FaultScore

Worst years for a KIA Sportage

Owners have filed 6,792 complaints about the KIA Sportage with NHTSA across model years 1995 to 2026. More of them are about the engine & cooling than anything else.

Avoid

2017 KIA Sportage

560 complaints — the highest FaultScore of any year, mostly engine & cooling.

Cleanest on record

1995 KIA Sportage

88 complaints — the lowest FaultScore of the graded years.

Every KIA Sportage year, graded

The grade compares each year against the rest of this model's own run — never against another car. Click any bar or row to open that year's report.

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded
Year Grade Complaints Crashes Fires Median miles Most reported
2026 C 40 10 0 Driver Assist & Collision Avoidance
2025 C 86 6 0 3,500 Other & Unspecified
2024 D 97 17 0 18,700 Other & Unspecified
2023 F 310 44 2 23,000 Driver Assist & Collision Avoidance
2022 C 67 10 2 42,000 Engine & Cooling
2021 C 62 3 9 54,000 Engine & Cooling
2020 D 205 16 18 11,800 Engine & Cooling
2019 C 102 5 8 25,000 Engine & Cooling
2018 D 226 11 14 19,950 Engine & Cooling
2017 F 560 25 46 55,000 Engine & Cooling
2016 C 183 13 8 60,000 Engine & Cooling
2015 C 195 9 21 70,000 Engine & Cooling
2014 B 154 2 1 79,500 Engine & Cooling
2013 D 449 6 35 94,000 Engine & Cooling
2012 D 454 10 25 97,000 Engine & Cooling
2011 C 264 10 10 71,010 Engine & Cooling
2010 B 28 4 0 89,500 Brakes
2009 C 120 7 15 75,000 Electrical System
2008 C 138 2 37 88,000 Electrical System
2007 C 113 13 7 69,000 Airbags
2006 C 169 12 9 80,000 Airbags
2005 C 93 13 2 89,000 Airbags
2003 4 0 0 Fuel & Propulsion
2002 D 321 19 7 58,400 Engine & Cooling
2001 D 354 31 7 48,595 Fuel & Propulsion
2000 D 462 27 8 69,000 Fuel & Propulsion
1999 D 493 43 6 71,200 Engine & Cooling
1998 D 558 31 7 70,000 Engine & Cooling
1997 D 299 50 6 97,000 Engine & Cooling
1996 C 98 13 3 79,000 Brakes
1995 A 88 2 1 Engine & Cooling

What breaks on a KIA Sportage

Across every model year on file. Follow a row for that part's complaints and the year it was worst.

Engine & Cooling 2,024 29.8%

Worst in 2012

Worst in 2017

Brakes 632 9.3%

Worst in 1998

Worst in 2000

Worst in 1998

Worst in 2017

Airbags 297 4.4%

Worst in 1997

Body & Structure 285 4.2%

Worst in 1998

Worst in 1999

Worst in 1997

Steering 161 2.4%

Worst in 2009

Suspension 156 2.3%

Worst in 1998

Lights 127 1.9%

Worst in 2017

Worst in 2023

Exactly what failed on a KIA Sportage

The named sub-assemblies behind those complaints, across every model year.

Gasoline 158 19.5%
Body 144 17.8%
Frontal 85 10.5%
Automatic Transmission 76 9.4%
Engine 68 8.4%
Tank Assembly 64 7.9%
Power Window Devices AND Controls 60 7.4%
Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip 60 7.4%
Exhaust System 52 6.4%
Foundation Components 44 5.4%

Complaints filed over time

Every complaint about every KIA Sportage, by the month it reached NHTSA.

Aug 1995 peak 68 Aug 2026

KIA Sportage problems by state

Where owners filed from. Heavier states are usually just bigger markets, but a part that fails in heat or salt shows up here first.

Compare the KIA Sportage

Side by side on complaint history. Remember that raw totals track how many were sold as much as how good they were.