2023 Kia K5: What to check before buying

The fuel tank swells while driving, often with a loud bang from the rear, and pushes the back seat up by several inches. Warning signs include a check engine light, fuel smell, a gauge that drops fast or reads wrong, and a pump nozzle that keeps clicking off. Jerking, loss of power, and stalling at highway speed follow. Some reports describe broken tank straps or a bent subframe. Dealers link it to a recall, but many cars sit undrivable for weeks, and several owners are offered buybacks. One injury is reported.

Most of these reports are about the recall. Owners get notices for fuel tank campaign 25V794000, but repair parts are unavailable or on back order, and the wait has no end date. When the tank does fail, drivers hear loud pops or booms underneath, lose power, smell fuel, watch the gauge drop, or see fuel spill from the filler neck. Some cars fail the recall inspection because the tank has already expanded. Those cars are declared unsafe and left unrepaired. One injury is reported.

Sudden loss of acceleration at highway speed is the main pattern. The car goes into limp mode, every warning light comes on, and RPMs rise with no gain in speed. Restarting often brings power back. Reports fall between 5k and 26k miles and often come back after dealers just reset codes. Several owners say a related recall does not cover their VIN. Others report harsh or hesitant shifts, shudder, slipping into neutral, and transmission replacements. A failed AWD coupler locked a rear wheel at 70 mph.

Exterior trim works loose and falls off. The chrome pieces around the rear window and the C-pillar trim near the trunk come up most. Pieces fly off at highway speed and nearly hit cars behind, and owners describe the problem as widespread. A detached front bumper clip also shows up. Separately, the panoramic sunroof glass shatters on its own, both parked and while driving, and throws glass onto the road. One crash-related report gives no details.

Power drops away or the car shuts off in the middle of the road, sometimes with a burning smell, and afterward it barely moves. Another report describes a failed engine diagnosed right after purchase, followed by a buyback offer. Sputtering and weak acceleration persist for some owners even after new spark plugs. One complaint here is actually a fuel tank failure that blew the back seat loose. A separate owner says fuel economy falls short of the advertised figures, averaging 24 city and 27 highway.

Airbags fail to deploy in serious crashes. Reports include a front airbag that stayed off in a head-on collision that totaled the car and a side airbag that never fired in a passenger-side impact. In another crash, the frontal airbag went off with enough force to cause chemical burns and a concussion. Three of the four reports involve crashes, and injuries are reported. The fourth complaint is about a fuel tank recall delay, not airbags.

The brake pedal fails without warning. At low speed it goes soft and sinks to the floor, which led to a rear-end crash with an injury. During a highway tire blowout, the pedal locked solid while every warning light came on, leaving the driver unable to brake. Early wear is also reported, with front pads and rotors needing replacement at 8300 miles of light commuting.

Both reports trace back to the fuel tank, not the seats. The tank bursts at highway speed, lifts the rear seats, and cuts engine power in fast traffic. Before that, owners describe months of popping sounds, fuel odor, check engine lights, and failed emissions tests. Repeated dealer visits, including a purge control valve repair, do not fix the problem. Three injuries are reported.

Driver-assist systems shut off or fail to act. In one crash, the car shifted out of neutral in an automatic car wash and bumped the vehicle ahead with no warning and no automatic braking. Another owner sees warning lights on every start, with power steering, cruise control, and lane departure all disabled at once.