2018 KIA SPORTAGE — Complaint #2091196
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about TRAILER HITCHES filed May 12, 2025
NHTSA complaint #2091196 (ODI reference 11660415) concerns a 2018 KIA SPORTAGE and was filed on May 12, 2025. The owner reports the failure occurred on May 11, 2025. The vehicle had 186,000 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to Florida based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as trailer hitches, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: yes, injuries: 2, fatalities: 0. A complaint that flags a crash, fire, or fatality is escalated on NHTSA's internal review queue and factors more heavily into any Preliminary Evaluation decision on this make and model. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same KIA SPORTAGE cohort independently describe similar trailer hitches failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2018 KIA SPORTAGE shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
The contact owned a 2018 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 50 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact stated that the vehicle decelerated to approximately 45 MPH, and the contact pulled over to the side of the road and the vehicle caught on fire. The contact and her daughter who was inside the vehicle was able to exit the vehicle safely. The contact stated that the fire had started under the hood of the vehicle and totally engulfed the entire vehicle. The Fire Department was contacted and arrived on the scene and extinguished the fire. A Fire Department report was filed. The contact and her daughter sustained smoke inhalation and sought medical assistance. The vehicle was towed and was deemed a total loss. The contact inquired about possible recalls on the vehicle and was informed that the VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V703000 (Trailer Hitches); however, the vehicle ha
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 2091196 |
| ODI Number | 11660415 |
| Date Filed | May 12, 2025 |
| Failure Date | May 11, 2025 |
| VIN | KNDPMCAC1J7 |
Similar TRAILER HITCHES Complaints for 2018 KIA SPORTAGE
The contact owns a 2018 Kia Sportage. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V703000 (Trailer Hitches) however, the part to do the recall repair was not available. The contact s
The contact owns a 2018 Kia Sportage. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V703000 (Trailer Hitches) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact sta
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.