2023 Kia K5 Complaint Log

While driving, thankfully not with my [XXX] son, the vehicle made a real big bang noise and lost power. Looked back and the whole back seat was lifted. Towed to dealer and tech found that fuel tank had expanded and exploded seat back. Incident happened in November 2024, and to this day, Kia has been the most difficult to deal with. They offered to buy vehicle back, but we have been waiting for a long time for answers and resolution of this issue. Its impossible to get someone on the phone and we keep getting the run around with a loaner/rental while trying to continue to live normal life going to work and dropping kid at school INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I submitted a previous report NHTSA ID: 11488746 and have not heard anything. I continue to have this problem and am afraid it could cause a severe accident. When I come to a stop with the "Auto Hold" engaged the acceleration increases to 4 rpms or a little higher so I hold the brake down hard with my foot in fear that the Auto Hold will not work. I proceed to shift it in Park then as i take my foot off the brake the acceleration returns to normal. This is very alarming and has occurred to me at least 20 times since I've had the car. I have had the car in the dealership but they do not see anything wrong with it and does not register any Error codes. The car has less than 10k miles on it.

The contact owned a 2023 Kia K5. The contact stated that while her son and daughter-in-law were driving, three loud bangs were heard coming from underneath the vehicle. The vehicle was pulled over to the side of the road and inspected; however, no cause for the banging sounds were found. The vehicle was then taken to a gas station to be inspected, but no cause for the sounds were found. The contact’s son then added fuel to the vehicle, but the fuel spilled from the filler neck. The vehicle was taken to the residence. The vehicle was then taken to a dealer where it was determined that the gas tank had expanded and damaged a part underneath of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to be inspected after being deemed a total loss. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

Why is Kia Dealership are allowed to sale cars that have recalls. Knowing that they have recalls and are allowed to sale. why not fix the issues and then sale. Safety Concerns driving and have to kids in the back car 65mph and car shut down breaks don't work or accelerator used the emergency breaks had shut down the car. Took it to the dealership I been calling them status on my car with no information provided. Imaging being behind 18 wheeler my accelerator don't work. Parts for recalls are out stock so why keep cars in the dealership knowing they don't have parts to fix the issues.

Ive a 2023 Kia K5 GT-Line AWD with 73000 mileage. I was having a trip from New Jersey to Massachusetts for a wedding. I had 208 miles to go and 223 miles range. Than suddenly it went down to 93 miles. I stop by a gas station. I could not pump gas. It was kicking the nozzle. I stop by another gas station miles later. I couldnt pump gas either. It kickes the nozzle and my gas tank looks full. Than i start the car and check engine light and P045100 code came on. Than i checked the closest KIA but it was Saturday. They couldn’t service i was at Rhode Island. I callled one of the KIA and they said as long as CEL is on i can drive. If its keep flashing i shouldnt drive. I said it smells gasoline and i cant fill up my tank and i asked if they have a suggestion and they said idk and closed the phone. Than i heard a clicking noise and it smelled a lot more gasoline. I saw that my rear seats popped up. I saw that one of the gas tank or whatever it is was up and my tank was expanding. I had to leave my car to another dealer nearby airport at Rhode Island. They will check my car at Monday. I rent a car from airport enterprise. I guess ill need to wait and see. I know that there is a recall. But i sent for an oil change at 60000 mileage and my local dealer told me that there was a recall and they checked and thats why it took long and im good to go. So they checked the recall and it was fine and now its not fine. My gasoline tank expanded. My car is located at Bold Hill Kia in Warwick, Rhode Island. I was scared to drive but i had no other choice and the serviceman in one of the dealer told me to drive so i drive to another KIA.My vehicle was inspected for the SC288 Recall [XXX] ) There was a check engine light with the obd code of p045100. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Ive a 2023 Kia K5 GT-Line AWD with 73000 mileage. I was having a trip from New Jersey to Massachusetts for a wedding. I had 208 miles to go and 223 miles range. Than suddenly it went down to 93 miles. I stop by a gas station. I could not pump gas. It was kicking the nozzle. I atop by another gas station miles later. I couldnt pump gas either. It kickes the nozzle and my gas tank looks full. Than i start the car and check engine light and P045100 code came on. Than i checked the closest KIA but it was Saturday. They couldn’t service i was at Rhode Island. I called one of the KIA and they said as long as CEL is on i can drive. If its keep flashing i shouldnt drive. I said it smells gasoline and i cant fill up my tank and i asked if they have a suggestion and they said idk and closed the phone. Than i heard a clicking noise and it smelled a lot more gasoline. I saw that my rear seats popped up. I saw that one of the gas tank or whatever it is was up and my tank was expanding. I had to leave my car to another dealer nearby airport at Rhode Island. They will check my car at Monday. I rent a car from airport enterprise. I guess ill need to wait and see. I knew that there is a recall. But i went for an oil change at 60000 mileage and my local dealer told me that there was a recall and they checked and thats why it took long and im good to go. So they checked the recall and it was fine and now its not fine. I had the recall done but it still happened. My car stayed at dealer from 10 days. They couldnt fix it and someone from Kia Tech came to check, while they are checking the gas tank had a mini explosion as they said. Kia is going to buy my car back and they confirm that i can either get a replacement or buyback. They confirmed that there is no permanent fix for it. They do not know how to fix it.

The contact owns a 2023 Kia K5. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact heard a loud ticking sound coming from the fuel tank. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed as a failure with fuel tank expansion. The contact was contact informed that the fuel tank expansion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 270,000.

One day I was driving and my car began to shake really bad. It doesn’t transition smoothly when switching gears in transmission. Sometimes it doesn’t accelerate and I’d have to floor the gas to get it going. Rough acceleration. Car would even shake in idle sometimes. It has been doing this ever since. One day it’ll shake, the next day it might not. It doesn’t matter if I drive slower or faster, the car still shakes, has rough to no acceleration, and shifts gears roughly. Engine light is on and is reading misfire of cylinder 3.

I was driving and it was a loud noise. My son flew up with seat belt on hit his head on roof , gas tank blew up / or swelled up and my back seat is sitting about 10-12 inches above then normal. Very scary and worried

Transmission is itself in neutral while driving. Resulting in irratic RPMs, hesitating acceleration and rough transition to gears. Took care into dealership service department. They seemed that I would need a transmission replacement. Kia approved the request. Still waiting on transmission to be put in.

Glacier white pearl paint is faulty. Chips and peals. Simply driving the car and getting rained on caused the paint to chip and peal.

Gas tank expanded and bent the undercarriage up so much it blew off the fuel pump cover and pushed up the back seat.

2023 Kia K5 GT, 8300 miles. Took car for 1st oil change and dealer said front brake pads and rotors need replaced. $800. The car is driven to school and home. How is this possible? Brakes should not be worn out this fast! Does this mean every oil change appointment will be $800 to replace brakes again. Reading forums this is a common issue for this vehicle.

The contact owns a 2023 Kia K5. The contact stated while making a turn from a complete stop, the check engine warning light and several other unknown warning lights illuminated. The message "A possible condition with your engine control system has been detected" was displayed on the infotainment screen display. The accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to respond as needed. The contact was able to drive back to her nearby residence at a significantly slow speed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where the failure could not be replicated. The contact stated that the vehicle operated as needed; however, the failure recurred while making a left turn in a parking lot. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the throttle body had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The contact stated while driving at highway speeds, the failure recurred, and the vehicle lost motive power. The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the road. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was test-driven. The dealer informed the contact that the vehicle could not be diagnosed because the warning lights were not illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was recurring intermittently and was causing the infotainment system to reset. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 13,000.

I was driving on [XXX] Orlando Florida on [xxx] doing approximately 70 miles an hour when a large explosion occurred out and within my car the whole car shook this happened twice within a 5 mile radius. The car was eventually brought to Kia city in Orlando, where they determined that the fuel system had failed . the valve had failed, and the fuel system tank and fuel pump had swelled and blew .This could lead to catastrophic explosion in the vehicle, and or someone catching on fire. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

WHEN DRIVING MY CAR WILL SEND OFF ALL DASHBOARD LIGHTS, SOUNDS. LOSE ACCELERATION. PULL OVER, RMPS FLY UP AND WON. TURN CAR OFF AND TURN BACK ON TO REGAIN ACCELERATION. ENGINE LIGHT REMAINS ON. I KNOW THERE IS A RECALL FOR THIS FOR MY EXACT CAR TYPE, BUT THE RECALL DOES NOT SHOW UP UNDER MY VIN. AFTER A PHONE CALL WITH NHTSA, I WAS TOLD TO REPORT MY VEHICLE TO THE WEBSITE. MY SAFETY AND OTHERS IS AT RISK FOR OBVIOUS REASONS. THIS CAN EASILY CAUSE A CRASH. THIS HAPPENED ONCE AT 5K MILES, DEALERSHIP SUPPOSEDLY FIXED IT. BUT IT HAPPENED AGAIN THE OTHER DAY AT 19K MILES. THERE ARE NO WARNINGS PRIOR TO MY VEHICLE GOING INTO SAFE MODE.

The kia since bought brand new would have alignment issues even after getting alignments every 3-4 months and the dealership claim that they don’t whats causing constant misalignment after seeing theres no signs of external damage. Due to the misalignment it wears down the tires and made one of my tires explode on the road. Also the door seal on the driver side gets a chunk ripped out from just opening and closing the door over time. Also the breaks, whenever I break from speeding to slow down the speed the steering wheel shakes as well

Back number was replaced

The contact owns a 2023 Kia K5. The contact stated while driving at approximately 70 MPH, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted, shuddered, and there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. The Electronic Stability Control Warning Light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 18,000.

The contact owns a 2023 Kia K5. The contact stated that the interior of the vehicle had an abnormal gasoline odor. The contact stated that the gasoline odor was inside and surrounding the outside of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The contact stated the vehicle was previously taken to a dealer a month prior, but the failure could not be duplicated. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. The VIN was unavailable.

The contact owns a 2023 Kia K5. The contact stated that while driving on several occasions at various speeds, while the transmission was changing gear, the vehicle hesitated and jerked abnormally. The vehicle was taken to a dealer however, the failure could not be replicated. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 34,000.

Tire: Pirelli P Zero All Season M+S (235/45/18) Tire experienced a catastrophic failure while driving entire tire came a loose from rim leaving the car incapacitated and unable to maintain control. Luckily it was a rear tire which allowed partial control until able to safely stop the car.

Received an oil change as part of normal service schedule on a 2023 Kia K5 vehicle purchased August of 2022 (from different dealership). 4 days after this service was conducted, the drain plug in the oil system of the vehicle fell out of my car, therefore draining my vehicle of the oil it needs to operate normally, causing the car to completely stall near my home. I had to pay out of pocket at a nearby Express Oil Change facility to have a new drain plug and oil put into car, after which I immediately brought my vehicle back to this dealership to ascertain what happened. This is the SECOND time this same exact issue has occurred with my vehicle (the first time occurring after an oil change at a different Kia dealership in Charlotte, NC), which I brought to my service advisor's attention prior to them beginning the oil change service. I expressed to this service department that I am extremely concerned there is something malfunctioning or defective within the vehicle that has caused this issue TWICE in an almost-new vehicle, and that I was now concerned there could be possible damage to my engine from this reoccurring issue. The service department at Kia Wesley Chapel did absolutely nothing to address my concerns or the issue other than replacing the drain plug (yet again). This Kia service department, and KIA overall, refuses to recognize or admit to any issue within the vehicle, and I was told to "wait and see if it happens again".

Loss of power even hitting the gas. Sputters and does not accelerate. Had spark plugs changed thinking it will resolve the problem and it didn't. Severe safety hazard even needed to get up speed

Was driving on the highway at roughly about 70 MPH and all of a sudden heard a big explosion and found out my sunroof blew open with glass all over the back seat and inside of my car. Luckily no one was in the back seat, if there was, they would have been injured very badly.

I was in a car accident on 6/30/23. I was side swiped and the front airbag deployed and exploded in my face, knocking me unconscious and leaving me with chemical burns. I had a grade 2 concussion so it's hard to remember a lot. I was taken to the hospital. And drivers and passengers from 3 other vehicles were also taken to area hospitals.

I was involved in a traffic accident on May 29 2023. I was hit on the passenger side sustaining $18,000 in damages. My side air bag never went off.

Unknown

My sunroof exploded while driving on Lakeshore drive. I hear a loud boom and I almost crashed. I thought it was my tire or something else look up its my sunroof, I could have hit some one or hit something. It hasn't been inspected or anything as of yet it just happened at 6:30am. This is crazy because there was no warnings no cracks no anything. I ride with my sunroof cracked open every morning. so I don't understand.

Factory-installed tire on brand new KIA K-5 suffered catastrophic sidewall failure without contact with any foreign object after tire and vehicle was driven 151 total miles since new. Tire is Pirelli UPR18-235 PZERO All Season. ( R57-119, 029974 S2 WRZ (E4), (E3) 022958)

This is the letter I sent to Kia: Dear Sirs, I own a 2023 Kia K5 EX that I bought new and currently has about 8500 miles on it. Today, while driving on I95 in Florida, I had my right rear tire blow out. I could tell by the feel of the car that I had a flat before the systems warned me, but that is not why I’m writing you today. While I was working my way over to the right shoulder to stop, all of the waring lights came on and the brakes stopped working. Now I want to be clear. It wasn’t a failure of the brakes themselves. It was not the anti-lock brake system. The brake pedal itself locked and would not let me apply the brakes. Again, I want to be perfectly clear here. I am now driving on a 6 lane highway at about 50 miles and hour on three tires with no working safety systems and I cannot slow down the car. Eventually, the brakes came bake on line and I was able to stop the car. However, If the traffic suddenly slowed down, as is common on South Florida, I would have had no way to avoid a collision. I do not know if this is a programmed response to a tire blow out or a major flaw in your safety systems. If it was designed that way, fire the moron who designed it and have it fixed. If it’s a flaw in the design, have it fixed. I cannot believe how dangerous a car you let me drive. Sincerely, [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

My wife was driving down the highway with her cruise control set to 75. She noticed she was only doing 71 and pushed the gas pedal manually. The rpm's increased to between 4000-5000 but there was no acceleration with the car. The car then dropped to 68 mph and would not accelerate at all. After pulling over and turning the car off and then restarting it started working ok. This seems to match the transmission recall of the 2023 Kia K5 GT-Line but this car is not currently included in that recall. This recall should be investigated and possibly expanded.

The car was 4 months old when I was trying to get home when all of a sudden I noticed all the engine lights started to go out. With a few minutes on the road, the car automatically shut down in the middle of the road. My head almost hit the steering wheel and I was so close to hitting another car. I tried to start the car but it wouldn't start, the engine was making a strange noise and it smelled like burning. I waited 45 minutes on the side of the road and started the car. I drove the car to Kia and the fastest the car will go was 25 miles. When I got to Kia I explained everything that had happened to the car. They did not assure me that the Kia warranty was going to pay for everything and that they were going to investigate what was wrong with the car. It was a wiring issue and was covered under warranty. I brought the car home around 6:300 p.m. m. From the Kia body shop and before I pulled out of the parking lot, I had the same problem again! The check engine light came on and the car came to a screeching halt again. I drove the car back to the body shop. I didn't tell him anything about what was wrong with the car. The car was serviced, however you should have no problem with a new 2023 car.

serious safety-related defects in my 2023 Kia K5 involving the fuel/emissions system &other vehicle components. From early ownership & throughout the lease period, the vehicle experienced repeated& unresolved issues including fuel system abnormalities, emissions failures, fuel odors, check engine light activation, abnormal noises, &performance concerns consistent with fuel pressure or fuel tank-related problems. I reported these issues multiple times to the dealership &to Kia Consumer Affairs beginning well within the first 24 months of the lease, continuing for over a year. Despite repeated complaints and service visits, the vehicle was repeatedly returned to me- deemed safe to drive, my concerns were ignored. In June 2024, the dealership identified fuel tank expansion, confirming the same safety concerns I had been reporting. In November 2025, Kia issued Safety Recall SC356 (NHTSA Recall No. 25V794), stating that a damaged check valve can allow air to enter the fuel tank, causing expansion, contact with hot exhaust components, melting, and increased fire risk. My vehicle is included in this recall, which remains incomplete, &I was never notified while the defects were actively occurring. Prior to the recall and before the fuel tank expansion was diagnosed, I paid significant out-of-pocket costs in March and April 2024 for emissions-related repairs based on representations that the vehicle was safe to drive. This vehicle was intended as a graduation gift for a minor, & minors in my household regularly operated it. Kia’s continued assurances that the vehicle was safe, despite known and reported defects, placed my family, especially minors, at serious risk of injury or death. In addition to fuel/emissions issues, the vehicle had persistent seat defects and other unresolved problems that were never fully repaired. The manufacturer ultimately acknowledged the vehicle is irreparable. The recall confirms the safety concerns.I raised were valid and serious.in shop 600days

MPG is lower then number provided by both dealer and manufactorer (my average 24 city 27 highway ) factoring that i rarely even use climate controls and other fuel consuming things and often turn off engine in mcdonald's drive thru lane

Went through automatic car wash, in neutral. The gear shifted and the car sped up, bumping the back of another car in front. No warning sound, and no auto break.

Purchased a 2023 Kia K5 in August 2022 and as of Oct 2022 it has 800 miles. Four times within that period when I was either stopped or coming to a stop the acceleration excessively increased to 4 or more RPMs. I held my brake hard and put it in Neutral in which the RPMs got higher so I proceeded to Park. The first 3 times (while in traffic) it lowered the RPMs back down to normal. The 4th time (today) when stopped and shifting to Park the RPMs did not lower so while in Park, i slowly took my foot off the brake and it slowly lowered the RPMs. In all 4 instances I had the Auto Hold on. The 4th occurrence I noticed that the Auto Hold on the dash was blinking green then white so I turned it off. If this were to occur while I am driving at a high speed, I am afraid it will cause me to have a severe accident. Please investigate if this has been reported in the past and act fast before there is a fatal result.

I noticed several internal markings like streaks on the left windshield. I presented this issue to KIA ASAP. KIA service managers examined the windshield and refused to acknowledge that it was internal, possibly due to a manufacturing defect from a containment during the manufacturing process from the windshield company. They do claim that they feel pits on the windshield, which was due to another dealership scraping the object to see if it was external or internal. KIA told me to file a claim with my auto insurance company and that it is not covered under warranty. I am concerned that the windshield integrity is compromised and a possible danger to someone hitting the windshield which could cause additional injuries from the safety glass deficiency.

Wheel resonance ducting separated from wheel inside of the tire. Broken pieces, threw off the balance of the wheel/tire resulting in very excessive vehicle vibration.