2020 Kia Sportage: What to check before buying

Sudden power loss at highway speed is the main pattern. It often comes with a flashing check engine light, knocking or rattling, overheating and limp mode before the engine fails outright. Many reports describe heavy oil burning with no low-oil warning, and some engines run nearly dry between changes. Failures cluster between about 48,000 and 75,000 miles. Several owners say Kia denied warranty coverage over oil change records. Three reports involve fires, one with burns to an occupant. Stalling in traffic also creates crash risk.

Oil burning and a flickering oil warning lead to knocking, loss of power and limp mode. Several cases end in an engine replacement or rebuild. A mechanic found metal shavings in the oil, and the dealer confirmed failed piston rings at 55,445 miles. One engine failed at about 12,000 miles and failed again after the rebuild. In another car, new knock sensors did not stop the knocking from coming back. One fire began with a coolant leak and flames under the hood at low speed, with no warning lights.

Three reports describe fires under the hood with no warning lights, including one that burned the driver while the car was moving. Several owners link the fire risk to the recall for the Genuine Kia tow hitch harness accessory. They report dealers who did not know about the interim fuse fix, and a burning smell the dealer could not explain. Other complaints cover oil burning, rough running and limp mode, thefts despite the anti-theft software, a leaking fuel tank, a screen that goes blank, and false blind spot and collision warnings.

Most of these reports are about recall 21V137000 for the hydraulic brake system. Owners waited for parts that dealers did not have, and none of them reported a failure. The actual brake failures include a hard pedal that would not stop the car before a low-speed crash, shaking with metal-on-metal grinding that a dealer blamed on rust, and pulling left and right that continued after new pads, rotors and hoses. One fire began with a fuel smell at highway speed. A brake-light warning that comes and goes also appears.

The panoramic sunroof glass shatters without warning at highway speed with a bang like a gunshot, and in one case it covered the occupants in glass. Owners say Kia denies these claims or never responds. Clear coat peels from plastic parts such as the mirrors, door handles and liftgate spoiler, sometimes within about 3 years. The power liftgate can drop on people while they load cargo, injuring one owner, or open by itself. One theft complaint filed after the anti-theft recall also appears here.

Two patterns stand out. Some owners report wandering and swaying at highway speeds that gets worse in wind and rain, and dealers cannot reproduce it. One of these reports involves a crash. Other owners hear a clunk, or a squeak and grinding, when turning. One report describes the wheel seizing at low speed and the car going over a curb at about 400 miles. The remaining reports cover thefts through the steering column using a USB cord and requests for a free steering wheel lock.

The main report is unintended acceleration while pulling into or out of a parking spot. The car lunges into a wall, a pole or a building. In one case the brakes failed to stop it and two people were hurt. Three of the four reports involve crashes, and after one of them a dealer found nothing wrong. The remaining complaint lists many warning lights at once, an overheating engine and a failed water pump.

The two crash reports describe opposite failures, and both drivers were hurt. In one, the airbags deployed and smoked hot enough to melt a jacket sleeve and leave a burn scar on the driver's wrist. In the other, a side impact at 10 mph set off no airbags and the driver was injured. The third complaint is not about airbags. It describes fast oil burning and compares the car to recalled Kia models.

Headlights draw two kinds of complaints. One owner says they are too dim at night, though a dealer found them within compliance at 6,000 miles. Another says the beams stay pointed straight ahead during turns, leaving the path dark for a few seconds. The third complaint is about oil, not lighting: the engine ran nearly dry before the next oil change was due, and the oil light only blinked at random.