Total Complaints
354 filings
KIA SEDONA · model year
354 NHTSA complaints, 20 crash reports, and 4 active recalls for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
5 / 5 ★
New Car Assessment Program
The 2016KIASEDONA carries 354 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 20 crashes, 23 fires, 16 injuries, and 6 fatalities. For crash performance, NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program gave this cohort an overall 5/5 rating, with 5/5 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 2016 SEDONA is engine with 135 filings, followed by electrical system (40) and exterior lighting (30). 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 4 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 2 investigation files overlapping the 2016 SEDONA. 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.
Total Complaints
354 filings
Crashes Reported
20 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
Above median complaint volume — review patterns below.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| ENGINE | 135 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 40 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 30 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 29 |
| STRUCTURE:BODY | 20 |
| AIR BAGS | 17 |
| POWER TRAIN | 12 |
| SEAT BELTS | 8 |
| FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 8 |
| SERVICE BRAKES | 7 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 5 |
| STEERING | 5 |
| SEATS | 4 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING:TURN SIGNAL:SWITCH | 3 |
| VISIBILITY/WIPER | 2 |
STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2015-2018 Kia Sedona vehicles equipped with a power sliding door (PSD). The PSD may not auto-reverse when its closing is obstructed.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2015-2018 Sedona vehicles equipped with manually-adjusted front passenger seats. Over time, the Occupant Detection System (ODS) wiring harness located underneath the front passenger seat may break from the seat being occupied.
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:TURN SIGNAL
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Sedona vehicles. The Smart Junction Box (SJB) software logic may not properly interpret the signals received from the multifunction switch, which could cause the turn signal to activate in the opposite direction of what the driver intended.
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:LEVER AND LINKAGE:COLUMN SHIFT
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2016 Sedona and Sorento vehicles. The vehicles may have been manufactured with faulty automatic transmission shift lever assembly components, preventing the shift lever from locking, which can allow the vehicle to rollaway.
I was driving my car, all of a sudden there was a loud knocking sound. The car suddenly wouldnât accelerate. I was in the middle of a busy intersection with kids! I am 95 pounds, I canât push the van! After being hit. I managed to get it moved with help. My van only had 108,000 miles on it! Took it to a mechanic, said needed an engine as there was no oil in it. How is that possible? We just changed it a month prior. Itâs out of warranty by 8000 miles so Kia will not do anything! Iâm sorry, but there are numerous complaints about this, yet nothing is being done! Now Iâm having to pay 5000+ to replace an engine because Kia is just terrible!
My family and I were all driving in the car. We were at a stoplight, and fully stopped as it was a red light. All of a sudden, we heard a weird noise, and all of the dash lights on our car appeared, and then the car fully turned off. We could not get the car back on, and it would not start. Prior to this, it was driving totally fine, and we had no lights on our dashboard indicating something was wrong. Just stopped out of nowhere. If we were on the freeway, and our car just immediately turned off, we could have been in a major, life-threatening accident. After 2-3 times of trying to restart the car, we were able to turn it on, and at least get it into neutral so we could move it off the side of the road. We were able to get it towed to a Kia dealership in which they diagnosed it as engine failure and said we would need to replace the whole engine. This car is around 10 years old and has less than 130,000 miles. It has been meticulously maintained according to Kia standards, and there s
Motor Blew
The contact owned a 2016 Kia Sedona. The contact stated that while her nephew was driving, the nephew made a left-hand turn, and the vehicle was hit on the front right quarter panel. The contact stated that her nephew had turned on the left-hand signal and was halfway through making the left turn when the accident occurred. The other vehicle drove on the opposite side and stated that the left-hand turn signal was not on. The contact's nephew was unsure if any warning lights were illuminated. The driver-side and passenger-side air bags were deployed. The contact's nephew had minor injuries and had a bruise on the right arm and chest that did not require medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a towing yard. The contact then had the vehicle towed to the residence and no longer driven. The insurance company was contacted, and the results are pending. Upon further investigation, the contact discovered that the vehicle had an open recall pending: NHTSA Campaig
Mileage: 96,000
The contact owned a 2016 Kia Sedona. The contact stated that while her nephew was driving, the nephew made a left-hand turn, and the vehicle was hit on the front right quarter panel. The contact stated that her nephew had turned on the left-hand signal and was halfway through making the left turn when the accident occurred. The other vehicle drove on the opposite side and stated that the left-hand turn signal was not on. The contact's nephew was unsure if any warning lights were illuminated. The driver-side and passenger-side air bags were deployed. The contact's nephew had minor injuries and had a bruise on the right arm and chest that did not require medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a towing yard. The contact then had the vehicle towed to the residence and no longer driven. The insurance company was contacted, and the results are pending. Upon further investigation, the contact discovered that the vehicle had an open recall pending: NHTSA Campaig
Mileage: 96,000
The front passenger seat, occupant detection system wiring harness was never repaired by the dealer I had taken the vehicle to the dealer several years ago and he gave me a $8000 estimate to replace the electrical system!
Kia service dealer diagnosed high oil consumption on my car with heavy sounds. They recommend to replace whole engine but it's out of warranty. It has only 106k miles on it. I am afraid the car is posing safety issue as well and it has less miles on it. I filed complain with kia consumer corporate a case has been generated on their system [XXX] but no one had contacted me yet. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Kia service dealer diagnosed high oil consumption on my car with heavy sounds. They recommend to replace whole engine but it's out of warranty. It has only 106k miles on it. I am afraid the car is posing safety issue as well and it has less miles on it. I filed complain with kia consumer corporate a case has been generated on their system [XXX] but no one had contacted me yet. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
2016 KIA Sedona. I was driving on the highway when the Engine started knocking and smoking. I had to cut cars off on the highway to get to the shoulder. The car was towed to a local mechanic who told us there were holes blown through the engine and it would need replaced. This was after a year and a half of driving it so we still had a loan on the car that we couldn't afford to just scrap the car. We had to get a new engine put in the car. Insurance would not help since we did not hit anything and it was a manufacturer defect. Mechanic checked oil level and viscosity and did not see any issues with it. No warning lamps indicated there was anything wrong with the vehicle before the engine ripped itself apart. Thankfully none of our 3 kids were in the vehicle at the time. This was 2 months that we did not have our family van during the winter holidays and it was a very difficult time for the family.
I was at an intersection & was turning left. In the middle of the turn the car started knocking noise and vibrating and turned off in the middle of the intersection. It did not crank for several tries while I was panicking with a car full of kids in a busy intersection. When I got it to crank again it turned off again. Some good Samaritans then helped by holding traffic and pushing us out of harms way in a church parking lot. I kept trying to crank it and when it did, I tried to put it in drive and it started the violent knocking and vibrating like it was going to blow up. I had it towed later when I had gotten paid. I had it towed to Keffer Kia where they told me total engine failure at 88,000 miles. I still pay $300 monthly for the car and have 5 kids that I have to shuffle in my mother in laws 4 door car.
The Sedona just stopped in traffic with out warning with my kids in the van. No type or warning lights came on. I had recently got an oil change and tune up. I almost caused an accident. It was extremely scary. I am thankful no one was hurt. I had to pay for a tow and come to find out the engine is locked . The machine started it had very low oil. Which makes no sense since it hadnât even been 7 days since my oil was changed .
2016 Kia Sedona SX-L (VIN: [XXX]) equipped with 3.3L Lambda II GDI engine. This is the second engine failure â first engine failed due to head bolt studs separating from the block, second (mechanic sourced) engine began heavy smoking and nearly caught fire due to possible oil starvation/rod bearing failure. Vehicle is parked and unsafe to operate. Temperature gauge at time of incident was going towards above average operating temperature. This is the exact defect covered under multiple NHTSA investigations into Lambda 3.3L engine seizing/fire hazard (including PE23-019 for similar Kia Sorento models with the same engine, and defect petition DP24-002 specifically for 2016 Kia Sedona). Kia has extended the warranty on these engines to 15 years/150,000 miles for bearing damage in some cases, but no full recall exists yet. Requesting immediate investigation and inclusion in an engine fire recall similar to those for Theta engines. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMAT
My 2016 Kia Sedona is affected by Safety Recall SC175 (Front Passenger Seat Occupant Detection System Wiring Harness), documented here: [XXX] . Kia and the servicing dealer, Rick Case Kia, report to NHTSA that this recall was completed in 2019. However, the defect described in SC175 is still present and easily reproducible. The dealer continues to insist the repair was completed, but the symptoms match the recall description exactly and the issue now poses a clear safety risk to the front passenger. I have repeatedly informed Rick Case Kia that the recall was not performed correctly or was never performed at all. Despite this, the dealer refuses to inspect or correct the issue and Kia Corporate refuses further action based solely on the dealerâs claim. This has made it impossible for me to obtain the required recall remedy. The vehicle was taken to the same dealer multiple times between 2019 and before the vehicle reached 10 years of age for other safety recalls. If SC175 had trul
With a 140000 miles and the timing chain and component already failing my mechanic told it could die anytime soon local or on the highway
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sedona. The contact stated that while attempting to park the vehicle, the brake pedal was depressed, and the gear shift lever was moved to Park(P) but failed to lock in place. The contact stated that the vehicle started to roll backwards. The contact used force to lock the gear shift lever in Park(P), and the vehicle came to a complete stop after several attempts. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a faulty automatic transmission shift lever. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The vehicle remained at the dealer unrepaired. Upon investigation, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V612000 (Power Train); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.
Mileage: 110,000
I was driving down the highway and the engine light came on. The car suddenly wouldn't accelerate or go above 1500 rpm. There was also a rattle noise. I limped home and checked the oil. It was bone dry. I get regular oil changes every 3,000 to 5,000 miles. The car burned oil way too fast and gave no warnings that the oil was low and there was no leaking. I'm unsure of the extent of the damage. I'm adding oil and taking it to a mechanic for inspection. I fear I may need a new engine.
The hitch lifts have went bad. When you open the back hatch it goes all the way up and then immediately goes back down about half way. Itâs a huge safety concern. I have been hit in the head numerous times.
My 2016 Kia Sedona had complete engine failure. I was driving home from work in January 2025 with both my young daughters and the vehicle completely died out of nowhere no warning light no check engine light no oil light I was stranded alongside the road with a four year-old and a six year-old in January temperatures for hours. I just had to have the engine completely replaced along with several other parts that needed replaced due to the engine failure. I had just gotten the oil changed less than 30 days before this incident and Iâm just now getting the vehicle back after $3500 in repairs. Also, the vehicle is still being financed. I had it about six months when this happened and I currently still owe $10,000 on it! Iâm being told to get rid of it as soon as possible because there was an extreme problem of even trying to locate an engine for this vehicle because there is so many problems with this model. This has been an incredible financial burden on me as a single parent. Kia is
Engine randomly began burning oil at an incredible rate (I checked it approximately 500 miles ago and it within appropriate levels) and resulted in damaging the engine. No âlow oil pressureâ light was activated, and upon starting the vehicle one day it developed a terrible cylinder knock. I checked the oil dipstick, and was completely dry, there was absolutely no oil on the check stick. I also checked and confirmed that there was no leak that caused the oil to drain.
Complete engine failure while driving with 4 passengers along freeway. Engine began to have a knocking noise, with no warning lights. Engine failed a few miles down the road, and started a small fire in the engine bay. Vehicle is currently under inspection at the dealership. Mileage at the time of incident was about 98,200.
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.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.