It was on the dealership show floor, definitely not seat covers and nothing really comes up when I search for "K5 with pink interior". Shoulda taken more photos and looked at the price sheet for info but I figured I could look it up.

Hey! I’m from Finland and I’ve been following this sub for a while now. I’m honestly surprised by how often people here post about having major issues with their cars. Back home, I’ve never heard of anyone having a blown engine in a Kia—or engine failures in general, really, except for the occasional German car.

So it got me wondering if there’s a huge quality difference depending on where they're built. Our Kias are usually made in Korea, though lately I think some models have been imported from Mexico as well.

Almost all our cars are 3- or 4-cylinder versions, and we also have mandatory annual safety and emissions inspections (MOT), so maybe those play a role too.

I drive a 2011 Kia, and plenty of people I know have Kias ranging from 2009 models to just a couple of years old. I also follow local auto forums, and engine failures almost never come up.

Yet reading Reddit gives the impression that Kias are terribly unreliable. It’s such a stark contrast to my experience, because the Kias here are super low-maintenance and consistently rank near the top in local reliability surveys. Neither I nor anyone I know has had any major issues—just regular oil changes and basic maintenance have been enough so far.

Here’s my issue, in the past 6,000 miles, my car has been in the shop 4 times. They refused to check systems, only drive the car, charge me $189/hr to either write failure to duplicate or claim it’s a repair not covered under warranty. All 3 of the dealerships within driving distance of me have the same method because it comes down from corporate.

Every brand is going to have issues. It’s part of doing business, but Kia America is predatory. They use the warranty to market their vehicles. It’s not real if you can’t access it. My knock sensor picked up a knock 6000 miles ago, but instead of them looking for the problem they replaced the knock sensor. Then the timing. Then my car shut itself off in the middle of an intersection. I had it towed to them. Because they were able to start it, they only wanted to talk to me about my breaks. They told me to replace the spark plugs. I did. Then the intake manifold was next and Kia refused the claim and I had to pay out of pocket $1000. Less than 4 weeks later it shut itself off again. And it sounded like the engine dropped. And well now the engines done. Now I’m sure they will fight the claim. I went above and beyond with my vehicle. It didn’t change the outcome. 69,000 and my car is done.

The only parts not original are the tires and battery.

I'm at the point where I need to think about replacement, even though I wish I didn't! Now that the Kia Soul model is discontinued (so I can't just get a newer model, boo!)​ what is the next most reliable and lower priced subcompact suv. I've never had a touch screen car and use a usb and my cd player still, so I'm not tech informed when it comes to cars. Please help me with recommending a good reliable car I can have for years. Thank you.

Posted in the EV3 community, but it might be useful for some of you out here as well…

Got my new Kia EV3 less than a month ago, barely 1000km on it, and today out of nowhere, I heard a god-awful metallic grinding screech coming from the front wheel well.

I live in a rural area where paved tarmac is a luxurious option rather than a guarantee, so the car gets its fair share of rough road. Still, my mind immediately panicked: did the motor just disintegrate? Is a drive unit shot? Blown wheel bearing? That heart-sinking feeling on a brand-new car is brutal.

Took the wheel off to inspect, and found the culprit: a decent-sized chunk of gravel jammed directly between the brake caliper and the rotor.

Combine gravel roads with the EV3’s dead-silent cabin, and a tiny rock sounds like a train derailment. Absolute relief it wasn't a warranty nightmare repair, but man, that screech gave me a heart attack!

Anyone else had a rogue rock give them a scare in their new EV?

I have a 2013 Kia Optima with 86k. I've owned it since 2015 and have all but one service record for oil changes. It started knocking after I got off the freeway but the knock sensor update didn't detect it. Luckily I've worked on cars and know when uncle Rodney comes knocking. After some back and forth with Kia corporate (who I have to mention was actually pleasant to work with) and the dealership, they finally approved my extended warranty. Looks like they're going to replace the bottom end and refresh the top end.

The Kia dealership close to me didn't even want to give me a loaner while it was diagnosed. They made it seem like it wasn't worth their time, so I towed it to the Kia dealer 25 miles away. The service manager Christian has been awesome and tried to get in front of any pitfalls before submitting to Kia. Corporate tried to get after me about the one missing service record and the fact that the tags expired just before it broke down. I just told them that the class action suit says nothing about either of those things and that's their own requirement. A few days later it was approved. Just playing the waiting game now for the motor to get here and replaced.

My thoughts? Educate yourself on the process. There are flow charts you can download the show what a Kia service technician has to follow. It also depends on the dealership. Find one that wants to help you, not one that is upset at you for knowing the process beforehand. Just happy it's getting fixed

They are a very smart breed.

Hi all, I just got a 2014 Kia Sportage.

I’ve noticed that water is getting into the car through the A-pillars on both sides whenever it rains.

Where are the water drains located on the Sportage? I suspect that they might be clogged, which is preventing the water from draining properly.

For reference, my Sportage has a panoramic sunroof.

Any advice on where I should check or how I can clean the drains would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hey everyone, trying to figure out how to open my gas door because the lever (picture attached) isn’t opening it. I’ve tried a few things but nothing works.

My 2023 Kia Stonic’s front brake hose suddenly burst while I was pressing the brake and shifting from P to N. I heard a loud pop, the brake pedal went soft, and brake fluid started leaking.
The front brake pads were replaced at a Kia dealer about 6 months ago. Has anyone seen this happen before? Could it be a manufacturing defect or damage from the previous brake service?

​

I have a 2026 Kia Sportage LX AWD, only about 2 months old with \~3,000 km.

From the day I bought car all four doors make a sticking noise when I open them. It sounds like the rubber weatherstripping is sticking to the weatherstripping of door frame and then releasing as I pull the door open.

The noise is coming from the rubber seal area, not the hinge or door latch. Honestly, I didn't noticed it until my friend pointed it out yesterday. I checked his new Hyundai Tucson which he bought two months ago which doesn't make this noise.

Has anyone else with a 2026 Sportage experienced this?

Just wondering if there are any other high mileage Kia optima’s out there. I just hit 160k with an optima hybrid ex 2015 replaced hybrid battery at 140k miles.

Vehicle is a 2014 Kia Sportage with the 2.4 and 132,000 miles. I self service with full synthetic every 5,000 miles. Got on the highway and started to hear some clicking. Got about a mile away from my house on a decent grade. Check engine light started flashing and the vehicle lost power. Got a block away from my house and it died completely and the oil light came on. Got it started just long enough to pull it into the driveway. Checked the oil and it has plenty and it has coolant. Vehicle showed no signs of overheating. Any guesses? Sounds expensive regardless.

Finally joined the EV club

Has anyone had their infotainment screen go black after an oil change/service?

I have a 2026 Kia Sportage Hybrid. The infotainment was working perfectly when I dropped it off for an oil change, but when I got the car back the screen was completely black.

I noticed it before leaving and told the service desk. One of the employees actually came out to my car and saw the screen glitching/intermittently trying to come on. He said the technicians had already left and told me to come back.
I’ve tried the pinhole reset and holding the power/volume button with no luck. At one point the screen glitched again briefly but went right back to black. The instrument cluster works normally — it’s only the infotainment.

Has anyone experienced this with a 2026 Sportage Hybrid? Could something have been disconnected/reset during an oil change, or does this sound like the known infotainment/display issue some Sportages have been having?

I bought new KIA EV5 2 weeks before in Netherland , I am trying to buy Theme in car but not able to see buy option in KIA app store section also not showing these Theme or Entertainment package
it only showing Music and other OTA service .

Anyone have idea to activate these

I have already placed an order for XLE premium RAV4: CA$43k MSRP. And was trying to see if there’s anything comparable for me to buy in the same price. And I looked into Sportage. It seems to be about C$5000-10,000 more expensive for the similar features trim as a RAV4 XLE premium. So I looked into Seltos 2027 and I’m interested in the hybrid version specifically. And the closest trim which I can get with similar feature lvl, is EX premium for Seltos 2027. Currently the non-hybrid version of EX premium goes to roughly CA$40500 MSRP. And the hybrid version will have in my opinion 2000 to $4000 high price then the gas version. Therefore will be around 43,000 to 44,000 CAD. Which is roughly the same as RAV4 XLE Premium. And RAV4 is a bigger car with Higher towing capacity, storage space, better engine, better depreciation, schedule, and reliability.

I’m confused after all that why would anyone buy seltos hybrid over RAV4 if they are the same exact price???

Managed to pick up a 2026 Stonic GT-Line. Really loving it so far!
Any tips or tricks welcome if anyone else here has had one for a while.

My 2005 Kia Sportage (2.0 CRDi Diesel, 112 HP, 4WD) suddenly won't start despite running perfectly yesterday. It cranks over normally with solid compression, and a jump start didn't change anything, so the battery is ruled out. The immobilizer is acting normally, but as you can see in the attached video, the tachometer needle stays completely dead at zero while cranking. My main suspicion is a dead Crankshaft Position Sensor (CKP) preventing the ECU from reading engine rotation and firing the injectors, but I need confirmation on whether this specific video behavior guarantees a CKP failure or if another component can trigger these exact symptoms, could somebody help me w a feedback? thanks

Is anyone able to identify the part number for this hose thats leaking engine coolant? It’s connected to a black colored pipe module that also connects the other non leaking hose.