exploded. It sounded like a gun shot then there was glass falling into my car. I had hlass in my hair and tiny cuts in my arms.

NHTSA ID

11661785

Incident

May 16, 2025

While driving, my cruise control got stuck at 110 miles per hour. Three times I turned it off and on and each time the 'cruise' speed was set at 110mph. I took it to the local dealer and they were unable to replicate the issue.

NHTSA ID

11633030

Incident

Dec 15, 2024