KIA K5 · model year

2025 KIA K5

40 NHTSA complaints, 5 crash reports, and 2 active recalls for this specific cohort.

NHTSA overall rating

5 / 5 ★

New Car Assessment Program

The 2025KIAK5 carries 40 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 5 crashes, 0 fires, 10 injuries, and 0 fatalities. For crash performance, NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program gave this cohort an overall 5/5 rating, with 4/5 front crash, 5/5 side crash, and 4/5 rollover scores derived from standardized barrier and dynamic tests.

Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2025 K5 is electrical system with 6 filings, followed by unknown or other (5) and power train (4). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability. This model year has 2 active recall campaigns, which means the manufacturer is obligated to remedy the covered defect at no charge for the life of the vehicle — the full NHTSA campaign numbers are listed below.

NHTSA currently has 38 investigation files overlapping the 2025 K5, and 1 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.

40
Complaints
5
Crashes
0
Fires
10
Injuries
0
Deaths
2025 KIA K5 — NHTSA crash-test profile NHTSA NCAP crash-test star ratings for the 2025 KIA K5. Overall composite: 5.0 of 5 stars across 3 safety dimensions. Front CrashSide CrashRollover 5.0 NHTSA NCAP of 5 stars
  • Front Crash 4.0 ★
  • Side Crash 5.0 ★
  • Rollover 4.0 ★
NHTSA overall 5.0/5 stars, with front-crash, side-crash and rollover ratings from standardized NCAP barrier and dynamic tests.

Total Complaints

40 filings

Crashes Reported

5 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

At or below the fleet median complaint volume.

NHTSA NCAP overall: 5/5 — Top NCAP rating · Front: 4/5 · Side: 5/5 · Rollover: 4/5

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM6
UNKNOWN OR OTHER5
POWER TRAIN4
AIR BAGS3
WHEELS3
EXTERIOR LIGHTING3
TIRES3
VISIBILITY/WIPER3
ENGINE2
TIRES:SIDEWALL2
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING1
STRUCTURE:BODY1
STRUCTURE1
VISIBILITY:SUN/MOON ROOF ASSEMBLY1
BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS1

Recalls (2)

25V49300028/07/2025

STRUCTURE:BODY:ROOF AND PILLARS

Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023-2025 K5 vehicles. The left and right rear window trim pieces may loosen and detach.

25V35100027/05/2025

EXTERIOR LIGHTING:LIGHTING CONTROL MODULE:SOFTWARE

Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2025 K5 vehicles. A software error in the Power-net Domain Controller (PDC) may cause the parking lights to flicker. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devi

Recent Complaints

20260113ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

While driving in the dark this morning with my eight year old in the backseat, my headlights shut off, my entire dash including my speedometer, warning lights, radio, heat, heated seat and steering wheel, lost electricity.

20260113EXTERIOR LIGHTING

While driving in the dark this morning with my eight year old in the backseat, my headlights shut off, my entire dash including my speedometer, warning lights, radio, heat, heated seat and steering wheel, lost electricity.

20260113VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

While driving in the dark this morning with my eight year old in the backseat, my headlights shut off, my entire dash including my speedometer, warning lights, radio, heat, heated seat and steering wheel, lost electricity.

20251229VISIBILITY/WIPER

While I was driving, the panoramic sunroof suddenly shattered without any impact. I did not hear or see any object hit the glass. It made a very loud noise similar to a gunshot, and then the glass fractured across the middle section, broke upward, and collapsed into small pieces. There is no visible rock chip or impact point. This was extremely loud and frightening and could have caused injury if more glass had fallen inside the cabin.

20251217EXTERIOR LIGHTING

Component/System Involved: The vehicle experienced a brief electrical failure affecting multiple systems simultaneously: exterior headlights, infotainment system, and dashboard indicators (seatbelt warning). All components recovered automatically within approximately 0.5–1 second. The issue appears electrical in nature (possible power interruption, grounding issue, BCM/TCM-related event). The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Safety Risk: Yes. The headlights shut off completely while driving at night, even if only momentarily. This created a visibility loss and increased risk of collision, especially with surrounding traffic. The sudden loss and restoration of lighting was distracting and unexpected. Reproduction / Confirmation: The issue has occurred 4 times under different conditions (day/night driving). It has not yet been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center. Inspection Status: The vehicle has not yet been inspected by the manufactu

20251217ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Component/System Involved: The vehicle experienced a brief electrical failure affecting multiple systems simultaneously: exterior headlights, infotainment system, and dashboard indicators (seatbelt warning). All components recovered automatically within approximately 0.5–1 second. The issue appears electrical in nature (possible power interruption, grounding issue, BCM/TCM-related event). The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Safety Risk: Yes. The headlights shut off completely while driving at night, even if only momentarily. This created a visibility loss and increased risk of collision, especially with surrounding traffic. The sudden loss and restoration of lighting was distracting and unexpected. Reproduction / Confirmation: The issue has occurred 4 times under different conditions (day/night driving). It has not yet been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center. Inspection Status: The vehicle has not yet been inspected by the manufactu

20251217VISIBILITY/WIPER

Component/System Involved: The vehicle experienced a brief electrical failure affecting multiple systems simultaneously: exterior headlights, infotainment system, and dashboard indicators (seatbelt warning). All components recovered automatically within approximately 0.5–1 second. The issue appears electrical in nature (possible power interruption, grounding issue, BCM/TCM-related event). The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Safety Risk: Yes. The headlights shut off completely while driving at night, even if only momentarily. This created a visibility loss and increased risk of collision, especially with surrounding traffic. The sudden loss and restoration of lighting was distracting and unexpected. Reproduction / Confirmation: The issue has occurred 4 times under different conditions (day/night driving). It has not yet been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center. Inspection Status: The vehicle has not yet been inspected by the manufactu

20251213UNKNOWN OR OTHER

k5 car seat belt locked 2025 gt line fix replacement of the assembly Retraction Issue deployed Stuck

20251105UNKNOWN OR OTHER

KIA has hasd a recall since July of 2025 and the part to fix the back window trim. The part was supposed to be ready to ne installed by Oct of 2025. It is Nov 5 2025 and the part is still unavailable. KIA is in no hurry or rush to get this recalled.

20251020BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS

fix

20251020ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

fix

20251020AIR BAGS

fix

20251006VISIBILITY:SUN/MOON ROOF ASSEMBLY

The contact owns a 2025 Kia K5. The contact stated that while his wife was driving 65 MPH, there was an abnormal banging sound coming from the top of the vehicle. The contact stated that the sunroof had exploded, and the glass had shattered. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact's wife kept driving to the residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 4,358.

Mileage: 4,358

20251005POWER TRAIN

The K5 - as soon as I began driving it at 0 miles, I noticed it shifted at lower speeds extremely hard. Head-jerking hard during the first drive of each day at speeds below 25mph. Once the vehicle warmed up, the problem would go away and wouldn't appear until the next day - after the vehicle cooled down completely. I thought, maybe there was a break-in period. So I drove it for about 250 total miles. At that point, I made a service call and brought it into the dealership. I left it overnight. Explained all of the symptoms. The next day, one of your service advisors test drove the vehicle. I was called and told they were unable to reproduce the problem and that I could come pick up the car. I was told by your service advisor that the problem "could be rats or rodents in my garage". I was greatly taken back by that suggestion because I live in an upscale neighborhood, with a highly secured finished garage and have never had any rodent problems. I mentioned that to the service advisor, an

20250916TIRES

Tire size: P 235/45 R 18 While I was driving home from work my steering started feeling a little shaky. My commute is 6.5 miles. I thought it felt a little weird about 2-3 miles in and I called my boyfriend to meet me when I got home because I could tell something was off, but my tire pressure was fine. When I was about .5 miles from our home, the shaking became audible and violent so I got scared and pulled off. I called again for help while I was parked and walked around to see if there was anything weird and I could not see anything. About 3-4 minutes later while I was sitting in my car waiting, my tire exploded. It shook my car and was so loud that people ran out of the building I was in front of to see what happened. At this point, I had a tire indicator come up saying something was wrong. When I walked around my car again, I saw in one of my tires the cords came out and split in middle of the tread causing separation, and the tire still had air in it. It also scratched my paint a

20250916VISIBILITY/WIPER

My 2025 Kia K5 with less than 10k miles on it is experiencing intermittent windshield wiper failure. Starting over two months ago, my windshield wipers would fail in the sense they would not turn on while it is raining and/or would not activate when I use the sprayer function leaving residue and obstructing my view in both scenarios. This is a critical safety issue that has been documented on video, however the dealership/Kia are not being forthcoming in fixing the issue. My car has been in the shop over a week at Mark Kia and there is still not a remedy for the issue. They claim to not being able to reproduce the issue and will not do further diagnostics until it happens. The car is leased and I do not feel safe driving it knowing there is a chance my wipers can fail intermittently (as they have while it has been raining) so I'm filing this complaint.

20250912TIRES

The contact owns a 2025 Kia K5. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) warning light illuminated. The contact's daughter took the vehicle to a specialty tire shop, and it was determined that the front driver’s side tire had two bubbles. One bubble was located on the top, and one bubble was on the front side. The tire was replaced. The tire manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the vehicle manufacturer for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 2,500.

Mileage: 2,500

20250904POWER TRAIN

Transmission has extremely hard shifting if vehicle sits for more than 24 hours. After the vehicle is parked, inside garage, or outside, the first drive of the day has an extremely hard shift of the transmission on the first shifting of the day. The shift it so hard, it jerks the entire car and jolts me in my seat. The remainder of the drive and day, the hard shifting does not occur. Took the vehicle into dealership where purchased at 1000 miles and left it with them for 2 full days. Unsurprisingly, they said they were, "Unable to reproduce". The next day, the vehicle had the exact same problem. I have close to 3000 miles on the vehicle and the transmission continues to do the exact same thing every time I drive it. It is terrible for a brand new car. It doesn't matter which "Drive mode" the vehicle is in. The dealership also tried to reset the ECM. But no luck. My neck and back have been sore from the hard shift events too.

20250828TIRES:SIDEWALL

234/45/R18 - 94V bubble developed on exterior of front, passenger side tire AND the interior of back, passenger side tire within a year of purchasing vehicle new with this tire installed. The tire had to be replaced immediately to avoid a tire blowout.

20250811STRUCTURE

The contact owns a 2025 Kia K5. The contact stated that the vehicle was purchased from the Kia dealer as a brand-new vehicle. The contact stated that while attempting to register the vehicle on the online vehicle rental site Turo the following day, the contact became aware that the VIN was included in a recall. The contact stated that the dealer had sold and delivered a brand-new vehicle that was under recall. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.

Compare 2025KIAK5 to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations 1 Open

View all investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 2025 KIA K5 have?
The 2025 KIA K5 has 40 NHTSA complaints, 5 crashes, 0 fires, 10 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
What is the safety rating for the 2025 KIA K5?
The 2025 KIA K5 received an overall NHTSA safety rating of 5/5, front crash rating of 4/5, side crash rating of 5/5, and rollover rating of 4/5.
Are there any recalls for the 2025 KIA K5?
Yes, the 2025 KIA K5 has 2 recall(s). The most common affected component is STRUCTURE:BODY:ROOF AND PILLARS. Recalls are issued by NHTSA and manufacturers must provide a free remedy.
What are the most common problems with the 2025 KIA K5?
The most-complained component for the 2025 KIA K5 is ELECTRICAL SYSTEM with 6 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include UNKNOWN OR OTHER and POWER TRAIN.
Is the 2025 KIA K5 safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. The 2025 KIA K5 has an NHTSA safety rating of 5/5. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Vehicle Safety Guides

Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.