2018 Kia Sportage: What to check before buying

Heavy oil consumption is the most common report, often a quart or more every 1,000 miles with no visible leak. Many cases move on to knocking, misfires, lost compression, or limp mode with code P1326, which points to connecting rod bearing wear. Those failures cluster past 100,000 miles, though some engines failed near 18,000. Several reports describe smoke from under the hood, a stall, and then flames. Five complaints involve fire and one an injury. Some owners say warranty claims were denied for missing oil change records.

Wiring harness overheating is the most serious pattern. Owners describe melted plugs at the battery, alternator, and cooling fan, a smell of smoke, and in one case sudden loss of speed on a highway. No-start problems also come up, where the car needs repeated jump starts even though the battery tests fine. Several owners report thefts after the anti-theft software upgrade was done. Other complaints cover dead low beams, brake lights shorting out, and a failed power window regulator. One report describes the whole car burning while parked.

The transmission slips out of gear without warning. The engine revs and the tachometer climbs, but the car coasts for a few seconds before it catches again. This happens at highway speeds, in turns, and when pulling away from a stop, which makes merging risky. Some drivers report hard downshifts into first followed by a jolt as the gear engages. Others report a sudden loss of power with the check engine light on. Dealers often cannot reproduce the problem and leave it unrepaired.

Power steering can drop out along with the headlights, radio, and dashboard when the electrical system fails while driving. One report links a crash and an injury to a combined loss of steering and brakes. Some owners say the wheel locks up during turns, and one reports the car pulling left after a steering column replacement. Flickering displays with an AFLS warning are also mentioned. Two of the three crash reports involve theft, including thieves stripping the steering column and starting the car without a key.

Most of these complaints are about recall 21V137000, not brake failures. Owners report the repair part was unavailable, with dealers quoting waits of 1 to 2 months, and one car went back to its owner unrepaired. Actual failures are rare but serious. One report describes brakes that did not engage and caused a rear-end crash, and another describes the car rolling down a driveway while in Park. A grinding noise with an ABS warning light was traced to the ABS module.

Headlights and the navigation screen flicker or shut off while driving at night, sometimes with an AFLS warning on the display. Restarting clears the warning, but the flicker comes back. One new car lost its instrument lights on a dark highway with under 100 miles on it. Another owner had lights fail from a bad connection. One complaint is about design: the rear turn signals and reverse lights sit low on the bumper, and following drivers struggle to see them.

Paint and clear coat peel off the hood, front bumper, roof, and side mirrors, leaving white patches. Owners of white pearl cars mention chipping in particular. The problem gets worse over time, even on cars washed only by hand. One report describes the front sunroof glass exploding at interstate speed with a loud bang. Glass covered the driver, and the scare nearly caused a collision with nearby traffic.

The passenger seat heater can scorch the seat and leave an L-shaped burn mark, even on its normal settings. Driver seat problems are the other theme. The recline gets stuck and is hard to bring back upright, and one seat latch failed, so the seat would not move forward. That failure came at about 61,000 miles, and the dealer did not diagnose or repair it.