Home · 2024 Kia Sportage Hev · Complaints

What 64 owners told NHTSA about the 2024 Kia Sportage Hev

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 (64)Crash / fire / injury (7)Electrical system (12)Visibility & wipers (10)Engine (9)Brakes (7)Driver assistance (7)Body & structure (6)Speed control (4)Airbags (3)Fuel system (3)Steering (3)

7 of 64 complaints match · Brakes · clear filters

Jul 3, 2026Transmission & drivetrainBrakes

•12,000 Miles: Front rotors required complete replacement. •21,000 Miles: Front rotors failed and required replacement a second time. •28,000 Miles: Front seat cushion required repair due to material separation. •34,000 Miles: Front rotors failed and required replacement a third time. •51,000 Miles: Front rotors failed and required replacement a fourth time. •51,000 Miles: Complete transmission replacement required due to severe shifting difficulties.

NHTSA ODI 11748096

Apr 20, 2026Electrical systemSpeed controlBrakesCrash

Sudden Unintended Acceleration – 2024 Kia Sportage – Safety Hazard. Incident Date: April 18, 2026. Location: Parking lot. While pulling into a parking space at low speed, I brought the vehicle to a complete stop with my foot on the brake. Immediately after stopping, the vehicle suddenly and forcefully accelerated forward on its own without my foot on the accelerator. I was actively pressing the brake pedal, but the vehicle did not respond as expected and continued to accelerate. The acceleration was strong enough that the vehicle jumped over the parking bumper with both front tires and struck a fixed post. Even after impact with the post, the vehicle continued to push forward as if still accelerating, until it hit another barrier and finally came to a stop. At no time did I press the accelerator pedal. The vehicle’s behavior felt completely uncontrolled and unsafe. This incident could have resulted in serious injury or death if it had occurred in traffic or with pedestrians in front of the vehicle. The vehicle has been towed to KIA dealership and is pending inspection. I am reporting this as a serious safety defect. No injuries. Front-end damage after collision with post. This event was sudden, unexpected, and not driver-induced.

NHTSA ODI 11732588

Sep 12, 2025SteeringBrakesDriver assistanceCrash2 injuries

The car emergency brake component was faculty and kicked in at an inappropriate time. When the emergency brake occurs you are unable to move the car at all. Being unable to move put myself and my passenger seater at risk for bring hit to which we were. The vehicle was not inspected due to Kia Corporate office not answering the phone.

NHTSA ODI 11687004

Sep 6, 2025Transmission & drivetrainBrakes

I am writing to formally raise a safety concern regarding my vehicle’s brake and rotor system, which has experienced premature failure on two separate occasions. First Occurrence: The issue was first identified prior to reaching 11,000 miles and was addressed by the dealership after surpassing 11,000 miles. The repair involved replacement of the rotors and bolts, but notably, the brake components themselves were not replaced. Second Occurrence: Around 23,000 miles, I began to notice progressively worsening shaking and a disturbing sensation of the brakes skipping or slipping—particularly during highway downgrades. By 24,500 miles, the issue had become significantly more pronounced. I returned the vehicle to Kia of Stockton at 25,248 miles. During my visit, Ricardo from the Kia of Stockton Service Department attributed the issue to “driver error,” citing hot spots on the rotors. However, he also acknowledged that during the initial repair, only the rotors and bolts were replaced—not the brakes. Ricardo further stated that Kia could not offer any additional support beyond a 10% discount on repairs, per his manager’s directive. I explained that I live and work locally, and my driving habits do not involve long commutes or frequent stop-and-go traffic. Given this, I strongly believe the repeated brake system failure points to a potential manufacturing defect rather than user error. Ricardo agreed that if this were his own vehicle, he would be concerned as well. This issue poses a serious safety risk—not only to myself and my family, but to other drivers on the road. In addition my vehicle has also experienced powertrain issues, where it feels as if the vehicle is stuck in 1st gear. I am therefore requesting a full investigation into this matter. If necessary, I would like to initiate the process of reporting this vehicle as a potential lemon under applicable consumer protection laws. Thank you for your attention to this urgent safety concern.

NHTSA ODI 11685500

Jul 23, 2025Brakes

Not safety but I couldn't locate the complaint section you supposably have. The front rotors had to be turned with less than 18K miles. They have since been completely replaced twice at my expense and the car is less than 2 years old. Now the rear rotors have issues and it's going to cost me $360 to turn them or $700 to replace them. The dealer says it's either my driving or the weather. I've have literally been driving for 40 years and have never had to replace rotors. As for weather, unless Columbia, MO has some special weather that eats rotors that is not the case either. A parts counter employee told us it was an issue with the axle and that until we find a service tech smart enough to fix it, we'll just keep replacing rotors. He said he worked for Toyota, and they had the same issue. The Kia tech said he had no idea what he was talking about so again, we're paying to replace parts on a less than 2-year-old car and they won't even warranty their repair work. There is obviously something very wrong with this car.

NHTSA ODI 11675759

Sep 29, 2024Brakes

Front brake rotors are warped on new 2024 KIA Sportage with only 4000 miles on the vehicle. The vehicle is available for inspection anytime When braking the steering wheel will pulsate left to right The problem has been confirmed by the dealer as an ongoing problem with this vehicle brand and model. The vehicle is scheduled for repair on October 15, 2024 I have been advised that the front brake rotors will be re-surfaced and not replaced. I have also been advised that KIA will NOT perform a second repair

NHTSA ODI 11617100

Jul 8, 2024BrakesCrash

The contact owns a 2024 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that while attempting to park in his residential carport, the brake pedal was depressed the brake pedal was stiff and did not move down as intended. The contact used excessive force but the vehicle failed to come to a stop. The vehicle collided with the screen room of his residence taking out three of the four walls of the patio. There were no injuries. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where the failure was not able to be replicated. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 6,100.

NHTSA ODI 11600203

Working with the data? Download all 64 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 2024 Kia Sportage Hev verdict →