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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2010 Kia Sportage — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 20 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

20
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
3
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
0
Involved Fire
owner-reported
6 / 1
Injuries / Deaths
across all reports
Years to Avoid

Kia Sportage — Complaints by Model Year

Years flagged AVOID have at least twice this model's average complaint count — the strongest public-data signal of a bad year.

20 complaints

181 complaints

392 complaints

381 complaints

124 complaints

146 complaints

134 complaints

401 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Service Brakes 7 reports
Hydraulic 4 reports
Air Bags 4 reports
Seat Belts 3 reports
Unknown Or Other 2 reports
Electronic Stability Control (esc) 2 reports
Power Train 2 reports
Engine 2 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Air Bags ODI 10556636 12/19/2013

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 KIA SPORTAGE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE PASSENGER'S SIDE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, WHO STATED THAT THE PASSENGER OCCUPANT SEAT SENSOR AND THE DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT TENSION SENSOR WERE BOTH DEFECTIVE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 83,000.

Engine ODI 11560288 12/15/2023

The contact owns a 2010 Kia Sportage. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V652000 Service Brakes, Hydraulic however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that the parts are not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall rep…

Service Brakes ODI 11557840 12/01/2023

The contact owns a 2010 Kia Sportage. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time fo…

Power Train ODI 10486083 11/26/2012

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 KIA SPORTAGE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE KEY BECAME STUCK IN THE IGNITION AND HE WAS ABLE TO SHIFT THROUGH THE GEARS WITHOUT DEPRESSING THE GEAR SHIFT BUTTON. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A MECHANIC. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED ABOUT THE ISSUE. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 62,619.

Seat Belts ODI 11144546 10/31/2018

I FILED A COMPLAINT BEFORE KIA CALLED AND SAID THEY WOULD REPLACE SEAT BELT AS A COURTESY BUT I WOULD HAVE TO PAY LABOR, DEALER SAID A MOUSE CHEWED IT, I HAD 2 PEOPLE LOOK AT IT AND IT IS FRAYED, ONLY ONE, NO OTHER SEAT BELT, COAT, TOWELS, WALMART TOTES NOTHING NOT EVEN THE PAPERS THAT CAME WITH CAR AND I AM THE ONLY ONE THAT DRIVES IT EXCEPT FOR DEALERSHIP MECHANICS. I AM NOT…

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2010 Kia Sportage, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.

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Problems Checker

Any year, make and model: open the Car Problems Checker. Data: NHTSA (US DOT, public domain), cached up to 7 days.

Questions

FAQ

Is the 2010 Kia Sportage reliable?
Owners have filed 20 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2010 Kia Sportage, most often about service brakes. Compare the complaint counts across model years above — a year with far more complaints than the model's average is the strongest 'avoid' signal in public data.
Which Kia Sportage years should I avoid?
The rule of thumb used by analysts: a model year whose complaint count is well above the model's own average (we flag 2× or more) usually had a real manufacturing or design problem — not just noisy reporting. Use the year-by-year strip on this page.
Where do these complaints come from?
Directly from NHTSA, the US government road-safety agency. Any owner can file a Vehicle Owner Questionnaire; NHTSA publishes them as public domain data. We cache each lookup for up to 7 days.
Do complaints mean a recall is coming?
Sometimes. NHTSA opens defect investigations when complaint patterns emerge, and investigations can end in recalls. Check the recalls page for this vehicle to see what has already been recalled.