My 2020 Kia sportage spontaneously caught fire. It started smoking about 1/3 mile from my destination. There were no dash lights on and the temperature gauge was not elevated and was below half so it wasn’t the engine overheating. I pulled into the parking lot and shut off the car and the smoke then increased and turned darker rapidly and the car caught fire and was quickly engulfed and then there were several explosions. The car was a complete loss. Had I taken any more time to figure out the smoke I would have been a casualty.

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11751138 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

On October 27th my 5 year old daughter and I were driving home just after leaving Tiresplus getting four brand new tires and an oil change. On the way home out of no where my vehicle caught fire. Driving down the highway, once noticing the car was on fire, no warning no nothing- until I hit the breaks which did not work cause they were completely burnt. Within moments of thinking how I am going to get to my child in her car seat and save myself I went into the median of the highway thinking grass would slow me down. Once the car was going about 30 MPH I opened my driver door fearing we would be locked in the burning vehicle. As soon as I opened my door my legs were burning, I unbuckled my seat belt and jumped out of the car. Only to get up and chase the vehicle to get my 5 year old out. The car was fully engolfed in flames when approaching the vehicle thinking my daughter was dead. By the grace of god she unbuckled her self, climbed through the center counsel out the driver door and jumped into my arms! We were down to seconds of dying. Breaks didn’t work, nothing told me the car was hot, the trauma we endured. No one has taken responsibility for this and it’s frustrating that I owe money on the vehicle with full coverage and gap insurance still.

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11656457 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

COMPONENTS FAILED & EVIDENCE: 4 dry-rotted Kumho Crugen Premium tires, size 225/60R17, DOT 272A YANH 1319. Replaced due to hazard. High-definition photo proof of the severe dry rot defects, deep tread cracking, and the 2019 date stamps discovered upon removal is fully preserved and available.SAFETY RISK & CONCEALMENT: Operating on 7-year-old structurally compromised rubber posed a severe blowout liability on the highway. At delivery, 3 of the 4 tires were mounted inside-out. This reversed mounting placed the worst dry rot cracking and the 4-digit date code (1319, meaning March 2019 manufacture) on the inner undercarriage, actively obscuring a critical safety defect and the expiration date from a standard consumer visual inspection.NEGLIGENT INSPECTION HISTORY: The dealer had physical possession of this vehicle twice: first for pre-sale certification, and second for post-sale service. Prior to the second release, the consumer explicitly texted instructions to ensure the vehicle was completely safe with no issues. The service bay subsequently texted back confirming they performed a "once over" and verified "no issues." The dealer twice failed its duty of care, ignored a critical hazard, and falsely certified road-readiness. Corporate legal has been notified and is stonewalling.DISCOVERY & SEVERE SYMPTOMS: Failure was discovered only after a nail punctured the rear passenger tire, prompting a close inspection of all four wheels. Two weeks prior, all 4 tires simultaneously dropped to half-capacity air pressure. This simultaneous deflation indicates the extensive dry rot completely compromised the rubber compound's structural integrity and ability to hold air pressure, creating a progressive failure condition. ALL 4 TIRES WERE SEVERELY DRYROT.

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11749517 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

A vehicle failed to the right of way to me and resulted in a front end collision. Upon collision the airbags deployed and immediately began smoking. I thought my car was about to catch fire and smelt as if was going to. The airbags heat alone resulted in the entire arm of my jacket to completely melt and I now have a permanent scar on my left wrist from where I was burned.

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11521590 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

On May 19, 2025 I was driving down the highway at approximately 70mph and experienced a loud explosion sound and my panoramic sunroof exploded. I did have the sunshade closed so I was not hit with any debris. I did swerve and narrowly avoided an accident. There were no warnings before this happened. I was not passing under any bridges or immediately behind any vehicles (there were vehicles to the side and behind me). I took the automobile to the Kia dealership and they filed a claim with Kia Consumer Affairs and a representative came out and told them they needed to file with Kia Tech Line. They did that weeks ago, to no response. The dealership actually called me today and told me to try to contact Kia Consumer affairs ourselves to see if they would respond to us. I did see that there have been reports of this previously and class-action lawsuits for this issue. The Kia dealership guy said they had a customer that this had also happened to and when we went to get a rental car Enterprise told us that they also had a customer with a Kia in the last two weeks that had the same thing happen to them. My Kia is still at the dealership and is available for inspection as it has not been repaired yet because they were waiting for Kia.

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11666705 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2020 Kia Sportage. It was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a dealer sale. At the time of the purchase, the mileage was 25,881, and while trying to trade the vehicle with another dealer, it was discovered through the Carfax report that the odometer was rolled back 4,000 miles at the time of the sale. The corrected mileage was 29,881.

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11746234 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov