Home · 2011 Kia Sportage Plug-in Hybrid · Complaints

What 181 owners told NHTSA about the 2011 Kia Sportage Plug-in Hybrid

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (181)Crash / fire / injury (16)Engine (77)Electrical system (38)Brakes (24)Transmission & drivetrain (23)Lights (12)Fuel system (10)Speed control (10)Steering (9)Engine & cooling (7)Body & structure (5)

5 of 181 complaints match · Brakes · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Jul 9, 2024BrakesFire

The contact owned a 2011 Kia Sportage. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked overnight and next to her home, it was started but the contact left the vehicle in park and on as she retrieved a personal item from inside the home, and upon return, it was discovered that the vehicle caught on fire. The fire department arrived on the scene and extinguished the fire. The police arrived on the scene and filed a police report but no information was available. The origin of the fire was unknown. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The contact recently received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) and related the failure to the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 170,000.

NHTSA ODI 11600476

Jun 7, 2024BrakesFire

The contact called on behalf of his girlfriend who owned a 2011 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that his girlfriend parked the vehicle at her driveway residence, and she discovered that the vehicle had caught on fire underneath the front. The fire department was called and the police arrived on the scene later. The fire was extinguished with water. It was unknown if a police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an impound lot and later was declared a total loss by the insurance company. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. and the contact related the failure to this recall. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11593090

Jan 10, 2018BrakesCrash1 injury

I WAS DRIVING EAST ON A CITY STREET AT PROBABLY LESS THAN SPEED LIMIT. STREET BECOMES A DOWNWARD HILL WHEN DRIVING EAST , AT THE FIRST INTERSECTION THERE IS A STOPLIGHT. I KNOW THIS INTERSECTION WELL AS I DROVE THAT WAY TO WORK FOR 9 YEARS. I SAW LIGHT AT INTERSECTION WAS RED AND SAW VEHICLES STOPPED FOR RED LIGHT. I STARTED BRAKING IN PREPARATION TO STOP AT APPROPRIATE DISTANCE FROM VEHICLES STOPPED FOR RED LIGHT. MY BRAKES DID NOT ENGAGE. IT SEEMED AS THOUGH BRAKES FROZE OR WERE STUCK AND WOULD NOT GO DOWN REGARDLESS OF THE AMOUNT OF PRESSURE I APPLIED. I SCREAMED ?WHY AREN?T THESE STOPPING?? REPEATEDLY AS I SAW AND FELT MY RIGHT FOOT ATTEMPTING TO APPLY THE BRAKES. I HIT A RED PICK UP IN FRONT OF ME. MY AIR BAG DEPLOYED AND SEAT BELT FUNCTIONED APPROPRIATELY BUT I FELT I WAS INJURED. I IMMEDIATELY REACHED FOR MY PHONE AND CALLED 911. FIRE DEPT PERSONNEL ARRIVED QUICKLY AS THEY ARE CLOSE BY. THEY PLACED A COLLAR AROUND MY NECK AND WOULD NOT ALLOW ME TO EXIT MY VEHICLE UNTIL EMS ARRIVED TO PUT ME IN AMBULANCE AND TAKE ME TO ER. POLICE OFFICER LATER CAME TO ER WITH MY VEHICLE DOCUMENTS. HE TOLD ME VEHICLE WAS NOT DRIVABLE AND WOULD BE TAKEN TO POLICE IMPOUND LOT. HE SAID HE HAD TO GIVE ME A TRAFFIC TICKET FOR CARELESS DRIVING BECAUSE I HIT VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME. HE SAID IT WAS THE LEAST VIOLATION HE COULD CITE ME FOR.VEHICLE TOWED TO COLLISION CENTER WHERE IT REMAINS STORED. I ONLY HAD LIABILITY INSURANCE. I FILED COMPLAINT WITH KIA ABOUT BRAKE FAILURE, PROVIDED PICTURES, COPY OF TRAFFIC TICKET AS REQUESTED, AND PICTURES OF MY SEVERELY BRUISED FOOT. I WAS INFORMED BY KIA REP TODAY THAT THEIR ENGINEERS FOUND NO EVIDENCE OF BRAKE FAILURE IN PICTURES AND I WAS TICKETED FOR CARELESS DRIVING. THEY FOUND NO REASON TO EXAMINE BRAKES. I ASKED FOR COPY OF ENGINEERS REPORT BUT WAS TOLD THEY DID NOT PROVIDE THAT. *BF *TR

NHTSA ODI 11061563

Nov 23, 2014Transmission & drivetrainBrakesEngineCrash

WE OWN THE CAR, 2011 KIA SPORTAGE SX T-GDI, FOR LESS THAN 3 MONTHS AND I HAD TO TAKE IT TO THE DEALERSHIP PRETTY MUCH EVERY OTHER WEEK WITH SOME ISSUES. LAST PROBLEM WE HAD WAS AN ACCELERATOR/SPEED CONTROL WHEN THE CAR WASN'T SHIFTING OR ACCELERATING OVER 25-30 MPH EVEN THE RPM WERE UP TO 6-7X1000, AND I WAS ABLE TO FLOOR THE PEDAL AND KEEP IT THERE, WAS NO SPEED RESPONSE. THE ONLY FIX WAS PULL OVER AND SHUT OFF THE ENGINE, BUT EVEN AFTER THAT IT COULD TAKE SEVERAL TIMES TO DO THE SAME PROCEDURE.I FINALLY GOT AN APPOINTMENT TO THE DEALERSHIP ON TUESDAY MORNING 11NOV14, PICK IT UP THURSDAY AFTERNOON 13NOV14, THEY SAID I HAD A BAD BATTERY THAT MIGHT CAUSE THE PROBLEM. SO I END UP PAYING FOR A NEW BATTERY AND REPLACING IT, AND AT THE SAME TIME THE DEALERS REPLACED A BRAKE LAMP SWITCH, AND I WAS TOLD EVERYTHING WORKS GREAT. NEXT MORNING ON FRIDAY, SAME ISSUE WITH THE SPEED CONTROL, VEHICLE IS DRIVING UNUSUAL AND ON TOP OF THAT THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. CALLED THE DEALERS IMMEDIATELY THEY SAID IF THE LIGHT IS NOT FLASHING ITS SAFE TO DRIVE AND THERE ARE NO APPOINTMENTS AVAILABLE UNTIL MONDAY 17NOV14. SUNDAY DRIVING AROUND THE CAR HAD THE SAME PROBLEMS ALL DAY LONG AND THAT EVENING COMING HOME AFTER FILLED UP THE TANK, AT ABOUT 25MPH SPEED CONTROL WAS GIVING ME A HARD TIME AND SHIFTING AT A VERY DELAYED TIMES OR NOT SHIFTING AT ALL, APPROACHING AN INTERSECTION TRIED TO STOP AND THE BRAKE SEIZED FIRST COUPLE TIMES, ACCELERATING INSTEAD OF STOPPING, AND WHEN ALREADY ENTERING THE INTERSECTION BEING SLIPPERY I WAS ABLE TO DO A SLIGHTLY LEFT SLIDING ON THE WET ROAD AFTER BRAKES FINALLY ENGAGED BUT WAS TO LATE TO AVOID THE COLLISION WITH ANOTHER CAR WHICH HAD THE RIGHT OF WAY. SAME PROBLEM, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON, CAR NOT WORKING PROPERLY, THE DEALER'S SERVICE SAID ITS GOOD TO GO! SAFE AND DRIVE-ABLE. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10660303

Nov 19, 2014BrakesEngineCrash

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 KIA SPORTAGE. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 25 MPH, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND THE BRAKES FAILED. THE CONTACT RAN A RED LIGHT AND CRASHED INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE FRONTAL AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 25,000.

NHTSA ODI 10659322

Working with the data? Download all 181 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 19, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2011 Kia Sportage Plug-in Hybrid verdict →