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What 392 owners told NHTSA about the 2012 Kia Sportage Phev Phev

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 (392)Crash / fire / injury (26)Engine (328)Electrical system (29)Transmission & drivetrain (21)Brakes (11)Fuel system (7)Steering (6)Airbags (4)Body & structure (4)Visibility & wipers (4)Speed control (3)

328 of 392 complaints match · Engine · clear filters · page 14 of 14

Apr 9, 2014Engine

DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE, THE ENGINE OF THE CAR GAVE OUT. I WAS GIVEN ZERO WARNING BEFORE THE ENGINE COMPLETELY DIED AND I WAS FORCED TO PULL MY CAR OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. I WAS LUCKY THAT THE CAR BEHIND ME DID NOT HIT ME. THE CAR IS ONLY 2 YEARS OLD WITH ABOUT 30,000 MILES AND THIS SHOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED. IT PUT MY LIFE AND THAT OF MY 11 MONTH OLD SON AT RISK. THE PUBLIC NEEDS TO BE AWARE OF THIS ISSUE! NO ONE SHOULD HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT BEING IN A FATAL ACCIDENT DUE TO KIA'S FAULTY PARTS. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10578489

Mar 24, 2014SteeringLightsEngine

AT APPROXIMATELY 5:30AM, I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE FREEWAY. MY KIA SPORTAGE SUDDENLY MADE A LOUD BANG, AND THE ENGINE STALLED. IT ALSO SHUT OFF THE HEADLIGHTS, AND DISABLED THE POWER STEERING, WHILE ON A CURVE, GOING 70MPH. THE POWER ASSISTED BRAKES WERE ALSO NOT WORKING, BECAUSE THE ENGINE SHUT DOWN. I MANAGED TO PULL THE VEHICLE OVER WITHOUT INCIDENT, BUT WAS ALMOST HIT BY SEVERAL VEHICLES THAT COULD NO LONGER SEE ME, BECAUSE MY LIGHTS WERE OFF. THE ENGINE WOULD NOT START UP AGAIN, AND I HAD TO HAVE THE VEHICLE TOWED HOME. THIS IS THE 3RD TIME THIS VEHICLE HAS DONE THIS, AND KIA REFUSES TO REPAIR THE VEHICLE. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10574623

Nov 20, 2012Engine

I PULLED A TRAILER FOR THE FIRST TIME ON THIS DATE. THE TRUCK ONLY MADE IT 10 MILES, AND LOST ALL POWER, AND I BARELY MADE IT OFF OF THE FREEWAY. BROUGHT IT TO THE DEALER, AND THEY FOUND THE SPARK PLUGS BLEW APART. ALL THEY DID WAS CHANGE THE SPARK PLUGS AND SENT ME ON MY WAY. ON JULY 13TH, I TOWED MY CAMPER, WHICH WAS LIGHTER THAN THE LAST TRAILER I PULLED. THIS TIME, ABOUT 6 MILES INTO THE TRIP, THE ENGINE COMPLETELY LET GO ON THE HIGHWAY. I HAD TO GET ACROSS 4 LANES OF TRAFFIC WITH NO POWER AND A CAMPER IN-TOW. WAITED AT THE SIDE OF THE ROAD FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF BEFORE KIA SENT A TOW VEHICLE. DISCOVERED ALL 4 SPARK PLUGS WERE DESTROYED, AND A HOLE IN CYLINDER 3. KIA WILL NOT WARRANTY IT, BLAMING THE ENGINE FAILURE ON THE CAMPER NOT HAVING TRAILER BRAKES(COMPLETELY ABSURD). THE FIRST FAILURE IN JUNE, THE TRAILER WEIGHED 500LBS MORE, AND HAD TRAILER BRAKES. KIA DOES NOT WANT TO ADMIT FAULT FOR THIS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS FAULT IN THEIR ENGINE. THE VEHICLE IS RATED FOR 2,000LBS TOWING CAPACITY, AND BOTH TRAILERS WERE WELL UNDER THE LIMIT. MY CAMPER IS ONLY 1,155LBS. COMPLETE ENGINE FAILURE ON THE HIGHWAY PUT ME AND MY ENTIRE FAMILY IN DANGER TWICE. THIS IS UN-ACCEPTABLE. THIS WAS A LOADED SX AWD.(TURBOCHARGED). *TR

NHTSA ODI 10485272

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Working with the data? Download all 392 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 2012 Kia Sportage Phev Phev verdict →