Kia K5 Complaints (2025)

49 consumer complaints on file.

#11710809January 13, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, EXTERIOR LIGHTING, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
While driving in the dark this morning with my eight year old in the backseat, my headlights shut off, my entire dash including my speedometer, warning lights, radio, heat, heated seat and steering wheel, lost electricity.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11707437December 29, 2025
VISIBILITY/WIPER
While I was driving, the panoramic sunroof suddenly shattered without any impact. I did not hear or see any object hit the glass. It made a very loud noise similar to a gunshot, and then the glass fractured across the middle section, broke upward, and collapsed into small pieces. There is no visible rock chip or impact point. This was extremely loud and frightening and could have caused injury if more glass had fallen inside the cabin.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11705522December 17, 2025
EXTERIOR LIGHTING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, VISIBILITY/WIPER
Component/System Involved: The vehicle experienced a brief electrical failure affecting multiple systems simultaneously: exterior headlights, infotainment system, and dashboard indicators (seatbelt warning). All components recovered automatically within approximately 0.5–1 second. The issue appears electrical in nature (possible power interruption, grounding issue, BCM/TCM-related event). The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Safety Risk: Yes. The headlights shut off completely while driving at night, even if only momentarily. This created a visibility loss and increased risk of collision, especially with surrounding traffic. The sudden loss and restoration of lighting was distracting and unexpected. Reproduction / Confirmation: The issue has occurred 4 times under different conditions (day/night driving). It has not yet been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center. Inspection Status: The vehicle has not yet been inspected by the manufacturer, dealer, police, insurance, or any third party regarding this issue. Warnings or Prior Symptoms: There were no warning lights, messages, or symptoms prior to the failure. The only indication was the seatbelt warning light illuminating during the event, coinciding with the blackout. No prior alerts appeared before either occurrence.I have experienced this electrical dropout four times over the ~1 year and 4 months I’ve owned the vehicle. Other owners of 2025 Kia K5s have reported the same momentary blackout behavior in online community discussions, indicating this may not be an isolated incident with my car. Owners have described the infotainment and instrument panel going dark and then returning to normal while driving.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11704815December 13, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
k5 car seat belt locked 2025 gt line fix replacement of the assembly Retraction Issue deployed Stuck
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11697687November 5, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
KIA has hasd a recall since July of 2025 and the part to fix the back window trim. The part was supposed to be ready to ne installed by Oct of 2025. It is Nov 5 2025 and the part is still unavailable. KIA is in no hurry or rush to get this recalled.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11694593October 20, 2025
BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, AIR BAGS
fix
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11691728October 6, 2025
VISIBILITY:SUN/MOON ROOF ASSEMBLY
The contact owns a 2025 Kia K5. The contact stated that while his wife was driving 65 MPH, there was an abnormal banging sound coming from the top of the vehicle. The contact stated that the sunroof had exploded, and the glass had shattered. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact's wife kept driving to the residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 4,358.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11691491October 5, 2025
POWER TRAIN
The K5 - as soon as I began driving it at 0 miles, I noticed it shifted at lower speeds extremely hard. Head-jerking hard during the first drive of each day at speeds below 25mph. Once the vehicle warmed up, the problem would go away and wouldn't appear until the next day - after the vehicle cooled down completely. I thought, maybe there was a break-in period. So I drove it for about 250 total miles. At that point, I made a service call and brought it into the dealership. I left it overnight. Explained all of the symptoms. The next day, one of your service advisors test drove the vehicle. I was called and told they were unable to reproduce the problem and that I could come pick up the car. I was told by your service advisor that the problem "could be rats or rodents in my garage". I was greatly taken back by that suggestion because I live in an upscale neighborhood, with a highly secured finished garage and have never had any rodent problems. I mentioned that to the service advisor, and she said "You'd be surprised how many people tell us they don't and we find out they had a rodent in their garage". I couldn't believe I was having a conversation of such sorts. I laughed it off and took the vehicle home, quite disgusted that it was suggested that this hard shifting might be "My problem because of rodents". I explained this to [XXX] that evening and couldn't believe that was even brought up given the situation. The very next day, the vehicle did the same thing at about 20 to 25 mph, and extremely hard, head-jerking shift on the first drive of the day. I have now driven the vehicle 3000 miles since new. I have tried driving in several different driving "modes". I've tried, Sport, My Drive, and others, but it doesn't seem to help. Every time I get in my car at O'hare after flying a trip, I look forward to driving a brand new car home, but left extremely disappointed when I drive away from the employee lot only to have an extremely hard, head-jerking shift for the first INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM O
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11687669September 16, 2025
VISIBILITY/WIPER
My 2025 Kia K5 with less than 10k miles on it is experiencing intermittent windshield wiper failure. Starting over two months ago, my windshield wipers would fail in the sense they would not turn on while it is raining and/or would not activate when I use the sprayer function leaving residue and obstructing my view in both scenarios. This is a critical safety issue that has been documented on video, however the dealership/Kia are not being forthcoming in fixing the issue. My car has been in the shop over a week at Mark Kia and there is still not a remedy for the issue. They claim to not being able to reproduce the issue and will not do further diagnostics until it happens. The car is leased and I do not feel safe driving it knowing there is a chance my wipers can fail intermittently (as they have while it has been raining) so I'm filing this complaint.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11687606September 16, 2025
TIRES
Tire size: P 235/45 R 18 While I was driving home from work my steering started feeling a little shaky. My commute is 6.5 miles. I thought it felt a little weird about 2-3 miles in and I called my boyfriend to meet me when I got home because I could tell something was off, but my tire pressure was fine. When I was about .5 miles from our home, the shaking became audible and violent so I got scared and pulled off. I called again for help while I was parked and walked around to see if there was anything weird and I could not see anything. About 3-4 minutes later while I was sitting in my car waiting, my tire exploded. It shook my car and was so loud that people ran out of the building I was in front of to see what happened. At this point, I had a tire indicator come up saying something was wrong. When I walked around my car again, I saw in one of my tires the cords came out and split in middle of the tread causing separation, and the tire still had air in it. It also scratched my paint around the tire. When I had help come, we put my spare on and got it home, and we took it to a tire dealer the following morning. They all were shocked at how new the tire was and what happened. Everyone is so glad I was parked when it happened and upon research, this is a common occurrence with this brand and type of tire anywhere with 1000-10000 miles on it. My vehicle is less than 6800 mi and the specialists even said the tire had basically no wear and was faulty. On top of that, Pirelli warranty essentially refused to process anything and the dealer that THEY told us they would work with, Pirelli kept hanging up on them. They would not give me a name, let me speak to a supervisor, or give me a call back number should the call “disconnect” again. The dealer was able to comp the tire through their management, but even then, the issue of the faulty tire remains, and based on what I felt, I don’t want someone to get hurt having this happen to them while their car is in motion.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11686982September 12, 2025
TIRES
The contact owns a 2025 Kia K5. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) warning light illuminated. The contact's daughter took the vehicle to a specialty tire shop, and it was determined that the front driver’s side tire had two bubbles. One bubble was located on the top, and one bubble was on the front side. The tire was replaced. The tire manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the vehicle manufacturer for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 2,500.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11684946September 4, 2025
POWER TRAIN
Transmission has extremely hard shifting if vehicle sits for more than 24 hours. After the vehicle is parked, inside garage, or outside, the first drive of the day has an extremely hard shift of the transmission on the first shifting of the day. The shift it so hard, it jerks the entire car and jolts me in my seat. The remainder of the drive and day, the hard shifting does not occur. Took the vehicle into dealership where purchased at 1000 miles and left it with them for 2 full days. Unsurprisingly, they said they were, "Unable to reproduce". The next day, the vehicle had the exact same problem. I have close to 3000 miles on the vehicle and the transmission continues to do the exact same thing every time I drive it. It is terrible for a brand new car. It doesn't matter which "Drive mode" the vehicle is in. The dealership also tried to reset the ECM. But no luck. My neck and back have been sore from the hard shift events too.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11683738August 28, 2025
TIRES:SIDEWALL
234/45/R18 - 94V bubble developed on exterior of front, passenger side tire AND the interior of back, passenger side tire within a year of purchasing vehicle new with this tire installed. The tire had to be replaced immediately to avoid a tire blowout.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11679940August 11, 2025
STRUCTURE
The contact owns a 2025 Kia K5. The contact stated that the vehicle was purchased from the Kia dealer as a brand-new vehicle. The contact stated that while attempting to register the vehicle on the online vehicle rental site Turo the following day, the contact became aware that the VIN was included in a recall. The contact stated that the dealer had sold and delivered a brand-new vehicle that was under recall. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11678673August 6, 2025
WHEELS, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
OEM Pirelli tire blew out going 55mph. The car has 6500 miles on it. The sidewall of the tire blew. There were no punctures in the tire or reasoning for this to happen.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11673235July 14, 2025
ENGINE
Third time that this happened when I step on the gas you're accelerate the transmission wines when I'm trying to merge I have to slow the car down and take my foot off the accelerator and then when I put my foot on the celebrator there's a car really close to me
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11672317July 9, 2025
TIRES
Three of the four tires, rated for 30k miles, have failed. There are 11,400 miles on the tires. Back passenger tire blew out and went immediately and audibly flat. Dealer stated this is a known issue with this brand of tire on the Kia K5. 235/45 R18 94v M+S
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11671380July 5, 2025
AIR BAGS, STRUCTURE:BODY
I am the owner of a 2025 Kia K5 GT-Line that was recently involved in an accident. In the days prior to the crash, I experienced recurring issues including screen reboots while driving and temporary power loss. I do not remember the moment of the accident, and I am currently under medical care for head trauma. I am reporting this because I believe the vehicle may have malfunctioned in a way that contributed to the accident. Please advise if there are known issues with the 2025 K5 GT-Line, and how I can formally report this case for technical investigation.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11670173June 30, 2025
EXTERIOR LIGHTING, WHEELS
Tire pressure light did not illuminate. Tire was apparently low, and tire blew out at stop. Inside sidewall of tire had large gash once tire was removed and spare installed. See picture.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11666991June 15, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I am reporting a safety concern with the KIA K5 Advance Driving Assistance Systems. The concern is the Driver Attention Warning (DAW) being a distraction to the driver due to consistent dinging and flashing light of the "taking a break" that according to manual could go off every 4 minutes, however, in my experience it can go off every 3 minutes (see attached documentation), which is excessive. The frequency that the light goes off has led me to be distracted and nearly hitting the car in front of me because I am looking down at the light. I'm at the point; I am afraid to drive the car because I don't know when this light will go off. According to the manual it can go off 4 minutes into a drive. When reviewing the manual, it fails to tell you what exactly is causes the light to go off and how long you are supposed to be taking a break for. I have taken it to the dealership three times, and they tell me it is working property. I have asked if the light can be shut off, but they tell me it cannot be shut off even though it says in the manual it can be. I have also worked with KIA corporate, and they tell me the newer KIAs it cannot be shut off. The older models also had attention level gauge that could show the driver where their attention level is, but this was removed. In conclusion, this "take a break light" is a major distraction to driver that cannot be shut off that could lead the driver taking their eyes off the road multiple times in a driver that can cause an accident.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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