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Kia · NHTSA safety record

2025 Kia Sportage

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

Owners have filed 52 safety complaints about the 2025 Kia Sportage with the US government. Of those, 5 describe a crash, 8 people were injured and no death is recorded. One recall campaign is open against it, covering the trailer hitch.

The most complained-about system is the electrical system, named in 15 complaints, 29% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 17,500 miles, the median across the 6 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers February 2025 to September 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

52 complaints on file

52

Complaints

5

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

8

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 21 · 40%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 15 · 29%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 8 · 15%
ENGINE 6 · 12%
POWER TRAIN 6 · 12%
SERVICE BRAKES 5 · 10%
STRUCTURE 5 · 10%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 5 · 10%
STEERING 4 · 8%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 3 · 6%
LANE DEPARTURE 3 · 6%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 3 · 6%
0 12 23

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 52.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2025 at 27.

32 24 16 8
25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2025 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2025 Kia SPORTAGE, and it is a separate question from what owners report going wrong later.

Test SUV AWD SUV FWD
Overall
Frontal crash
Frontal, driver
Frontal, passenger
Side crash
Side barrier
Side pole
Rollover
Chance of rollover 16.9% 16.9%
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard

A rating belongs to a tested body style and drivetrain, not to the model as a whole, which is why more than one is listed. A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.

Recall campaigns

1 on file

TRAILER HITCHES

25V874000 · December 17, 2025

The defect
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023-2025 Sportage Plug-In Hybrid Electric (PHEV) and 2024-2025 Sportage vehicles equipped with a 4.2" screen and a Genuine Kia tow hitch harness accessory. Due to a software error, the instrument panel screen may fail. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 101, "Controls and Displays."
The risk
An instrument panel screen that fails to display critical safety information, such as the speedometer or warning lights, can increase the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the tow hitch harness control module, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 13, 2026. Owners may contact Kia Customer Service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC359. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning December 31, 2025.

Kia America, Inc. · up to 5,046 vehicles across all model years covered

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

AIR BAGS

2 injured · crash · towed

After a hard crash from behind and then being pushed into another car, causing severe damage to the front and rear of the car (total loss), the airbags only deployed on the right (passenger) side. In addition, after the crash, the steering wheel was lying at the driver's feet, completely detached from its original position.

NHTSA complaint 11698341. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

2 injured

While driving my 2025 Kia Sportage on the highway with my [XXX] son in the back seat, we experienced a sudden and dangerous malfunction that prompted this report. I was operating the vehicle as intended driving at a safe speed in normal highway conditions when an unexpected alarm sounded and the vehicles automated braking system suddenly and forcefully activated without warning. This caused the car to come to a complete and abrupt stop in the middle of active highway traffic, despite there being no obstacle or reason to brake. The product involved is the 2025 Kia Sportage, specifically its driver assistance and braking systems. I was the driver, and my son was a passenger. We were using the

NHTSA complaint 11673910, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM

2 injured · 262,000 miles

The contact owns a 2025 Kia Sportage. There was no indication that there was an issue while test-driving the vehicle. The vehicle was cleaned by the seller before purchase. The contact stated that while driving for twenty minutes, they noticed there was an abnormal burning /chemical smell detected. The occupants /the contact, and her husband sustained nasal, eye, headaches, dizziness, and irritation occurred, and medical attention was provided. The contact attempted to ventilate the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. Additionally, the contact had a (Certified Pre-0wned) CPO warranty. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer

NHTSA complaint 11726412, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

1 injured · crash · towed

VEHICLE: 2025 Kia Sportage X-Line VIN: 5XYK6CDF0SG319130 APPROXIMATE MILEAGE: 34,000 miles DATE OF INCIDENT: September 3, 2026 LOCATION OF INCIDENT: 6140 University Drive, Huntsville, Alabama 35806 COMPONENT: Steering / Motor-Driven Power Steering (MDPS) / Steering Column / Steering Shaft SAFETY ISSUE: Sudden loss of steering control immediately preceding a collision COMPLAINT I am reporting a serious steering-related safety incident involving my 2025 Kia Sportage X-Line, VIN 5XYK6CDF0SG319130. On September 3, 2026, at approximately 34,000 miles, I was operating my vehicle near 6140 University Drive, Huntsville, Alabama 35806, when the steering suddenly became locked/unresponsive

NHTSA complaint 11763971, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE:BODY

1 injured · crash · towed

I was involved in a rollover accident and the driver's side door opened during the accident. Had I not been wearing my seatbelt, I would have been ejected from the vehicle.

NHTSA complaint 11766985. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE

25,000 miles

The contact owns a 2025 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that while performing a normal inspection on the vehicle, the body side molding from the front to the rear on the passenger’s side of the roof had detached. The contact stated that the driver's side of the vehicle had started to detach from the rear. The failure mileage was approximately 25,000.

NHTSA complaint 11762171. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Chest Clip, Buckle, Harness
The car seat is defective. Fraying where it is comes out of the car seat, where it is sewn together.

NHTSA complaint 11747512. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
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

NHTSA complaint 11746853, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
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 complaint 11745100. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Kia Sportage

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2026 27 1 —
2024 71 3 —
2023 190 6 —
2022 46 1 —
2021 53 2 —
2020 161 2 —
2019 70 2 —
2018 164 3 —
2017 401 4 —
2016 131 2 —
2015 146 2 —
2014 123 3 —
2013 381 3 —
2012 392 5 —
2011 181 6 —
2010 20 2 1

Other 2025 Kia models

Carnival 124 Telluride 115 Sorento 74 Carnival Hybrid 64 EV6 53 K5 51 K4 45 Sorento Hybrid 43

Complaints on file, same model year.

Every Kia on this site — 181 vehicles.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst