Kia K5 Complaints (2021)

169 consumer complaints on file.

#11657502April 29, 2025
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE, SEATS
The contact owns a 2021 Kia K5. The contact stated while her daughter was driving 60 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine, when the gas tank expanded, and the back seat popped up. The contact stated that two teenagers were in the back seat, and one was injured. The contact's daughter pulled over and waited for a short while. The vehicle was restarted; however, the vehicle drove slowly. The vehicle was taken to a dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed. The vehicle was taken to another dealer; however, no cause for the failure was found. The contact was informed that the seat had moved two inches. The contact stated that the vehicle was not repaired because the frame of the seats could be damaged. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle remained at the dealer and had not been driven since. The failure mileage was approximately 86,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11650792March 26, 2025
ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My current 2021 Kia K5 FUEL TANK EXPLODED while driving. I’ve had this car for about 5 years and since driving it off the lot have experience issues with the vehicle and just a few hours ago, the fuel gas tank explode raising the back seat with passengers in the vehicle. It was extremely scary and something out of the blew. My friends and I were driving and I noticed the car engine light turn on (which was so odd to me as I keep a close eye to the car maintenance) and within 20 minutes we heard two EXTREMELY loud explosions sounds come from the car with the feeling of the car shake and rise a bit and felt as a tire exploded. I did not find this usual and we pulled over and the the seat my friend was sitting on was rose and unlatched. We then did some google searches and when looking into it, it appears there have been previous issues with this situation for other K5 Kia owners but KIA has done nothing regarding the matter. A few months ago I also went due to an internal thermostat exploding and causing the engine to overheat and smoke on the freeway and because they deemed it was not under the warranty, I left car-less for a week and a high bill. I don’t understand why I have to pay and endure these service costs when this is BASIC CAR FUNCTIONS. I do not appreciate the lack of empathy from dealer and service staff and feel unsafe and concerned for my safety for driving this vehicle. And now II have to endure the costs of being car less for 14 days per the dealer. Absurd.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11649917March 22, 2025
POWER TRAIN
very bad antifreeze smell under hood dealer said normal not healthy to smell that its in all of this model car in multiple years needs a recall to force kia to fix this unhealthy problem. 3/1/25 is when i bought this car. thankyou
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11646897March 7, 2025
STRUCTURE:BODY
The steel trim running underneath the rear window is beginning to lift up There is a recall for this for vehicles produced sometime in 2023 but it doesn’t include my vehicle
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11643987February 20, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES
Please review Kia Costumer Care case number [XXX] date 2/20/2025 @ 4pm New York time. Brake pads worn out ,easily broken and rusty. ??? Kia Company material defect or car dealership scam. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11642040February 11, 2025
ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
On [XXX] I took my automobile, a 2021 Kia K5 to Planet KIA of Charlotte NC located at 4700 E independence Blvd. I took it there to check what caused my engine light to activate. The initial diagnosis was a bad Sensor-Differential Pressure. Planet KIA repaired the Sensor-Differential Pressure at the cost of $501.17. My extended warranty company Route 66 covered $350.28 while I covered the remaining balance of $150.89. The engine light came on again the next day and while driving back to the dealership, I experienced the car slowing down and difficult to gain speed in highway traffic. I returned the automobile to Planet Kia of Charlotte and on [XXX}, I was informed that I had a valve failure which in turn caused my gas tank to swell. On [XXX] the warranty company denied request to pay for repairs due to their policy of not covering emissions which pertained to the valve. Kia refused to fix this problem due to a service campaign recall had been performed on the vehicle before I bought it. They found no issues with the vehicle pertaining to the valve or gas tank swelling. This is clearly a manufacturer’s defect, and it should have been repaired by the manufacturer. If you can, please help. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11638110January 23, 2025
SEATS, VISIBILITY/WIPER, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
The Electric seats do not adjust due to failed motors. Electric mirrors do not adjust due to failed motors. Gas refuel door does not open due to faulty actuator. All things that make the care dangerous to drive. Online search reveals that all three issues are very common in the 2021-2023 KIA K5 cars. We believe they pose a danger. Also, they seem to break at about 40-60K miles. Often out of warranty and dealer will not fix even though they acknowledge that the items in question are an issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11633097December 30, 2024
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
I've took my lease vehicle too dealer for the same problem 3 time car shake no matte what speed check engine light flashes code P0302 cylinder 2 misfire
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11631865December 20, 2024
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Blower motor stops working, have to take fuse box cover off and move fuse assembly to regain function of blower motor. Replacing fuse only helped for a couple of months.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11630045December 11, 2024
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Hi I brought my 2021 kia k5 got line last February 2023 around 44k miles I have had coolant leak where nobody can tell me where is the leak coming from I look online and other Kia owner have had the same issues
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11629536December 8, 2024
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
For breaks: at 20k miles the steering wheel shakes like crazy when braking, and also the pedals: the rotors are very cheap for being a 0-mile purchase vehicle and Kia does not replace this under warranty. I saw a forum that this is an issue for all owners of this Kia K5 and Kia doesn't care and does not replace them. For Electrical issue: the fuse box melted a couple fuse because I used my rear defrost system. Kia extended the warranty for the HVAC motor fan only because was burning the fuses, but they did not wanted to replace my issue with the rear defrost because I was above 60k for only 1000 miles. This is a poor-quality system, Kia does not recognize it. This is a safety issue because 1. There is an electrical issue with a melted fuse box. Im driving around a car like this with 2 kids. 2. I don't have rear defrost working and I live in Chicago (wild winter). They want to charge +$6000 to repair the fuse box.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11629110December 5, 2024
ENGINE
On Mon, Nov 18, 2025, I was driving at 60 mph with cruise on. Suddenly cruise was cancelled and check engine and low oil pressure lights came on. I pulled off road at earliest point possible. Seemed to be running ok. Drove slowly to a convenience store and turned off engine. I checked oil and it was low. When I was walking out to car after buying some oil, I saw oil under car. I called tow service and had it delivered to dealership. Upon inspection, the dealership determined the oil drain plug had fallen out and the engine needs to be replaced. The oil had been changed by an independent shop at 75085 miles. This incident happened at 78,887 miles. I feel the drain plug would have fallen out before 3002 miles if it was put in loose. This issue needs to be made into a recall with reimbursements for engine replacements and towing. If this had happened on a busy road and engine seized, there could have been a wreck trying to get off road.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11621485October 23, 2024
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
AC System faulty . Cannot defog windows. Fusebox connection is malfunctioning Changed blower motor, resistor, fuse, relay. Many vehicles are having the same issue. It needs to be recalled.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11619983October 15, 2024
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Issue with electrical wiring for HVAC. Air conditioner and heater goes out with no power. You have to pop the hood and press on the fuse box to get it to come back on.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11617124September 29, 2024
ENGINE, POWER TRAIN, SERVICE BRAKES
While driving on my way home from work my , brakes became extremely hard to press down on and then my service engine light came on this all occurred on 7/31/2024. So the very next day I took my vehicle to a Kia dealership which was 8/1/ 2024 to find out what was causing this to happen. The technician stated that they would have to put it on a machine and run a diagnostic on it. I asked the technician while they were doing that to change the oil. I also realized that the oil light for my vehicle has NEVER came on since I purchased the car. So the technician did the diagnostic and stated that my vacuum pump had went out but he couldn’t tell me why or how this had happened. I then took the vehicle to my parents house and left it there in the garage for a few weeks to have second opinion done. I then took it to another Kia dealership and they stated there was no vacuum to the brake booster and said there was a broken camshaft and metal pieces were in the engine and the engine needed to be replaced. Again I asked what caused all of this and no one could give me an answer. I had only had the car a 1 1/2 years and don’t understand what caused all of this and I now have a car that I can no longer drive.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11615871September 22, 2024
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Have had issues with a/c since I bought the car. Has been inspected 3 times, apparently it was just the actuator doors not working. But not I have no a/c, and my dealer refused to fix it. On reddit there's a thread going around saying fuses are melting and that it's causing everyone's a/c to not work. My fuses for this particular spot are burnt looking. This is a safety issue in regards to living in Arizona, the heat is deadly. I will be trading my car in if this isn't recalled.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11612123September 2, 2024
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Air conditioning was fine then would suddenly cycle levels by itself. One day the air stopped blower. Tested the resister, it was bad. Replaced it and less than one week later the air stopped again. Resister and blower motor test fine. Fuses and relay are fine. No ac/hest causing driving concerns with window fog.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11607441August 9, 2024
STRUCTURE:BODY
While driving home from work, traveling on a state route at 55 mph, the cover under the engine just snapped off on the passenger side of the vehicle. It just started making a loud noise like I had blown a tire! I pulled over and noticed it was hanging down on the road. I had not hit anything, the bracket had it fully broken, it could have caused me to wreck or put any other drivers at risk for an accident. This isn’t the only Kia K5 I’ve seen with the engine dust cover hanging beneath the vehicle.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11605758July 31, 2024
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I have 2021 Kia k5 gt line I am having similar problem as other who own a Kia k5 get line 2020,2021, 2022 and 2023. Ac works one time next I turn the car off and the next time I start it up it doesn’t work anymore and now my ac does not work now and it is off completely
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11604396July 24, 2024
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Purge control valve but pressure in my gas tank and it has expanded. Kia will not replace my tank. Heard 2 loud bangs going down the road I started smelling gas. Check engine light came on. Pulled over and gas is pushing up and out behind my tank flowing down my wheel well. Opened the gas cap and it sprayed gas all over me. I have 2 small children and this could have been a extremely worse situation than it was. On another note I took my car to the dealership they did the update and confirmed my gas tank had expanded. They are not replacing my tank they said bc kia has "no remedy". And tried to sell me a bunch of other services on my vehicle instead. I've contacted kia and they basically told me the same thing they at this time will not be replacing my tank. I've picked the car up they cleared the codes and the car is still running rough.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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