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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2017 Kia Sportage — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 402 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

402
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
14
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
28
Involved Fire
owner-reported
19
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

402 complaints

164 complaints

70 complaints

162 complaints

54 complaints

46 complaints

192 complaints

73 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Engine 221 reports
Unknown Or Other 69 reports
Electrical System 62 reports
Power Train 41 reports
Service Brakes 25 reports
Structure 24 reports
Fuel/propulsion System 21 reports
Vehicle Speed Control 18 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Chest Clip ODI 11633266 12/30/2024

While removing the padding of my daughters car seat to wash I discovered that one of the straps is cut/ripped almost halfway through. It appears that the same issue is starting on the other strap. The seatbelt harness strap is cut/ ripped halfway through. This could have resulted in serious injury or even death if we had been in an accident. I’ve contacted the manufacture bu…

Engine ODI 10938503 12/29/2016

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 KIA SPORTAGE. WHILE DRIVING 60 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE RECURRED ON ANOTHER OCCASION WHILE DRIVING 50 MPH. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO BE REPAIRED, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS DIAGNOSED AS HAVING A FAULTY SPARK PLUG AND THE ENGINE WAS REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS …

Electrical System ODI 11562438 12/28/2023

I was driving home on i-91 S when my car started smoking from under the hood. There were no warning lights and the temperature gauge read normal with the lever at the center. I pulled off at the next Exit and parked in a parking lot. I popped the hood and found that a fire had started around the engine. The fire grew to the point that the whole front half of the car was burned…

Electrical System ODI 11385291 12/28/2020

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 KIA SPORTAGE. THE CONTACT STATED THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE ENGINE CONSUMED OIL VERY QUICKLY. ADDITIONALLY, WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE VIBRATED ABNORMALLY. THE CONTACT STATED THE VEHICLE FAILED TO ACCELERATE AS DESIGNED. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT WHILE ATTEMPTING TO PARK, THE VEHI…

Fuel/propulsion System ODI 11057245 12/28/2017

ON NOVEMBER 16, 2017 I PICKED UP MY DAUGHTER FROM SCHOOL, SHE ASKED ME TO TURN ON THE HEATER THAT SHE WAS COLD, WHEN I TURNED ON THE HEATER, WITHIN A MINUTE THE WHOLE CAP OF MY KIA SPORTAGE WAS ENGULFED IN A TERRIBLE GAS ODOR, WHICH BOTH MY DAUGHTER AND I BECAME DIZZY AND NAUSEA. I IMMEDIATELY OPENED ALL THE WINDOWS AND DROVE A SHORT WAY TO MY PARENTS HOUSE. I DROVE MY SPORTAG…

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2017 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 2017 Kia Sportage reliable?
Owners have filed 402 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2017 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.