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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2016 Kia Sportage — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 134 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

134
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
8
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
5
Involved Fire
owner-reported
8
Injuries
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

164 complaints

70 complaints

162 complaints

54 complaints

46 complaints

192 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Engine 62 reports
Service Brakes 38 reports
Hydraulic 31 reports
Unknown Or Other 18 reports
Electrical System 17 reports
Fuel/propulsion System 9 reports
Power Train 8 reports
Vehicle Speed Control 7 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Suspension ODI 11445377 12/29/2021

the car was bought certified used from Galpin Kia which is no longer in business. That location closed down. I had gone 2 times with the same issue and they refused to look under the car & mechanic basically said chill out it’s fine. Sent me to galpin Ford to which I talked to 2 employees and In tears expressed my fear and concern yet was told to relax and nothing was wrong .…

Electrical System ODI 11498901 12/26/2022

On July 30, 2022 I took my car to Greenway Kia East Orlando due to two traction warning lights that were on. After weeks and months of Kia not knowing what was wrong with the car I was finally told that it was an electrical harness and that my warranty company was non responsive. I decided to call my warranty company and after back and forth they said they would not approve wh…

Power Train ODI 11561565 12/22/2023

When coming to a stop and brake applied car starts to vibrate. Local mechanic who looked at the vehicle believes it's the torque converter. The miles are high but it's under a the recall new engine, which technically has only approximately 60k.

Power Train ODI 11289135 12/15/2019

THE ENGINE OF THE CAR JUST DIED ON ME WHEN I WAS TURNING RIGHT AT THE INTERSECTION. UNKNOWN CAUSE WHY THE ENGINE JUST DIED ON ME. I TRIED STARTING IT, AND IT WOULD START AND DIE AGAIN. IF I START THE CAR AND STEP ON THE GAS, THE ENGINE DOES NOT DIE BUT ONCE I RELEASE FROM THE GAS, THE ENGINE DIES AND I SMELL A STRONG GAS ODOR.

Power Train ODI 11559800 12/12/2023

Blind spot. Numerous times the driver mirror is large and close to the window /door frame causing a huge blind spot as to where I've almost hit people crossing in a crosswalk, mostly by making a left turn.

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2016 Kia Sportage, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.

Check Another Car

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 2016 Kia Sportage reliable?
Owners have filed 134 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2016 Kia Sportage, most often about engine. 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.