Home · 2019 Kia Sportage Phev · Complaints

What 68 owners told NHTSA about the 2019 Kia Sportage 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 (68)Crash / fire / injury (7)Engine (34)Electrical system (10)Brakes (7)Fuel system (7)Transmission & drivetrain (7)Airbags (3)Lights (3)Trailer Hitches (3)Body & structure (2)Driver assistance (2)

3 of 68 complaints match · Electrical system · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Sep 30, 2024Electrical systemEngineFire

The contact owned a 2019 Kia Sportage. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle started overheating and smoke started emitting smoke from the hood. No warning lights were illuminated. No injuries were reported. The vehicle was destroyed leaving only the framing. The fire department arrived on the scene and extinguished the fire. A fire department report was filed. A police report was not filed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the vehicle was inspected; however, the inspector did not find a defect in the vehicle. The vehicle was also inspected by the fire department who determined that the cause was in the rear passenger window. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11617339

Oct 1, 2019Electrical systemEngineFuel systemFire

MY KIA SPORTAGE 2019 CAUGHT FIRE ON THE HIGHWAY IN NEW MARKET MD AT AROUND 10:30 AM 9/26/19. WE HAD PREVIOUSLY TAKEN THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP WHERE WE PURCHASED IT BACK IN 12/2019. IT HAD ONLY 3900+/- MILES ON IT. THE OIL, FILTER, TIRE ROTATION AND 27 POINT INSPECTION WAS DONE ON 9/19/19. AS I WAS IN THE LEFT LANE OF RTE 70 WB I NOTICED BLUE SMOKE COMING FROM THE BACK OF THE CAR. I PUT ON MY FLASHERS AND SIGNALED OVER TO THE RIGHT SHOULDER. I CALLED MY HUSBAND AND WAS QUITE HYSTERICAL BECAUSE NOW THE FRONT OF THE CAR WAS SMOKING A BROWNISH-BLACK. IT QUICKLY STARTED COMING IN THEY THE VENTS. I COULDN'T FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO - MAY HAVE BEEN IN SOME SORT OF SHOCK. BUT I FINALLY LEFT THE VEHICLE BUT WAS STILL TOO CLOSE. A PASSERBY, JEREMIAH DARLING OF NJ, ASSISTED ME TO A SAFE PLACE AND I HEARD A POP THEN THE FLAMES STARTED COMING QUICKLY.

NHTSA ODI 11265476

Jul 8, 2019Electrical systemAirbagsCrash

I WAS RECENTLY INVOLVED IN A COLLISION WITH A DEER. I WAS TRAVELLING AT 55MPH WHEN I HIT THE DEER SQUARE ON AND MY AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. ALSO EVERY TIME I WASH MY CAR SOME OF THE ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS STOP WORKING FOR A FEW DAYS SUCH AS THE CLOCK. I HAVE TALKED TO KIA DEALERSHIP NEAR ME AND THEY CAN NOT EXPLAIN THE ISSUE OVER THE ELECTRICAL STUFF. ALSO THEY STATED I COULD START A CASE WITH THEM OVER THE AIRBAGS

NHTSA ODI 11230258

Working with the data? Download all 68 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 14, 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 2019 Kia Sportage Phev verdict →