Total Complaints
6 filings
KIA SPORTAGE · model year
6 NHTSA complaints, and 1 active recall for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
5 / 5 ★
New Car Assessment Program
The 2026KIASPORTAGE carries 6 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 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 2026 SPORTAGE is unknown or other with 2 filings, followed by electrical system (1) and visibility/wiper (1). 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 1 active recall campaign, 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 2026 SPORTAGE. 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
6 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 2 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 |
| VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 |
| LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST | 1 |
| FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 |
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2025 Kia K4, 2025-2026 Sorento, Sorento Hybrid, Sorento Plug-In Hybrid Electric (PHEV), 2026 Sportage, Sportage Hybrid, Sportage PHEV, K5, EV9, Carnival, and Carnival Hybrid vehicles. Due to a software error, the instrument panel display may fail. As suc
Shortly after purchase (9/20/25), I noticed that each trip showed much lower gas mileage than would be expected/reported via the vehicle sticker. Initially, these post-drive reports showed mileage around 17 mpg (city-equivalent). We noticed this quickly-- after the first few trips made. I calculated the mpg in early October & my calculations showed 16.7 mpg. Over the next few weeks, similar mpg was calculated/showing. I reported this finding to Kia St. Charles (point of purchase) early-to-mid October & was told to keep calculating mpg. I called again, indicating the problem continued &that we had a two occasions where we were unable to fill the car with gas-- a technician stated that the low MPG could be related to the long vehicle break-in period. We decided to take the car into the Naperville Kia dealership on 11/25 as this issue persisted. After nearly a week, we were ultimately told that without a check-engine warning, there wasn't much they could do to pinpoint or investig
I turned on my vehicle and began driving in Philadelphia. I noticed the dashboard where the speedometer was supposed to be was dark. The Apple car play on the right side of the dashboard was on but no other components were visible. Such as turning signal, lane keep assist, speedometer, etc. I was on the highway and this was extremely scary. This vehicle has less then 200 miles. Iâve taken it to Kia and they are looking into it. But this is a big concern. I have videos of this but it wonât let me add them to this file.
I turned on my vehicle and began driving in Philadelphia. I noticed the dashboard where the speedometer was supposed to be was dark. The Apple car play on the right side of the dashboard was on but no other components were visible. Such as turning signal, lane keep assist, speedometer, etc. I was on the highway and this was extremely scary. This vehicle has less then 200 miles. Iâve taken it to Kia and they are looking into it. But this is a big concern. I have videos of this but it wonât let me add them to this file.
I turned on my vehicle and began driving in Philadelphia. I noticed the dashboard where the speedometer was supposed to be was dark. The Apple car play on the right side of the dashboard was on but no other components were visible. Such as turning signal, lane keep assist, speedometer, etc. I was on the highway and this was extremely scary. This vehicle has less then 200 miles. Iâve taken it to Kia and they are looking into it. But this is a big concern. I have videos of this but it wonât let me add them to this file.
The contact owns a 2026 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that the instrument panel intermittently flashed on and off while driving at various speeds. In addition, the contact stated that while at a complete stop, the speedometer indicated erroneous speeds. The vehicle had been taken to the dealer on several occasions; however, the dealer failed to duplicate or diagnose the cause of the failure. The contact also stated that while driving at 25 MPH, the vehicle jerked while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact continued driving, and the headlights turned off with an unknown message flashing on the instrument panel. The contact had taken several pictures and installed a camera in the vehicle to document the failures. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The contact was eventually provided a case number. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 330.
Mileage: 330
The new car I just bought started to vibrate on the highway when the speed exceeded 50. The interior panel on the left side of the driver's seat and the interior panel on the right side of the center console began to vibrate. The vibrating sensation became very intense at a speed of 60. During continuous high-speed driving, I couldn't feel the speed of the accelerator because my foot was numb due to the vibrating I took it to the Island Kia store for repair, but they told me it couldn't be fixed and it was a normal situation.
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.