Total Complaints
60 filings
KIA SEDONA · model year
60 NHTSA complaints, 3 crash reports, and 3 active recalls for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
5 / 5 ★
New Car Assessment Program
The 2018KIASEDONA carries 60 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 3 crashes, 8 fires, 3 injuries, and 0 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 2018 SEDONA is engine with 19 filings, followed by electrical system (10) and air bags (6). 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 3 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 2018 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
60 filings
Crashes Reported
3 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| ENGINE | 19 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 10 |
| AIR BAGS | 6 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 3 |
| STRUCTURE:BODY | 3 |
| POWER TRAIN | 2 |
| SEATS | 2 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 2 |
| WHEELS | 2 |
| FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 2 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 |
| VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 |
| TIRES | 1 |
| SERVICE BRAKES | 1 |
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE:LOCK | 1 |
AIR BAGS
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Sedona, Soul, Soul EV, 2017-2018 Forte, and 2017 Forte Koup vehicles. The Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) cover may contact a memory chip on the printed circuit board and damage the electrical circuit. Circuit damage may result in deactivated air
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.
My [XXX] son pulled the seatbelt so tight it got wrapped around his neck. When I pulled over to unbuckle it, it was stuck. I turned the car off and on again to try and loosen it, but it didn't work. In the emergency, I had to cut the seatbelt with scissors. It's the passenger seatbelt in the second row, next to the window. I reported the incident to Kia in Puerto Rico by phone. They never called me back. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
In 2022, our airbag light came on. On 5/10/2022 am Airbag recall was issued and it was fixed. The airbag computer/module was fixed. We got into an accident in August of 2022, and our airbags never went off. And the airbag light has never shut off since it was âfixedâ May 2022. Itâs now October 2025. They said nothing was wrong with it, after bringing the vehicle in multiple times. And now after bringing it in, again in August 2025, they said the entire passenger airbag unit needs to be replace and isnât related to the airbag recall. Itâs $800+ and Kia wonât do it since the warranty has expired and itâs ânot relatedâ. Still fighting with them over it. As the airbags recall in 2022 included a defect where the Airbag Control Unit (ACU) cover can contact a memory chip, potentially deactivating the airbags. This issue affects a range of models manufactured between July 2016 and January 2019 and can result in the airbags failing to deploy in an accident. Worst customer se
While driving under normal conditions and normal operation, the engine lost power, began using excessive fuel, the inside of the vehicle smelled like fuel and white smoke began pouring out of the exhaust.
Driver Side door stuck in the closed position. Electric Motor does not work.
There was a fire under my minivan as my husband was driving it, creating smoke and flames. He lost power to the van and had to coast to the right side of the highway where he came to a stop with the flames occurring. This is the family vehicle and I have small children. We had no warning lights or any indication that there would be a fire in my vehicle as the van had been running smoothly, and I had kept up with all recommended maintenance (see Carfax report). On July 31st, I was told by Kia America that there was a fire in the engine compartment and that it was inconclusive and they could not determine what started the fire. On August 15th, my father and husband went to Castrucci Kia (where the car was) and were shown that there were holes in the engine block, and the service representative Brandon stated that the engine failure had probably thrown some of the rods causing the holes in the lower engine block sparking a fire when the leaking oil hit the catalytic converter. My
There was a fire under my minivan as my husband was driving it, creating smoke and flames. He lost power to the van and had to coast to the right side of the highway where he came to a stop with the flames occurring. This is the family vehicle and I have small children. We had no warning lights or any indication that there would be a fire in my vehicle as the van had been running smoothly, and I had kept up with all recommended maintenance (see Carfax report). On July 31st, I was told by Kia America that there was a fire in the engine compartment and that it was inconclusive and they could not determine what started the fire. On August 15th, my father and husband went to Castrucci Kia (where the car was) and were shown that there were holes in the engine block, and the service representative Brandon stated that the engine failure had probably thrown some of the rods causing the holes in the lower engine block sparking a fire when the leaking oil hit the catalytic converter. My
There was a fire under my minivan as my husband was driving it, creating smoke and flames. He lost power to the van and had to coast to the right side of the highway where he came to a stop with the flames occurring. This is the family vehicle and I have small children. We had no warning lights or any indication that there would be a fire in my vehicle as the van had been running smoothly, and I had kept up with all recommended maintenance (see Carfax report). On July 31st, I was told by Kia America that there was a fire in the engine compartment and that it was inconclusive and they could not determine what started the fire. On August 15th, my father and husband went to Castrucci Kia (where the car was) and were shown that there were holes in the engine block, and the service representative Brandon stated that the engine failure had probably thrown some of the rods causing the holes in the lower engine block sparking a fire when the leaking oil hit the catalytic converter. My
Engine failedâ¦driving down the road with five small children and without warning all the lights came on and started smoking, leaking fuel, power doors failed, steering, acceleration and more. We had to have the car towed to a shop. A when looking into whatâs happening apparently many others are having to spend thousands to fix this issue and Iâm afraid thatâs where we are. An investigation needs to be opened as this is clearly an ongoing issue for many families
Engine failedâ¦driving down the road with five small children and without warning all the lights came on and started smoking, leaking fuel, power doors failed, steering, acceleration and more. We had to have the car towed to a shop. A when looking into whatâs happening apparently many others are having to spend thousands to fix this issue and Iâm afraid thatâs where we are. An investigation needs to be opened as this is clearly an ongoing issue for many families
While driving on the interstate, about an hour into the trip, there was a banging/tinging sound coming from the front of the van. Immediately the van was pulled off the road to assess the situation as there were NO WARNING MESSAGES OR LIGHTS that came on to alert of any problem. Immediately before hearing the noise, the van had a major loss of power going up a slight incline on the interstate. The van threw a rod and had I not noticed the sound and pulled over, this could have been potentially a deadly situation had I kept driving and the engine completely seized up in the middle of the interstate.
ENGINE - blown head gasket, cracked block. Vehicle is at dealership service center in for repairs.vehicle has been inspected by the warranty company. No engine light or warnings or messages came up on the car. Approximately 64000.00 miles smelling antifreeze. Took it in to have it checked for leaks no apparent leaks. Took in at approximately 72000.00 miles now has a blown head gasket and cracked block. The safety of a breakdown is obvious.
While returning from a road trip to the Phoenix Arizona area I was driving my family in the Kia Sedona van. We were driving on highway [XXX] going over [XXX] accelerating up hill. Without warning the car started to have high rpms and the sensor for the check oil along with the check engine light began to flash. Steering felt difficult. Safety was a concern having to try to use a dying vehicle to pull from the left lane across traffic of the busy highway on a mountain pass. I was able to pull to the right shoulder of the highway and park the van. I shut the van off and went to check the oil, the dip stick showed empty. I was trapped on the side of the highway with my wife and 5 small kids. I was uncertain that the tow truck would be able to transport my family off the highway. I was not willing walk my family along the highway so I called the local police dispatch for possible aid. The tow truck was able to get us off the highway to a place we could order a Lyft. The van was towed to a
We have a 2018 KIA Sedona SXL that started to have a knock the beginning of the year. We noticed it was dry on oil even though we faithfully get our oil serviced. I took it in for an oil change right away and they were also surprised as I have always went there for my oil services. They informed me that my Kia engine is notorious for burning through oil and maybe just try coming in more frequently than what KIA recommends so we figured that was the answer, as the knock sound had gone away immediately after having oil. That was on [XXX]. A little over 3 weeks later on [XXX], my husband and kids were heading home on the interstate and the car completely shut off and died without a single light on the dashboard. No ding warning sound, check engine light, oil light, nothing. After such a scary experience the only common fix that made sense was maybe an alternator issue so we towed it home. The next day we had a licensed mobile mechanic come out to diagnosis the situation. After trying a
Head gasket blew and caused coolant to leak into the engine. We broke down on the side of the interstate. Our vehicle sat at the dealer for 5 months awaiting a new engine to be put in. No warnings beforehand.
Engine in my 2018 Kia has failed. This should be covered under warranty as van only has 90k miles on it but because I am the second owner they are telling me it is not covered. Several other 2018 Kiaâs have already been recalled for engine failure. My car was burning oil. This is a manufacturing issue and I am very stressed about paying to get it fixed out of pocket.
Blown engine at 108,000. Known issues with 3.3-liter V6 engine . Kia refises to repair.
Paint peeling
Engine failed. Replacement is required. Currently at dealership where auto was purchased. Dropped off 30 JUL '24. Waitng for replacement.
I took the vehicle to get serviced to check the engine light coming on. The Kia dealership stated that the CVVT Assembly and Oil Control Valve had to be replaced. The entire engine would have to be replaced if there was engine damage. The check engine would turn off for a couple of days and then turn back on. When the light would turn off, there was a lack of power, causing a lag in the throttle control.
108,000 miles failed engine due to know rod issues with this engine
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.