What 18 owners told NHTSA about the 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid Hev

While driving, the vehicle experienced a sudden loss of propulsion and significantly reduced acceleration. At the same time, the climate control system stopped producing heat. A red warning message appeared instructing me to stop safely. The vehicle would barely accelerate, creating a dangerous situation while driving. This issue has occurred three separate times, including twice in the same day. Each occurrence happened while the vehicle was in motion. The condition resolved only after turning the vehicle off and restarting it. The issue is intermittent and cannot be predicted. The reduced acceleration and loss of propulsion placed my safety at risk, especially at highway speeds, as the vehicle could not respond normally to traffic conditions. The vehicle was taken to a Kia dealership and inspected. A manufacturer tech line case was opened, and testing was performed, including a smoke test. The dealership stated they were unable to duplicate the issue. No repair was made, and the manufacturer closed the tech line case despite the reported loss of propulsion events. The vehicle is currently being retained at the dealership because I do not feel it is safe to operate. The problem was not resolved.

NHTSA ODI 11711940

The contact owns a 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at 30 MPH, the vehicle came to an abrupt stop. There were no warning lights illuminated. The seat belt failed to secure her grandson, who was occupying the front passenger seat, and he flew out of the seat. The driver's seat belt failed to secure her, and she was thrust forward over the steering wheel. The contact called the local dealer, but there was no response. While driving at approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle came to an abrupt stop. There were no vehicles around. While driving at 30 MPH, the vehicle suddenly stopped, and an unknown pickup truck crashed into the rear of the vehicle. The contact was concerned about driving the vehicle. The contact sustained injuries to her neck, back, and left shoulder, which was torn, and medical attention was provided. There was no reported fire or airbag deployment. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to another local dealer, Raceway Kia 4044 US-9, Freehold, NJ 07728, who determined the vehicle was working as designed. There were no codes displayed during diagnosis. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, who opened a case, but no additional assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 3,200.

NHTSA ODI 11646290

Cruise control suddenly jumped to 110mph. Could not adjust the speed. Could only turn off cruise control. It happened several times in a row. Car would speed up until I hit the brake.

NHTSA ODI 11625813

When I was driving the vehicle using cruise control, the vehicle suddenly reset the cruise to 110 mph and the vehicle surged forward. The brake disengaged the acceleration but when I reengaged the cruise control it surged toward 110 miles an hours again. The only fix for this was to turn the car off completely and then the cruise control acted normally once again. Then it happened a second time. After that I quit using cruise control. I brought the vehicle in to Luther Kia of Bloomington and they did not know how to fix it. They contacted Kia who said their engineers were working on a fix and they were aware of the problem but at this point they did not have one. I have engaged a buyback Request from Kia because this vehicle is unsafe and potentially fatal to drive. They have denied my buyback request. I am reporting this because I think it is a danger to not only myself but other vehicles on the road.

NHTSA ODI 11625184

I purchased my car 10/12/24. On 11/2/24, one of the first times I had used cruise control, I was traveling between 40-45mph in a residential area and turned on my cruise control. The car immediately set the CC speed to exactly 110 mph and would not respond to the down arrow to adjust speed down. I paused CC and resumed and the setting remained at 110mph. I am not sure what caused the setting to finally clear as I was pretty frantically pressing buttons at that point. I do have a photograph of this instance and I have added it to this report. A brief google search confirmed multiple Kia drivers reporting the same issue with this line of vehicles. On 11/5/24 I took my car in to Olathe Kia's service department, asking them to investigate this issue. The service department reported that they found no error codes and had no repair to offer for the CC issue.

NHTSA ODI 11624110

On three occasions in the last 1000 miles, my 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid's Cruise Control has jumped to 110 mph and refused to accept user input. Turning Cruise Control off and back on again, it jumps back to 110mph immediately (got video). Only stopping the vehicle, shifting the vehicle completely off, and restarting the vehicle seems to fix this. Have read multiple forums that say others have experienced this. This is a major software and safety issue that needs to be corrected

NHTSA ODI 11607741

The infotainment screen goes out randomly while driving and can stay off for the entirety of the trip. That includes the speedometer, check engine light, fuel gauge, etc.

NHTSA ODI 11601022

While driving on a road with a speed of 55, the driver pressed the cruise control bottom and set the cruise speed with the steering wheel cruise setting buttons (up/down). However the car set the cruise speed at 110 MPH, the driver noticed this as the car started rapidly accelerating past expected targets for cruise control. The system clearly displayed a target of 110MPH, but it is unclear why the knob controls set the target in at this value - if for example it received a signal for “up speed” that got stuck or aimed too many increments up for the button up press for the speed control target adjustment. Turning the cruise off and on didn’t clear the cached target and restarted the 110 target. The correction was to reset the whole target manually and or manually decrement by-mile down from the 110 setting. This may be indicative of a switch or software risk, or defect in cruise and speed control systems. Unclear. It has only surfaced once but this is a brand new purchase only about 3 weeks old in use.

NHTSA ODI 11577663