ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL; TRAILER HITCHES
2025 Kia Sportage
Recalls, owner-reported complaints, investigations and safety data
Data refreshed
Overview
Our database contains 49 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2025 Kia Sportage, most frequently naming the electrical, driver assistance and engine categories. 1 safety recall has been issued covering this model year; and 7 manufacturer communications are on file.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Complaint activity over time
When owners filed reports about this model year
View as table
| Month | Complaints filed | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|
| Feb 2025 | 1 | 1 |
| Apr 2025 | 2 | 3 |
| May 2025 | 1 | 4 |
| Jun 2025 | 1 | 5 |
| Jul 2025 | 7 | 12 |
| Aug 2025 | 3 | 15 |
| Sep 2025 | 3 | 18 |
| Oct 2025 | 4 | 22 |
| Nov 2025 | 2 | 24 |
| Dec 2025 | 3 | 27 |
| Jan 2026 | 2 | 29 |
| Feb 2026 | 4 | 33 |
| Mar 2026 | 5 | 38 |
| Apr 2026 | 1 | 39 |
| May 2026 | 5 | 44 |
| Jun 2026 | 5 | 49 |
What owners report
Complaints grouped by the component NHTSA recorded
- Electrical1525.0%
- Driver assistance1220.0%
- Engine711.7%
- Powertrain (other)610.0%
- Brakes58.3%
- Visibility46.7%
- Body & structure35.0%
- Steering35.0%
Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.
Safety recalls
1 campaign cover this model year
Recalls apply to specific vehicles, not to every vehicle of a model year. Check your VIN with NHTSA or your manufacturer's dealer to confirm whether a recall affects your vehicle.
Check a VIN on NHTSA.govRecent owner complaints
Reports submitted to NHTSA, shown in the owner's own words
The car seat is defective. Fraying where it is comes out of the car seat, where it is sewn together.
- NHTSA ID
- 11747512
- Incident
- Jun 22, 2026
We were getting in our car to drive home from a restaurant. We attempted to start our car like any other day, and the car started. However, our car was stuck in gear, it was in parking but also not in parking. The car was not moving, the gear was in “park”, the dot light for park was not showing, and then we had several warnings appear on our dashboard. At first it was three, then it went to six (after turning off the car and restarting again)!! The car told us to put it in park, but we literally could not move the gear shift at all. We had: check speed limit system, check high beam assist, check driver attention warning, check blind spot safety system, check forward safety system, check rear cross-traffic safety system appear in 20 seconds of car being on. This car just hit ~15,500 miles on it. To add to the strangeness, we open the Kia Access App and tried “lock” and “unlock” (while being in the car”, then turn the car off. We started the car again and it worked as if this never happened (no immediate warnings like above). Yet we did recieve a check engine light and a vehicle diagnostic on the instrument (dashboard) saying “follow-up check required: 2 (Engine Management System and Transmission Control System.)” The car allowed itself to recognize it in park gear and drive off. The Kia Access app said we experienced a UOO01F0 code tied to the Engine Control System. We never seen anything like that before. We did, however, experience a problem with the driver seat powertrain at 11,000 miles where the seat wouldn’t move. The seat was fixed by the dealership though. We are going to take the car in to the dealership to see what they say.
- NHTSA ID
- 11746853
- Incident
- Jun 26, 2026
Twice since I purchased my car, once in 2025 and two weeks ago in 2026, I turned my car off in the garage and the engine kept running. I had to start the car up and turn it off again in order for it to shut down. I mentioned that to Arapaho Kia at my last visit in November 2025 and they just said that they didn’t find anything on the computer.
- NHTSA ID
- 11745100
- Incident
- Jun 9, 2026
In November 2025, with approximately 6,900 miles on the vehicle, I reported brake issues to the dealership. After inspection, the dealership resurfaced (turned) the brake rotors at no charge. At that time, I was led to believe that the issue had been corrected. However, in June 2026, with only 14,300 miles on the vehicle, I returned to the dealership because the same symptoms had reappeared. I was informed that the rotors again require resurfacing and that the brake pads now need replacement as well. why has the same issue returned so quickly? Is there a defect in the rotors, brake pads, calipers, brake system design, or another component that has not been identified and corrected? I do not believe that my driving habits are the cause of this problem. Prior to purchasing this Sportage, I owned two vehicles from other manufacturers. Neither vehicle required brake rotor resurfacing until well over 50,000 miles, despite being driven under similar conditions. The fact that this vehicle has required rotor service twice before reaching 15,000 miles strongly suggests that an underlying issue exists. I believe that that premature rotor wear puts me and others at risk of collision. The Sportage is available for inspection.
- NHTSA ID
- 11743057
- Incident
- Jun 5, 2026
The cluster system of the vehicle lit up every warning system which prevented the running vehicle from being able to be put into drive. Safety was put at risk because I'm afraid this will happen while driving. I've seen this same concern on many Kia owner forums who describe the same issue possibly related to a faulty wiring harness. I had just purchased this vehicle that has 15,000 miles and there were no other symptoms up until this issue occurred. I had the code read and it was a generic U0001 CAM error (Controller Area Module). Kia has a recall on trailer harnesses right now and I believe this recall on faulty wiring harnesses needs to be expanded to other models and newer vehicles.
- NHTSA ID
- 11742525
- Incident
- Jun 6, 2026
While exiting the John C. Lodge Freeway in Detroit at approximately 40 MPH, the brake pedal became stuck halfway during braking and the vehicle did not stop properly on the first brake application. I had to remove my foot from the brake pedal and press it again before the brakes engaged and the vehicle stopped. This has occurred approximately seven times intermittently. The issue creates a serious safety hazard and risk of collision. In addition, the “D” gear indicator intermittently blinks while driving and the “P” indicator intermittently blinks while the vehicle is in Park. Vehicle was previously brought to dealership and issue was reported, but the condition continues intermittently.
- NHTSA ID
- 11739925
- Incident
- May 25, 2026
While driving on an open highway, my panoramic sunroof spontaneously exploded on [XXX] coming back from Prescott with me behind the wheel, my husband as a passenger, and my dog in the backseat. There was nobody driving in front, near, or behind me. I was not driving near an overpass. The incident sounded like an explosion or gunshot. My husband began to open the sunroof visor to investigate, and glass began dropping into the car. Once we could pull over safely, there was a large hole on my panoramic sunroof. My husband, dog, and I had tiny pieces of glass on us. I took my car to Kia, and they refused to acknowledge that anything, but a rock caused the problem. There are numerous news stories about this being a problem and also recalls for panoramic sunroofs from other dealers like Hyundai, who are made by the same manufacturer as Kia. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
- NHTSA ID
- 11739049
- Incident
- May 17, 2026
We have lost instrument panel info while driving twice in less than a year, it reboots while driving. We took the vehicle to the dealer and were informed there was no tow hitch as stated in the recall letter. My concern is that my car is doing what is described in the recall letter, (during rebooting the control cluster will not show info such as speedometer or warning lights), we have a blank panel while driving. So it seems KIAs diagnosed solution is not at least the entire problem. When I told the service tech at KIA we were experiencing the same issued described in the recall letter he said there was nothing he could do about it. There seems there is no way to reproduce the problem because it happens randomly and takes about 20 minutes for the system to reboot and get instrumentation back on line. I think KIA needs to be accountable to resolve this life safety situation.
- NHTSA ID
- 11738179
- Incident
- Apr 23, 2026
Manufacturer communications
A bulletin sent by a manufacturer to its dealers. Not a recall, and repairs are not necessarily free.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM SOFTWARE UPDATE USING UPDATE.KIA.COM - This bulletin provides information and service procedures for updating the infotainment systems on applicable Kia vehicles using the Kia Navigation Updater available at update.kia.com. The software update may improve system performance, enhance existing features, and apply the latest operating software for supported vehicles (2021-2026MY All Models).
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: INFOTAINMENT SOFTWARE UPDATE PROCEDURE - This bulletin provides information on the process for downloading infotainment software updates and preparing USB for installation on applicable Kia vehicles. The software downloads and USB preparation process is similar across all supported platforms; however, in‑vehicle installation procedures vary by head unit type.
ENGINE
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: CUSTOMER ACTION: ECU LOGIC IMPROVEMENT FOR DTC P2B59F0 (CA2516) - This bulletin provides information to upgrade the Engine Control Unit (ECU) software on certain 2024–2025MY vehicles equipped with 2.5 GDI or 2.5 T-GDI Theta III engines listed in the table below. Affected vehicles may experience an illuminated malfunction indicator light (MIL) accompanied with DTC P2B59F0 which can set while driving. There are no drivability issues related to this DTC.
BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS
PITSTOP: TECHNICAL OPERATIONS: EXTERNAL DAMAGE TO ULTRASONIC SENSOR: This Pitstop provides information related to Parking Distance Warning (PDW) alerts and repairs involving ultrasonic sensors. The PDW system alerts the driver while parking, by calculating distance based on the difference in signal transmission and reception times between the vehicle (ultrasonic sensor) and an object. The membrane film of the ultrasonic sensor is used for object detention and can be damaged by stone chips or foreign substances while driving. Damage to the cover of the ultrasonic sensor can also lead to damage to the internal circuit. As a result of this external damage, the PDW system may not receive the proper signal from the ultrasonic sensor. In some cases, the system may cause a false alarm, no alert, or phantom warnings by a “Warning Lamp’ to be displayed on the cluster. The ultrasonic sensor membrane film should be always inspected for external damage and if any part replacement should be treated as a general repair, not as a warranty claim repair for this concern. (Please note that this Pitstop only applies to models/trims that are equipped with the ultrasonic sensors.)
BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS; ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
RELEASE NOTES: OVER-THE-AIR: VOLUNTARY SERVICE CAMPAIGN: SOFTWARE UPDATE FOR PARKING DISTANCE WARNING (SC350) - This Over-the-Air (OTA) software update is designed to update the Body Control Unit (BDC) logic of certain 2025 Sportage vehicles. This update improved Body Domain Controller (BDC) software to remedy intermittent operation of the Parking Distance Warning (PDW) system.
POWER TRAIN
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: TRANSMISSION FLUID APPLICATION GUIDE - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. This bulletin provides information relating to the correct transmission fluid type and fill quantity requirement for each Kia model. A flush is required ONLY when a transmission is replaced, and the transmission oil cooler is transferred to the new transmission.
Manufacturers file copies of the bulletins they send to dealers with NHTSA. These often describe diagnostic or repair procedures for a known condition. They are not recalls: repairs described in a bulletin are usually only free if the vehicle is still under warranty or the manufacturer has extended coverage.
Compare model years
Complaint and recall counts across every year of this model
| Year | Complaints | Recalls | Investigations | Issue Index |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2027 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2026 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 55.8 |
| 2025Viewing | 49 | 1 | 0 | 52.4 |
| 2024 | 66 | 3 | 0 | 59.1 |
| 2023 | 184 | 6 | 0 | 62.9 |
| 2022 | 45 | 1 | 0 | 54.9 |
| 2021 | 49 | 2 | 2 | 72.8 |
| 2020 | 157 | 2 | 2 | 71.8 |
| 2019 | 69 | 2 | 2 | 66.7 |
| 2018 | 160 | 3 | 1 | 65.7 |
| 2017 | 398 | 4 | 2 | 70.8 |
| 2016 | 130 | 2 | 2 | 59.9 |
| 2015 | 146 | 2 | 2 | 59.6 |
| 2014 | 122 | 3 | 2 | 58.2 |
| 2013 | 380 | 3 | 4 | 63.8 |
| 2012 | 392 | 5 | 4 | 64.0 |
| 2011 | 181 | 6 | 4 | 62.3 |
| 2010 | 20 | 2 | 1 | 55.2 |
| 2009 | 80 | 3 | 1 | 58.3 |
| 2008 | 98 | 3 | 1 | 61.7 |
| 2007 | 77 | 2 | 0 | 53.1 |
| 2006 | 111 | 1 | 0 | 42.2 |
| 2005 | 68 | 3 | 0 | 50.5 |
| 2003 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2002 | 234 | 3 | 4 | 59.0 |
| 2001 | 228 | 2 | 2 | 57.2 |
| 2000 | 304 | 4 | 6 | 61.6 |
| 1999 | 284 | 5 | 8 | 62.4 |
| 1998 | 303 | 5 | 6 | 60.4 |
| 1997 | 181 | 3 | 4 | 65.0 |
| 1996 | 57 | 3 | 2 | 65.4 |
| 1995 | 56 | 2 | 1 | 49.8 |
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers. Older model years have had longer for reports to accumulate.