What 394 owners told NHTSA about the 2017 Kia Sportage Phev Phev

My vehicle engine caught fire after getting gas. It started smoking then went up in flames.

NHTSA ODI 11737888

I was sold a Kia sportage 2017 in February. I was told this vehicle has no after market parts. After my vehicle catching fire and seizing on me June 26th of this year so 4 months after buying the vehicle. It was discovered that an after market starter is indeed in this vehicle with loose wiring. I could have lost my life on my way home. The dealership has been nothing but a pain since this experience I have encountered. My insurance was involved but was told I need to bring this issue to Kia. Contacted Demontround Kia multiple times was never helped once. Contacted Kia customer care. I have a claims agent who has been no help whatsoever. I was told to get my car towed to West side Kia, which they have been rude from the start and have been no help. They actually want me to come out out of pocket for engine related damages that was not my fault given that I’ve only had the car for four months before the engine seized on me and caught fire on my way home from work. When I told a server worker at Westside that I don’t believe that I should be paying out of pocket he had somebody else contact me. They emailed me that same day to call them as soon as I can. I called them immediately after I got the email and didn’t even receive an answer. Nora call back and I called multiple times for the next consecutive days and I finally get an email saying sorry they were moving buildings that is very unprofessional. There was no point to email me originally to tell me to contact you then.

NHTSA ODI 11698411

The contact owned a 2017 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that while driving at 75 MPH, she observed black smoke emanating from the engine compartment. The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway and switch the vehicle off. After a visual inspection, she observed flames within the engine compartment emanating from a source unknown to the contact. Local emergency service arrived and was able to extinguish the fire, later attributing the fire to an unspecified equipment failure. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard and deemed a total loss by the contact's insurance provider. A fire report was filed. A police report was not filed, and no injuries were reported. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 149,000.

NHTSA ODI 11678871

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 before the fire department was able to put it out. The vehicle was assessed by my insurance, but I think the extent of that was to determine whether it was a total loss (which it obviously was).

NHTSA ODI 11562438

My daughter and I were driving home from my brother's house, when we stopped by McDonald's to grab food, we noticed our car smoking really bad. I had her pull away from the drive-thru and into the empty parking lot. We got out just seconds before the car burst into flames from underneath the hood of the car.

NHTSA ODI 11553266

I was driving on the freeway and my car suddenly jolted, smoked started pouring from the hood, and then immediately caught fire once I pulled off the road within minutes. There were no warnings, no engine lights, nothing that pointed to an issue until this happened. I was at risk of getting hit by others in the freeway — I luckily was able to get to the side of the road and immediately called 911. Fire department came within minutes, and dowsed the car, which was fully engulfed in flames.

NHTSA ODI 11541888

When I pulled into work and turned off the engine, smoke started to come from under the hood which initially looked like overheating, but no gauges or lights were activated. The smoke started to get heavier, thicker, and darker, and then the hood started flaming and the whole entire car was engulfed in flames within about 5 or 6 minutes. The fire department came around 20 minutes after the 911 calls to extinguish my car.

NHTSA ODI 11502126

I was driving up to Vermont for an event. I stopped at a Dunkin Donuts drive through and noticed smoke coming from the hood of my car. I quickly pulled forward into the nearest parking spot and the car started smoking in and burst into flames. I had 20-30 seconds to get out of the car. I could have been killed.

NHTSA ODI 11489445

My car has been having an extreme oil consumption issue. I've been trying to get the issue fix with Kia for over six months. However, it is getting to the point were the engine runs out of oil and coolant in less than 500 miles. They told me the engine is damaged and it could fail and that the issue was caused by the excessive oil consumption. However, they will not cover it because damages by oil consumption are not covered by the manufacturer.

NHTSA ODI 11485853

The contact's daughter owns a 2017 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at 5-10 MPH, she heard an abnormal popping sound and she saw black and white smoke coming from underneath the hood of the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact's daughter exited the vehicle immediately and called the fire department. The fire department was able to extinguish the fire. The contact's daughter did not sustain physical injuries however, she was mentally traumatized and had been seeking therapy. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot, where the vehicle was deemed totaled. The contact stated that the vehicle had been serviced two months prior to catching on fire and several recall repairs were performed. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.

NHTSA ODI 11441020

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2017 KIA SPORTAGE. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING AT 60 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE CONTACT THEN HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED WITH THE STARTER NEEDING TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE HAD BEEN REPAIRED BUT UPON RETRIEVING THE VEHICLE FROM THE INDEPENDENT MECHANIC AND STARTING THE VEHICLE SMOKE WAS SEEN COMING FROM THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT OPENED THE HOOD AND SAW A FIRE BEHIND THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS CONTACTED AND WAS ABLE TO EXTINGUISH THE FIRE. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS THEN TOWED TO KIA OF CHERRY HILL (1803 MARLTON PIKE W, CHERRY HILL, NJ 08002) WHERE IT WAS DEEMED A TOTAL LOSS. THE CONTACT WAS RELATING THIS ISSUE TO NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 21V137000 (SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC). THE MANUFACTURER HAD BEEN INFORMED OF THE FAILURE AND REFERRED THE CONTACT TO THE KIA ENGINE SETTLEMENT HOTLINE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 80,542.

NHTSA ODI 11416124

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 KIA SPORTAGE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING, THE CHECK ENGINE AND BATTERY LIGHTS SUDDENLY DISPLAYED AND SMOKE WAS SEEN COMING FROM THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT BEFORE THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE LOCAL DEALER KIA OF BEDFORD LOCATED 18180 ROCKSIDE RD, BEDFORD, OH 44146. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT YET DETERMINED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN LOOKUP INDICATED THE VEHICLE WAS LISTED IN THE NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER 21V137000 (SERVICE BRAKES). THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE HAD EXPERIENCED THE SAME FAILURE LISTED IN THE RECALL. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 84,000.

NHTSA ODI 11414555

TL* THE CONTACTS SON OWNED A 2017 KIA SPORTAGE. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING AT 30 MPH, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO SMOKE COMING FROM THE FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE. WHILE ATTEMPTING TO DEPRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL, THE VEHICLE CONTINUED FORWARD MOVEMENT. THE CONTACT PULLED OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, AND THE VEHICLE BECAME ENGULFED IN FLAMES. THE FIRE MARSHALS WERE CALLED TO SCENE AND EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE, AND A REPORT WAS TAKEN. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A TOW LOT WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED WITH BEING DESTROYED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. UPON INVESTIGATION, THE CONTACT ASSOCIATED THE FAILURE WITH, NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 21V137000 (SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC). THE MANUFACTURER WAS INFORMED OF FAILURE AND WAS AWAITING A RESPONSE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

NHTSA ODI 11404989

2017 KIA SPORTAGE LOST ALL POWER AS I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD. NO POWER STEERING NO BRAKING NOTHING. SMOKE AND FUMES FILLED THE CAB OF SUV. ONCE I GOT OFF THE ROAD SMOKE WAS BOILING OUT OF HOOD OF CAR.

NHTSA ODI 11321777

ENGINE CAUGHT ON FIRE

NHTSA ODI 11301464

THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION ON A HIGHWAY, THERE WAS WHITE SMOKE COMING FROM THE ENGINE. IMMEDIATELY AFTER PULLING OVER MORE WHITE SMOKE CAME OUT OF THE ENGINE TOWARDS THE REAR OF THE MOTOR. AFTER EXITING THE VEHICLE FLAMES APPEARED FROM UNDER THE CAR NEAR THE REAR OF THE MOTOR, THE FLAMES GREW FROM ALL SIDE OF THE ENGINE. THE FIRE SPREAD TO THE DASH AND INTERIOR OF THE CAR CAUSING THE PASSENGER AIRBAGS TO BLOW.

NHTSA ODI 11244424

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2017 KIA SPORTAGE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT TEN MINUTES AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED, THE CONTACT NOTICED SMOKE BILLOWING FROM UNDER THE HOOD OF THE VEHICLE. SEVERAL FIRE FIGHTERS ON SITE AT THE MOMENT ATTEMPTED TO EXTINGUISH THE FIRE BUT WAS UNABLE TO DO SO. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS CONTACTED AND WAS ABLE TO EXTINGUISH THE FIRE. A FIRE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A TOW FACILITY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT YET INSPECTED. THE DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED OR NOTIFIED OF THE FIRE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 30,000.

NHTSA ODI 11209468

MY BRAND NEW 2017 KIA SPORAGE EX VEHICLE STOPPED WITHOUT ANY WARNING WHILE I WAS DRIVING IN THE MIDDLE LANE OF A BUSY STREET AND ALMOST GOT ME KILLED. THERE WAS AN ACCIDENT TRYING TO AVOID HITTING ME BECAUSE OF THE VEHICLE STOPPING. I WAS TERRIFIED. THE POLICE CAME AND THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED.

NHTSA ODI 11182172

EL VEHCULO KIA SPORTAGE 2017 SE INCENDI DE UN MOMENTO A OTRO, ESTABA PARADO ENCENDIDO EL MOTOR Y EMPEZ A SALIR HUMO DEL MOTOR Y SE INCENDI MUY RPIDO , EN MENOS DE 3 MINUTOS . SUCEDI EN CALI , COLOMBIA,

NHTSA ODI 11170666

I WAS INVOLVED IN A HEAD ON COLLISION, RESULTING IN MY SUV BEING TOTALED. I WAS STATIONARY IN THE DOUBLE TURNING LANE OF A CITY STREET. THE ENGINE BLOCK WAS PUSHED NEARLY INTO THE DRIVER'S SEAT. FRONT WINDSHIELD CRACKED FROM END TO END, HEAVY FRONT END DAMAGE. THE VEHICLE THAT HIT ME WAS DOING ABOUT 45-50MPH AND HER AIRBAGS DID DEPLOY ALTHOUGH SHE HAD SIDE IMPACT/DAMAGE. MY AIRBAGS NEVER DEPLOYED. I HAVE A CONCUSSION RESULTING IN MEMORY LOSS AND PAINFUL SWELLING BEHIND MY EYE. I AM ALSO BEING TREATED FOR MULTIPLE BACK INJURIES. MY 17M OLD WAS IN THE VEHICLE AS WELL BUT WAS IN HIS REAR FACING CAR SEAT, NOT YET SHOWING ANY SIGNS OF INJURY.

NHTSA ODI 11110355