What 12 owners told NHTSA about the 2024 Kia Sportage Plug-in Hybrid

The 2024 Kia Sportage PHEV has a significant design defect resulting in a personal safety and situational security hazard. I am unable to disable the door unlock chime which makes it impossible for me to enter my car without directly advertising my presence and making me feel unsafe and vulnerable at night and in unfamiliar settings.

NHTSA ODI 11746941

While attempting to park the vehicle in an angled parking spot I was pressing the brake and slowing to a stop. Prior to stopping with my foot still on the brake the engine revved and the vehicle surged forward hitting the car in front of me. The emergency braking did not seem to activate nor di my foot on the brake slow the car. The car has been in the shop at least 4 times totaling nearly 30 days for electrical issues. The vehicle had a full charge prior to the drive which was about 6.5 miles. The vehicle was operating in automatic mode utilizing electric only during the trip. What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Powertrain gas and electric emergency braking. It is at repair shop can be inspected How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Car accelerated without warning Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Dealer has video of engine surging when switching to electric only mode. I also have many videos. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Dealer only in service shop. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? Had check engine light multiple times shorting after buying vehicle. Also has burning wire or rubber smell when charging. Engine RPM's surged when manually switching to electric only mode. Dealer service tech has video and I have multiple videos of this happening. Other items. Car dash says to place hands on steering wheel while hands are on steering wheel. Have video of this. Car has a surging sensation while driving slight gyro sensation. Automatic wipers slow to activate or reactivate during light rain. Have video. Electronics related to android auto and heat AC do not work right flicker disengage and reengage over and over. Have multiple videos of this.

NHTSA ODI 11708271

Sunroof unexpectedly shattered at highway speed with no vehicles or obstructions present.

NHTSA ODI 11690016

The dash on my sportage will go black while driving, and then the system reboots showing "system check" the cruise control also goes out when this happens. This happens about once a month. Dealer has checked it more than 3 times and has found no issues except the first time I brought it in.

NHTSA ODI 11685920

While driving my 2024 Kia Sportage PHEV X-Line AWD the instrument panel went black for 3-5 seconds and appeared to be "re-booting/resetting". The first time this occurred was approximately March 2025 (odometer reading approximately 6000 miles) and the issue has re-occurred numerous times (30+) since then (current odometer reading is 12,410). There was no warning prior to this happening and there were no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms of any problems with the vehicle. I took the car into my local Kia dealer to have them check the instrument panel issue under warranty and to perform the recommended 8000 mile service. During the service visit they addressed the SC322 - Hybrid Control Unit Software upgrade recall. With regards to the instrument panel issue, the Service department told me that they could not fix the issue under warranty unless they could reproduce the issue. Therefore any work that they would perform to address the issue would have to be paid for by me. They suggested that I try to capture the issue on video as evidence of the issue. Given that the event only happens over a 3-5 second period, there is no way for me to safely videotape the issue while I am driving the vehicle and I have no idea when it will happen again. This issue has continued to occur randomly multiple times since that service visit with the last event happening three days ago. When the instrument panel goes black it is very distracting to the driver and draws your attention from the road to the instrument screen which puts the occupants of the vehicle at risk as well as others driving/walking around your vehicle. I have read online of others having this same issue with no clear consistent resolution from Kia. I strongly believe that this is a serious safety issue for many Kia drivers and needs to be addressed via a recall or voluntary dealer campaign to avoid unnecessary crashes/injuries.

NHTSA ODI 11678731

My sunroof shattered without anything hitting it.

NHTSA ODI 11648622

We had ~2100 miles on our vehicle. We had been driving on the highway for an hour when engine temperature warning light came on. We pulled over and turned off the car. We waited 30 minutes then opened the hood to inspect the coolant level. The coolant level was at "min." We looked under the car to see if any coolant was leaking and no coolant was visible under the car. We turned the car back on and sat in park for ~1 min. The engine temperature warning light came back on. We turned the car off and waited one hour. We turned the car back on, stayed in park, and the engine temperature warning light came back on. We called Kia and were towed to the nearest dealer. They inspected the car the next day and found no issues. Looking online, it appears that others have experienced similar issues with Kias and I am writing this in case it is a systemic issue that can help myself and others.

NHTSA ODI 11630848

I bought the car in July 2024. After approximately 2 months after taking possession I took the car on a trip. While driving on the highway I engaged the cruise control. The vehicle immediately set to 110mph. I immediately turned it off and didn't drive that fast. I tried to reengage the cruise control multiple times and the speed still went to 110mph. I've taken the vehicle to a Kia dealership the car was there for 2 months. There is no fix at this time. Just told not to use the cruise control. The dealership told me it's a known problem.

NHTSA ODI 11629616

The digital instrument cluster panel goes blank intermittently and without warning while I am driving.Within moments, the instrument panel reads: "System Reset". The information then reappears on the panel, displaying important information (speedometer, fuel gauge, etc.). My speed, however has been significantly reduced. I was driving on the highway at 70 mph when the instrument panel shut down (went blank). When it reappeared after "System Reset", I was going 48 mph.I believe this is a safety issue as it fails to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards 101 "Controls and Displays and 138, "Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems". Also, the car is dangerous as I have no control over my speed. I could easily get rear ended by another vehicle which is another safety issue because the lithium batteries in this hybrid plug-in are in the back of the vehicle. This has occurred four times. The 2023 Kia Sportage Plug-In Vehicles were recalled due to this same problem. I am requesting the 2024 Kia Sportage Plug-In Vehicles are issued a recall also.

NHTSA ODI 11626682

On Oct. 11, 2024, I was pulling into a parking spot when my vehicle suddenly accelerated. My foot was not on the accelerator. I braked but not in time to stop the car before it hit the side of a building. I was not injured, but do not want to use drive the vehicle until I understand what happened and whether this sudden unintended acceleration defect can be fixed.

NHTSA ODI 11619892

I am reporting an incident of sudden unintended acceleration of my 2024 Kia Sportage plug-in Hybrid. On Oct. 11, 2024, my wife was parking the vehicle in a lot near our home when the car suddenly accelerated, only stopping when it crashed into the side of a building. My wife was not injured, though the vehicle was damaged. She insists she did not accidentally hit the accelerator instead of the brake. I have reported the incident to Kia, and we have filed a claim with our insurance company.

NHTSA ODI 11619422

While driving in cruise mode at 70mph in the [XXX] , the vehicle suddenly accelerated to 110mph. I detected the issue when I felt the car speeding up by itself, so I proceed to brake to avoid any accidents. As you might already have noticed, this is a major safety concern. I tried setting the car to cruise mode again, and it repeated the same action. The car was sent to the dealership, but they couldn't fix the issue. Reset the car and apparently was solved. Two months later, while driving my daily commute, the car repeated the same issue stated above. This time I had a car closer and could avoid to have a major issue by quickly braking the car, as the car quickly increased the power to reach the 110mph that for some unknow reason is doing by itself. I sent the car again to the dealership, they couldn't fix the issue and it's been in maintenance for over 55 days. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11617002