Kia Sportage: which model years to avoid
Complaint and recall totals for every Kia Sportage model year we track, ranked by severity.
| Model year | Complaints | Recalls | Crashes | Fires | Severity | Most-reported system |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 392 | 5 | 7 | 16 | 52.0 Medium | ENGINE |
| 2013 | 380 | 3 | 5 | 22 | 52.6 Medium | ENGINE |
| 2014 | 122 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 31.1 Low | ENGINE |
| 2015 | 146 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 91.8 Medium | ENGINE |
| 2016 | 130 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 96.9 High | ENGINE |
| 2017 | 397 | 4 | 14 | 26 | 91.7 Medium | ENGINE |
| 2018 | 159 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 84.3 Medium | ENGINE |
| 2019 | 68 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 91.2 Medium | ENGINE |
| 2020 | 157 | 2 | 11 | 12 | 114.6 High | ENGINE |
| 2021 | 47 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 183.0 High | ENGINE |
| 2022 | 44 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 100.0 High | ENGINE |
| 2023 | 183 | 6 | 24 | 1 | 116.9 High | UNKNOWN OR OTHER |
| 2024 | 65 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 153.8 High | UNKNOWN OR OTHER |
| 2025 | 49 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 122.4 High | UNKNOWN OR OTHER |
Across 14 model years, the 2021 Kia Sportage carries the highest severity index (183.0, driven by engine), while the 2014 is the cleanest at 31.1.
Source. NHTSA public complaint and recall APIs. Complaint counts are not normalised by units sold; a high-volume seller will attract more filings than a rare trim.