NHTSA lists 164 complaints for the 2018 Kia Sportage, 7 of them mention a crash and 12 mention a fire. 4 complaints mention an injury, with 5 injuries and 0 deaths reported.
Data build 2026-10-09.
NHTSA lists this vehicle as KIA SPORTAGE.
At a glance
Complaints
164
With crash
7
With fire
12
With injury (complaints)
4
Injuries
5
Deaths
0
Recalls
3
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
2
Recall potential units (maximum)
379,931
Investigations
1
Open investigations
1
Manufacturer communications
133
Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. The available sales group does not match this vehicle variant.
Where the complaints are
Top systems
System
Complaints
Share of this vehicle's complaints
ENGINE
91
55.5%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
29
17.7%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
19
11.6%
POWER TRAIN
18
11.0%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
11
6.7%
STEERING
9
5.5%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
8
4.9%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
6
3.7%
SERVICE BRAKES
6
3.7%
STRUCTURE
6
3.7%
Top subsystems
System
Subsystem
Complaints
STRUCTURE
BODY
5
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE
AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
2
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
IGNITION
1
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
ENGINE
1
STRUCTURE
INTERIOR PANELS
1
VISIBILITY
SUN/MOON ROOF ASSEMBLY
1
One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.
Confidence is the model's own probability for the label it chose (0 to 1), not accuracy.
Model-generated labels on tagged complaints only. Model years 2013 and newer are tagged in full; 2012 in part (see tagged_share); earlier model years have no tags. NHTSA's own flags remain separate in the complaints block.
Defect: Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2016-2022 Sorento, 2021-2022 Sorento Hybrid (HEV), 2022-2023 Sorento Plug-In Hybrid (PHEV), and 2017-2022 Sportage vehicles equipped with a tow hitch harness installed as original equipment, or purchased as an accessory through a Kia dealership. Debris and moisture accumulation on the tow hitch harness module printed circuit board (PCB) may cause an el (excerpt)
Consequence: A fire while parked or driving can increase the risk of injury. (excerpt)
Remedy: Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will inspect the vehicle, and, as necessary, replace the fuse and/or tow hitch harness module, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 11, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC249. (excerpt)
Date: 2021-03-04. Systems: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC.
Defect: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2017-2021 Sportage and Cadenza vehicles. The electrical circuit in the Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit (HECU) may short-circuit, which can cause a fire in the engine compartment. (excerpt)
Consequence: An engine compartment fire can increase the risk of injury. (excerpt)
Remedy: Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures as a precaution until the recall repair is complete. Kia will notify owners, and dealers will replace certain fuses in the electrical junction box. Vehicles equipped with an electronic parking brake (EPB) will also receive a HECU software update. Repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on April 30, 2021. Owners may (excerpt)
Defect: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2011-2017 Optima, 2012-2017 Sorento and 2011-2018 Sportage vehicles that previously received an engine replacement under recall number 17V-224, warranty, or the Knock Sensor Detection System (KSDS) Product Improvement Campaign. The high pressure fuel pipe that connects to the fuel pump outlet may have been damaged, misaligned or improperly torqued dur (excerpt)
Consequence: A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source can increase the risk of a fire. (excerpt)
Remedy: Kia has notified owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the fuel pipe, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began January 17, 2019. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC172. (excerpt)
Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.
Investigations
1 investigations; 1 open.
AQ23002
Opened: 2023-11-17. Closed: Not listed.
Hyundai and Kia ABS Module Fires
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received eight Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) and eight Kia America, Inc. (Kia) Part 573 Recall Reports between 2016 and 2023. The combined 16 safety recalls all involve the antilock braking system (ABS) modules or Hydraulic Electronic Control Units (HECU) manufactured by the equipment supplier Mando. The Part 573 Recall Reports contain varying defect
Systems: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC.
Linked campaign numbers: None listed.
Manufacturer communications
133 manufacturer communications.
Communications by system
System
Count
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
54
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
51
EQUIPMENT
22
ENGINE
18
POWER TRAIN
8
EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY
7
STEERING
7
STRUCTURE
6
11034003
Date: 2026-06-08. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE.
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: THEFT DETERRENT IGNITION CYLINDER PROTECTOR AND DECAL INSTALLATION (CS2312) - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. This bulletin prov
VOLUNTARY EMISSIONS SERVICE CAMPAIGN: THETA II 2.4L GDI EMISSIONS: ECM LOGIC IMPROVEMENT (SC340 REVISION 5) - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. This bulletin provides information to
VOLUNTARY EMISSIONS SERVICE CAMPAIGN: OWNER NOTIFICATION (SC340 FLIGHT 105) - This document is the owner notification advising that Kia is conducting a Voluntary Emissions Service Campaign to improve the emissions software logic in the Electronic Control Module (ECM) for certain 2017-2022 MY Sportag
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: VOLUNTARY EMISSIONS SERVICE CAMPAIGN: THETA II 2.4L GDI EMISSION SECM LOGIC IMPROVEMENT (SC340 REV 4) - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. This bulletin p
11028908
Date: 2026-02-19. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE.
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: THEFT DETERRENT IGNITION CYLINDER PROTECTOR AND DECAL INSTALLATION (CS2312) - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. This bulletin prov
VOLUNTARY EMISSIONS SERVICE CAMPAIGN: OWNER NOTIFICATION (SC340 FLIGHT 103 / QL) - This document is the owner notification advising that Kia is conducting a Voluntary Emissions Service Campaign to improve the emissions software logic in the Electronic Control Module (ECM) for certain 2017-2022 MY Sp
11026825
Date: 2025-12-18. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE.
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: THEFT DETERRENT IGNITION CYLINDER PROTECTOR AND DECAL INSTALLATION (CS2312) - This bulletin provides information to install a Theft Deterrent Ignition Cylinder Protector on certain 2010-2022MY Kia vehicles outlined on page 19, which may not have bee
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION CAMPAIGN: OWNER NOTIFICATION (CS2312) - This document is the owner notification advising that Kia is conducting Customer Satisfaction Campaign. A software upgrade that addresses the social media theft method has been made available to owners of eligible Kia model vehicles free
11026533
Date: 2025-12-10. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE.
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: VOLUNTARY EMISSIONS SERVICE CAMPAIGN: THETA II 2.4L GDI EMISSIONS ECM LOGIC IMPROVEMENT (SC340) - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. This bulletin provide
11026698
Date: 2025-12-09. Type: Other. Systems: BACK OVER PREVENTION.
PITSTOP: TECHNICAL OPERATIONS: EXTERNAL DAMAGE TO ULTRASONIC SENSOR: This Pitstop provides information related to Parking Distance Warning (PDW) alerts and repairs involving ultrasonic sensors. The PDW system alerts the driver while parking, by calculating distance based on the difference in signal
Notes on this record
Complaints from the API and bulk file are merged and deduplicated by ODI number; the API alone misses records.
System and subsystem counts are numbers of distinct complaints, recalls or communications that name them. One record can name several systems, so shares across systems can add to more than 100 percent; a single share never exceeds 100 percent.
Recalls are counted once per campaign, investigations once per action and manufacturer communications once per NHTSA id, even when NHTSA lists several model names for the same record.
A sales denominator is a calendar-year proxy, not the population of vehicles still in use. Rates are copied from verified pipeline output.