Home · 2014 Kia Sportage Phev Phev · Complaints

What 122 owners told NHTSA about the 2014 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 (122)Crash / fire / injury (4)Engine (71)Brakes (24)Electrical system (8)Fuel system (8)Visibility & wipers (7)Speed control (4)Transmission & drivetrain (4)Airbags (3)Body & structure (3)Engine & cooling (2)

71 of 122 complaints match · Engine · clear filters · page 2 of 3

Oct 11, 2022Engine

The contact owned a 2014 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that while driving, the engine stalled. The contact then stated that she noticed smoke on the windshield of the vehicle. No warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence and then towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was towed back to the contact’s residence where it was repossessed. The contact then received the NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V51000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic). The dealer was notified of the failure however, the contact was advised to contact the bank. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was advised to notify the dealer. The failure mileage was unavailable.

NHTSA ODI 11488817

Sep 22, 2022Engine

2014 KIA SPORTAGE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO NHTSA SAFETY RECALL 22V-051. THE CONSUMER STATED THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME COMPLETING THE RECALL REPAIR. THE PARTS WERE NOT YET AVAILABLE.

NHTSA ODI 11485797

Sep 19, 2022Engine

2014 KIA SPORTAGE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO NHTSA SAFETY RECALL 22V-051. THE CONSUMER STATED THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME COMPLETING THE RECALL REPAIR AND TO HAVE FOUND A REMEDY.

NHTSA ODI 11485176

Aug 27, 2022Engine

My 2014 Kia Sportage has been under a recall since February of 2022. As of today, August 27, 2022, no remedy has been made available. I do not understand the unforgivable delay when the vehicle is subject to spontaneous engine fire at any time.....This is nothing short of manufacturer negligence....

NHTSA ODI 11481511

Aug 8, 2022Electrical systemEngine

My vehicle has a safety recall and KIA hasn't sent me a paper of when this safety recall is going to be fixed. My vehicle automatically turns on and off the check engine light and I am unsure if it's because of the safety recall.

NHTSA ODI 11478093

Aug 5, 2022Engine

We were notified of this recall in February 2022. It's now August 2022. We called the dealer repeatedly and keep getting told the part is not available yet, try back in a couple weeks. Do we have to wait until the vehicle catches fire and burns down the house or worse yet, kills someone?

NHTSA ODI 11477724

Aug 4, 2022BrakesEngine

I haven't been contacted by the manufacturer for the repairs and I fear that they will not honor the recall.

NHTSA ODI 11477645

Jul 16, 2022Engine

On May 4th, my 2014 Kia Sportage seized up, in the middle of the road, while I was driving at 60 miles per hour. I was driving my 73-year-old Mother to a funeral in Miami, Oklahoma. Kia Lawrence confirmed that it was a recall, and they verbally agreed to replace the engine. It is July 16th, and Kia Lawrence has still not replaced the engine yet.

NHTSA ODI 11474301

Jul 15, 2022Engine

I WAS DRIVING FROM WORK TO COME HOME, I NOTICE SOMTHING WAS WRONG. I PUT MY EMERGENCY LIGHTS ON AND THE VEHICLE SHUT DOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF ROAD. I HAD ASSISTANTS HELP ME PUSHED TO THE SIDE OF ROAD. I GAVE THE CAR A FEW JUMPS STARTS BUT IT DIDN'T WORK. THEN THE VEHICLE STARTED SMOKING I WASN'T SURE WHERE IT WAS COMING FROM.CAR BEGAN TO LOSE POWER AND THEN STARTED CUTTING OUT COMPLETELY. WHICH LEAD ME TO TOW MY VEHICLE TO MY HOME. WEEKS LATER I RECECIVED A NOTICATION ABOUT A RECALL AN ENGINE COMPARTMENT. I NOTIFYED THE DEALERSHIP ABOUT THE RECALL. I WAS TOLD THEY CANT DO NOTHING UNTILL THE SECOND LETTER, ITS BEEN 4 MONTHS NOW MY CAR STILL DOESNT WORK, I'M PAYING MONTHLY PAYMENTS FOR THE VEHCILE.. TAKING PUBLIC BUSES TO GO TO WORK.IF National Highway Traffic Safety Administration REALLY CARED ABOUT OUR SAFETY IT SHOULDN'T TAKE THIS LONG TO GET THE JOB DONE.

NHTSA ODI 11474041

Jul 9, 2022Engine

For the last year my vehicle is burning oil. I service it every 3 months.. I have to put from half to a quart of oil every two weeks. I had the dealer do a soak over night and it didn’t work. That cost me 500.00. I’m on a fixed income.

NHTSA ODI 11473054

Jun 24, 2022Engine

Recall is still not available after months. I have no vehicle at the moment.

NHTSA ODI 11470861

May 21, 2022Electrical systemEngine

I received a recall notice and nothing is being done about the problem, there has not been any action taken from the manufacturer! Please make them take action on this problem,[XXX]. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

NHTSA ODI 11465595

May 11, 2022Engine

The contact owns a 2014 Kia Sportage. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V051000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic and diagnosed with engine failure. The mechanic informed the contact that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and remained with the independent mechanic. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11464213

Feb 24, 2022Engine

The contact owns a 2014 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that while driving approximately 75 MPH, a knocking noise was present coming from the engine compartment and the vehicle would not properly accelerate. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The cause of the failure was not determined. The dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 63,000.

NHTSA ODI 11453765

Feb 15, 2022Engine

The bearings in the engine have gone bad. The motor is blown. The engine malfunctioned. It is available for inspection upon request. I was in the car with my husband and 8-month old. We were on a busy highway so it was risky to be in the middle of a highway. The problem has been confirmed by an independent service center. It has been inspected by a repair shop which is Whistler’s towing and Truck Repair. There were no symptoms of the problem prior to the failure that I know of. The engine oil pressure and tire pressure sign came on the day of the failure barely 2 minutes then the car came to a stop.

NHTSA ODI 11452134

Feb 3, 2022Engine

Engine failure. Connecting rod bearings failed. Vehicle is available for inspection. Car went into Limp mode and would not go over twenty mph on the Highway. Has been inspected by mechanic and will be examined by dealership. Check engine light came on when issue arose.

NHTSA ODI 11450246

Jan 20, 2022Engine

Engine ceased on interstate. Had to make abrupt stop. Took car into shop and found brass filings in the oil pan. Bearing on crank had ceased.

NHTSA ODI 11448137

Jan 5, 2022Engine

2014 Kia Sportage total engine failure. Vehicle briefly flashed oil pressure warning light and stalled traveling down the highway. When he vehicle was started again it had a loud engine knock. Vehicle was towed to dealership had diagnosed engine has excessive rod bearing clearance. Recommend Long block Engine replacement. $5732. Kia is denying warranty claim due to the vehicle not having a KSDS software update. Court documents show that a consumer need only go to the NHTSA website and enter their VIN number to find any open recalls including the KSDS update. My VIN shows 0 unrepaired. Kia still claims that the update was not performed and the lifetime warranty will not be honored. Being an owner since 2018, I have not been notified of a single recall, product improvement campaign, or legal settlement. Kia customer service has admitted to not having me in their system. I as a consumer had no way of knowing of any of the safety, or functional concerns of my vehicle. This same problem has been confirmed through the stories of hundreds of others. Kia needs to be held accountable. At the time of settlement, when determining the amount. The court based its numbers off of a 100% approval rating of class vehicles. Even at that time the approval rating was only at 15%. Disgusting. Most importantly, the KSDS software update does not prevent engine failure in any way. The defect is still there. Kia has not found a fix. The vehicles are still unsafe.

NHTSA ODI 11446375

Jan 4, 2022Engine

I’ve owned an Optima and a Sportage. They’ve both left me in terrible situations financially. I liked my 2014 KIA Sportage. It was well maintained and a good vehicle. I really hadn’t ran into any issues with it. Until the day after Christmas 12/26/2021. There was no indication whatsoever that there was a mechanical failure to the engine about to happen. No warning lights. Nothing. As I was running about 80 mph on 71 Southbound I started to hear a “flapping” noise. Within 5 miles, and thank the Lord I was now on an exit ramp slowing down - the engine locked up!! After doing some research I quickly found out this is a predominant issue with KIA engines. The manufacturing was faulty and it causes premature wear of the crankshaft bearing and metal shavings wrecking havoc on the engine. Due to being a secondary owner it is not under warranty and because I did not receive any notification at all from the manufacturer that there was a product improvement order for the vehicle, KIA will not assist with any of the cost. I now have a vehicle that was running just fine the day before yesterday, that has 84,000 miles on it, maintained properly, that I still owe on that does not run and is going to cost me $6,500 to get fixed. There was a class action lawsuit with a 1.3 billion dollar settlement because KIA knew they were manufacturing junk engines but apparently I missed out on that and I am not eligible due to the product improvement, that I knew nothing about, was not completed. My VIN has 0 unrepaired recalls on the KIA and the NHTSA government websites. I don’t understand how it’s not a safety recall. I keep reminding myself that things could’ve been worse and I am leaning on my faith to help me remain as calm about the situation as possible.

NHTSA ODI 11446140

Dec 30, 2021Speed controlEngineFuel system

There are moments when I am driving that the vehicle will suddenly decelerate for no reason. At that point, I have to pull over, turn the vehicle off and then back on for it to move. This is frightening at the least as it happens with no warning and sometimes I'm on the freeway. I have had a couple of mechanics look at it and they can't figure out why it does this. I've asked Kia twice and they don't give a response. I'm afraid that it will happen one day when I'm not in a position to pull over without getting hit.

NHTSA ODI 11445548

Dec 21, 2021Engine

The contact owns a 2014 Kia Sportage. The contact stated while driving 55 mph, he began to hear an abnormal noise coming from the engine. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to park on the side of the road but did not hear the abnormal noise anymore. The contact stated that he decided to continue driving, but the engine then seized shortly after. The contact was able to restart to the vehicle but continued to hear the abnormal noise getting louder. The contact was able to park on the side of the road. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to the local dealer and was informed that the engine needed to be replaced, due to not having the knock sensor software updated. The vehicle was not repaired but was pending repairs. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

NHTSA ODI 11444598

Nov 12, 2021Electrical systemEngine

Low oil light had turned on and some strange noises began to sound coming from the front of the vehicle. The oil level however, did not seem terribly low, though new oil had been added to the vehicle nonetheless while waiting for a maintenance appointment the next day. While driving the vehicle later on that same night, the battery light, and check engine light suddenly came on and the vehicle began to shut down, thus forcing us to come to a stop in the middle of the road. Once towed and assessed the following day, I was informed that it had been engine failure and would in turn require a new engine.

NHTSA ODI 11440227

Oct 13, 2021EngineFuel system

Unknown

NHTSA ODI 11436658

Sep 23, 2021Engine

The contact owns a 2014 Kia Sportage. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 MPH, the vehicle suddenly stalled. During the failure a rattling noise was present coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the engine rods had failed, and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 73,000.

NHTSA ODI 11434095

Sep 22, 2021Engine

Was driving 50 mph on highway when a loud band and sudden loss of power came from engine. Veered car to breakdown lane. Engine oil all over road. Total loss of engine oil. A screw blew a hole in the engine (two private mechanics confirmed this). Car has now been sitting at Kia dealer for 3 weeks and they claim they cannot look at it for a month (must be a lot of blown engines in their lot?) Only 83,000 miles on car.

NHTSA ODI 11433956

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Working with the data? Download all 122 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 2014 Kia Sportage Phev Phev verdict →