general problems of the 2013 Kia Motor Sportage - part 2

157 problems related to engine and engine cooling have been reported for the 2013 Kia Motor Sportage. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2013 Kia Motor Sportage based on all problems reported for the 2013 Sportage.

36 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 11/07/2022

The contact owns a 2013 kia Sportage. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made an abnormal knocking sound. The contact pulled over and had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

37 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 11/06/2022

I have a 2013 kia Sportage with 85,000 miles on it. I had an email back in 2018 that said that there was a recall for engine issues. I immediately called and they said that based on my VIN number, it did not affect my car. On 11/6/2022, my engine died while I was coming back from tampa, FL to jacksonville, FL in ocala with no warning whatsoever. I had it towed to a mechanic who knew exactly what was wrong. He had worked on several kia's with the same engine problem and told me to call kia regarding the warranty. I called kia resolution center as well as kia corporate headquarters and they all stated that there was not a safety issue with my engine. They said they sent out a product update for an extended warranty, which I do not recall getting back in 2021, or I would have obviously called to get it. Because I did not respond to the product update, that I never received, they will not cover the replacement engine or even help with it. I had to sell my car as is with no engine to put a down payment on a car at a dealership. My car was paid for with very low mileage and very well maintained with regular oil changes, etc. There are hundreds and hundreds of complaints about this same issue, but kia does not want to take responsibility for their obvious shotty engines. I will never buy another kia or recommend one.

38 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 10/29/2022

I was driving down a hill within miles of our home on route 50 with my teenage son in the passenger seat when my kia downshifted, and just quit working, and then we noticed smoke under the hood. We got it to the side of the road. When popping the hood we couldn't tell what was going on but there was a spark/fire that we extinguished with a soda I had. I did not have to call fire or police. Thank goodness there were no other cars around and we were not injured. It was around 10:30am and was pretty scary. There were no warning lights or sounds at the time of the incident. I had just had all new brakes, rotors, and tires put on in over the summer. We did get it towed to all body auto near where the incident occurred. They said there was a hole in the engine that is not fixable. I notified my insurance company and he said to contact the kia dealership where I bought it because of the recalls. The dealership said they couldn't do anything because I missed a sensor recall p12103 in the last 2 years so I cant get the sc141. And I am over the 150k miles. I also called the kia company number who told me the same thing. I told them that I moved and never received anything about either recall. But they won't tow my car or fix it at no charge like the recalls online said they would do. They also said my VIN doesn't get the sc253 recall. They said my kia needs to go to a dealership but they won't tow it. They said I may be reimbursed. I am just super frustrated. I can't leave my kia at the auto body shop. So I sent my kia claim up to national and am waiting on a return call. But I don't think anything will get done.

39 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 09/15/2022

I was traveling at approx. 65 miles an hour in the #3 lane in traffic, when I lost power suddenly as if the engine died. I was able to immediately exit the freeway at the first exit and pulled into a gas station. (approx. 2 blocks from the freeway exit) I noticed a light on the dash was lit in the shape of an engine that wasn't lit before. At this time, I heard an unusual loud knocking noise coming from the engine compartment. I had just come from the store and had frozen food in the car. I didn't know what was causing the noise it didn't sound good and decided to just have aaa tow it to my house. Once the car was at home in my driveway and I had unloaded the frozen food, I plugged in my obdii reader which gave me a p1326 code. I checked to see what it meant and found out my year Sportage was prone to some kind of premature bearing wear. The car has been serviced by the book by kia of alhambra since we have owned it. It was just in for an oil change, transmission flush, and brakes on the 19th of August 2022. We have never received any notice via email, mail, or from the dealership regarding any recall or potential problem at any time. This car is primarily driven by my wife. I'm glad she wasn't driving when this happened. I will be contacting kia of alhambra tomorrow and possibly having the vehicle towed there.

40 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 09/12/2022

My motor completely seized up in the middle of driving on a busy road. I was left in traffic suddenly with no power and no way to maneuver out of harms way.

41 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 09/03/2022

Exhaust camshaft position timing over advanced.

42 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 08/29/2022

I was driving home from work on 08/29/2022 in lane #4 at 60 mph during 5:00 o'clock traffic . A I heard a small pop and lost all power. Smoke came from under the hood and the car was dead. Luckily there was no on in the hov lane and I immediately pulled to the left. Oil was all over the road and the car. An oils slick like that is dangerous not only to the driver of the car but other motorists or motorcycle riders. Thank god my wife wasn't driving it. I had it towed to the kia dealer and they notified me there was a known issue with this engine and I I didn't have the ksds sensor updated and kia would not do any repairs. I had never received any notifications about safety issues or a recall. Since this has happened I found out there was a class action lawsuit which I never knew about either. I now have a car that has a blown engine and kia will do nothing to repair it even though it is a known common problem. I believe kia should provide more support for their engine failures and the lack of notification to their consumers.

43 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 08/04/2022

I was driving down a back country road where the speed limit was 50mph. The truck in front of me kept stopping so I went around him and he tried to cut me off so I had to step on it to get in front of him and my check engine, battery, and oil lights all popped on at the same time. My car then stopped accelerating so I had to coast to a stop and pull over and turned my car off. My car wouldn’t start back up I had to pay almost $200 to tow my car home to have someone look at it and tell me that an engine bearing went out and I would need a new engine.

44 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 07/23/2022

My engine started making a tik-tik noise in June of 2022. I drive very little as I work from home, took it to get an oil change and for a service check, was advised nothing was wrong that they could identify on the vehicle. Ticking continued, kia advised they were over a month out for service call appointments, got on the list and had my oil changed again after only 300 miles. Ticking noise got louder while waiting on service call appointment, then as I was driving home on a back road (thankfully), there was a loud banging noise from under my hood, spluttering, some whining noises, my instrument panel lit up with all engine-related lights, and the car shut off while driving. I lost power steering and brakes, and had to coast into a neighborhood and down a hill to safely move my car out of traffic's way. I had my 7 year old with me in the vehicle and have since had it towed to kia, and was advised there was a 'voluntary maintenence' ksds sensor I was supposed to have had installed in order to extend my currently-intact 100k/10 year factory warranty, and because they did not update my contact information correctly when I moved I never received the notification. My car is currently sitting at the kia dealership, undriveable, and I am having to fight kia to cover the engine replacement.

45 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 07/15/2022

Engine stalling and nocking when over 2000 rpm.

46 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 07/14/2022

I was on the freeway going 55mph when my engine seized (engine light, oil light, and battery light went on) and I was no longer able to accelerate. I had just switched lanes in front of a semi when my acceleration stopped. It was a blessing there was an off ramp by the lane, otherwise the semi would have had to slam on their breaks since my car went from 55mph to nothing in a matter of seconds. No previous warning lights occurred before this incident. Luckily, I was able to coast off the freeway and park. When I restarted my vehicle, the lights went off and I was able to get my car home safely going very slow. The engine know knocks and kia will not give us answers on coverage.

47 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 07/13/2022

My car engine seized on the freeway while going 75mph, almost causing an accident. My mechanic said it was an engine recall issue seen often in kias. Premature engine barring wearing. I had my car towed to the kia dealership and they confirmed that I had the same problem from the recalls and assumed my kia was included but was 151,000 miles and they couldn't move forward because it needed to be 150,000 miles. I called customer service to get a goodwill extention of repair for my car as I had never received a recall notice for this issue. Customer service called back later telling me my car was not included in that recall. My car exhibited the same defect as thousands of others and since 2017 I was not notified of potential safety issues.

48 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 07/04/2022

The contact owns a 2013 kia Sportage. The contact stated while driving 20 mph, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. The contact pulled over and the check engine warning light and several unknown warning lights illuminated. Additionally, there was an abnormal burning odor coming from the vehicle. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle and the vehicle operated normally. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed; however, the cause of the failure could not be determined. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 143,000.

49 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 06/20/2022

While driving approximately 75 mph down the interstate, the car failed to accelerate, made a noise as if air was being released, and then died. Thankfully, we were able to make it to the side of the road, but the car would not restart. We had the car towed to a dealership not far from where we broke down. The mechanics at the dealership informed us that the engine had locked up while we were driving. No lights or messages had come up before the car died, and the only sound that we heard was the air release sound. Other vehicles of the same make and model have had engine recalls, but when we reached out to kia, but there is not a recall on our vehicle.

50 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 06/01/2022

The contact's son owns a 2013 kia Sportage. The contact stated that while her son was driving 40 mph, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the vehicle with the check engine warning light illuminated. Due to the failure, the vehicle was towed to her home where a mechanic inspected the vehicle and informed her that there was a recall on the vehicle under NHTSA campaign number: 17v224000 (engine and engine cooling). The dealer was notified of the failure and her vehicle was towed to the dealer. The vehicle was diagnosed with engine failure and the contact was informed that her vehicle did not qualify for repair under the recall. The contact was then given an estimate for a new engine. The manufacturer was notified about the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 105,000.

51 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 06/01/2022

My engine got blown. No notice of a recall that was supposedly sent out on 4/1/2021 was received. I called kia consumer affairs and asked if they did anything to confirm that the owners of the cars received the notice of the recall. The response I received was a sharp no, we only send out postal notices. They never attempted to call me nor send me any type of email to ensure that I was notified in a timely manner before my engine got blown. I could have been extreme danger and put other lives including my own at risk, had this occurred at high speeds while driving. No warnings lights were lit up prior to the car engine blowing. I am concerned that because there was no confirmation of the notice being sent out, and that there are other kia owners facing the same situation where they have not received said notice and are still driving potentially hazardous cars. This is something that kia is well aware of, an easy email would suffice or sending a postal notice with tracking.

52 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 05/31/2022

While driving on highway, heard loud noise from engine and car lost power. Was able to safely make it to the side of the road where I noticed a lot of oil under the car. Called for a tow, while the tow truck driver was hooking up the vehicle he found a piece of the connecting rod under the car. Had the car tow home and called kia, there seems to be a recall for the 2. 4l engine but not on the Sportage. The car has 104500 miles on it and I have e owned it since it was new.

53 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 05/23/2022

The contact owns a 2013 kia Sportage. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made an abnormal sound. The contact pulled over and had the vehicle towed to his residence. The vehicle was later towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The dealer declined the engine replacement due to the vehicle not having an unknown product improvement campaign software update prior to the failure. The contact stated that he had not received a notification for the product improvement campaign software update. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 124,300.

54 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 05/15/2022

While driving home my engine seized. I contacted kia and was told that the recall does not apply because I did not get an ecm reprogram performed. But when I purchased the vehicle ( 9 months prior) the carfax report showed that there were no open recalls or campaigns and kia has not sent me any information regarding any recalls or campaigns.

55 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 05/04/2022

Kia needs to notify its customers that they have recall's, not campaigns. It was unfortunately bad timing for me that when the letter from kia arrived, announcing a “campaign”, not a recall, that I was preparing to have another open heart surgery and a “campaign” just didn’t seem important. My business has campaigns all the time, marketing campaigns. If one of my product lines has a problem with a product that could impact safety or performance, they have a recall. I realize that I will never get reimbursed for the money I had to spend for a new engine, and when my credit card bill arrives in the next week or two, I will have to get a short term loan to pay for it. Because you did send a letter. But it was for a campaign, not a recall. Even with my impending surgery a recall letter would have been put on my refrigerator or somewhere so that when I got out of the hospital I could have taken care of it. But it was a f’ing campaign!!! I’ll never stop telling people that with kia, they don’t have recall’s I guess it is a bad word. Kia has campaigns, that is why my engine wasn’t replaced when the letter came because it said campaign. How many other consumers don't give the attention they should to a letter that arrives staying there is a "campaign". It should say recall, like it does in canada where my sister lives.

56 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 04/19/2022

Was driving home at 11pm on freeway 2nd lane from right side, and engine started making a subtle knocking noise that gradually got louder. Vehicle began to lose power, and as the vehicle stalled, the check engine light came on at that moment. I shut power off to the vehicle and turned it back on, no check engine light however engine was knocking and shaking. I made it slowly and safely off freeway at that point.

57 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 04/12/2022

Kia is not honoring this NHTSA safety recall results (2) recall information provided by national highway traffic safety administration fuel system, gasoline, engine recall date 2018-12-19 recall no. 18v907000 Kia Motors America (kia) is recalling certain 2011-2017 optima, 2012-2017 sorento and 2011-2018 Sportage vehicles that previously received an engine replacement under recall number 17v-224, warranty, or the knock sensor detection system (ksds) product improvement campaign. The high pressure fuel pipe that connects to the fuel pump outlet may have been damaged, misaligned or improperly torqued during the engine replacement procedure, possibly causing a fuel leak. View details for fuel system, gasoline, engine engine and engine cooling recall date 2017-03-31 recall no. 17v224000 Kia Motor company (kia) is recalling certain 2011-2014 optima, 2012-2014 sorento and 2011-2013 Sportage vehicles. Machining errors during the engine manufacturing process may cause premature bearing wear within the engine. View details.

58 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 04/01/2022

The contact owns a 2013 kia Sportage. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a knocking sound coming from the engine compartment before the vehicle started to stall and would not properly accelerate. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who was unable to determine to cause of the failure. The local dealer and manufacturer were not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

59 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 03/31/2022

The contact's client owns a 2013 kia sorento. The contact stated that while his client was driving 70 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. After the failure, the vehicle was towed to a dealer where the mechanic discovered that a rod had blown through the engine resulting in engine failure. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA campaign number: 17v224000 (engine and engine cooling) which he linked to the failure. The vehicle was then towed to a dealer and the contact was informed that the vehicle was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 158,000.

60 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 03/30/2022

While driving down the interstate, the engine started knocking, lost power, and came to a stop on the interstate. I was almost run over by a tractor-trailer. A hero unit showed to push it of the interstate and transport me and my children to safety. The engine did finally restart, but didn’t have enough power to move and knocked very loudly. Called local kia dealer, who told me this is a common problem with 2013 kia Sportage and it would need a new engine at my expense. It was not included in engine recall. The cost to repair is more than the vehicle is worth. I purchased the vehicle new and was never told this would happen. I am on ssdi and now without a vehicle and can’t afford to buy another car, I can barely afford food for my children.

61 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 03/16/2022

The engine in our 2013 kia Sportage began making a weird clicking noise a few weeks ago. We called the kia dealership and asked what to do and were informed that our car was not listed under the kia Sportage engine recall for knocking engines. We were told to add additive to our fuel and it would fix the issue. It didn't and the knocking got worse. Soon, it was so bad and the car was moving sluggishly along the road. There were no warning lights. We had the car towed to a kia dealership and were informed the engine was blown, but we still have no warning lights (no check engine light, no low oil light, no overheating light). We had zero indication (other than the noise) that there was a catastrophic issue with the engine. This is a car that we use to travel highways with and it put my life and my daughter's life in danger. The kia dealership is asking us to pay $7000 in order to fix the issue - when it's a known issue with kia Sportages. The 2013 kia Sportage (my car) is currently on the list for recall of this engine and somehow my VIN doesn't register as part of it, even though we have a blown engine, knocking noise, and no warning lights.

62 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 02/27/2022

Was driving my Sportage at 70mph when the car started knocking. I had to pull over as the car began to slow down and I could not shift gears. My mechanic advised that the engine had seized and a replacement was needed. I was advised by the manufacturer that my VIN was not included in the recall even though I’m experiencing the exact recall defects.

63 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 01/17/2022

Engine locked up without warning or reason.

64 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 12/27/2021

Car engine started making a loud knocking / tapping noise, car shut off while driving down the road at 40 mph, I had to replace the battery, car started back up but is still knocking / tapping. No warning lights came up, I have 112,000 miles on it, I keep the maintenance up on it, I don't run it hard, I take car of it because I love my car, I have never had any issues before this. I did not receive a recall on it, but, there is two recalls listed on for it, this issue is one of the two recalls.

65 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 12/05/2021

Incident occured early Dec. 2021. While driving at about 20-25 mph, as I approached stop sign, the kia suddenly started jerking and cut off. Lucky for me the car crossing stopped before they hit us (family of 5 in car)after having my mechanic (he is a pro who owns his own shop with several employees and a good reputation)come to my home (incident happened 3/4 of a mile from home thank goodness) he stated the engine had siezed, I towed it to kia of port charlotte and they stated it was "normal wear and tear" and want to charge 8500 to fix it. The oil has been changed regularly, (2 weeks prior to incident)and this came out of nowhere- no noises or warning at all. I have since researched kia and see lots of recalls and law suites on thier cars.

66 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 10/12/2021

While driving the car in local traffic at approximately 50 miles per hour the car started losing power and immediately started to have a strong knocking sound and then stalled. Fortunately no other vehicles were present. I believe the battery light came on but it happened so quickly. The car was running fine up to that point with no issue. The car has approximately 73000 miles so as anyone can see it has not been driven hard over 8 years. It was towed to midas where the car was started and immediately a very loud knocking sound occurred. On further inspection it was documented as catastrophic engine failure. It was towed to my home where it sits with a broken engine. It is available for inspection from the manufacturer. I just had my brakes changed and the general inspection of the overall vehicle was said to be very good and the rest of the car interior and exterior is in near excellent condition.

67 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 10/06/2021

Driving at 75 mph, took foot off accelerator, and when placing foot back on accelerator, started losing power and had started to have a strong knocking sound then stalled. Was able to get started with the loud knock and get to a "safer" location. No check engine lights. Car was running smooth prior to this with all current maintenance upkeep. Full daily driver. Will still start and will drive under 1500 rpm but shakes and stalls above 1500 rpm. Approx 122k miles.

68 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 09/16/2021

The engine locked up on the vehicle while I was driving it. It just quit running in the middle of driving 60 mph traffic. I was on the expressway in the fast lane of traffic and it was in mid-afternoon traffic. No warning lights were on before it shut down. Vehicle was well maintained and taken care of and garage kept. It is available for inspection.

69 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 09/16/2021

During accelerating into highway traffic the engine shutoff suddenly and left us without power, which nearly resulted in my wife and I being killed by two separate tractor trailers that by the grace of god were able to swerve and miss rear-ending our car at 60 mph. The car could not be restarted. After further inspection by the dealer this was a result of catastrophic engine failure due to connecting rod bearing failure. This has been a known issue with the kia 2. 4 liter engine. The bigger issue is that we were nearly killed by a known problem that was not addressed when it was identified and instead was left to wait to occur, which could have resulted in death(s). I cannot believe that kia was allowed to proceed in the direction they were once this problem was identified. Our car has now been with kia for nearly 8 weeks waiting to be repaired and they are now telling us that many of the old parts (eg, pistons) will be used when they rebuild the engine, verse replacing the entire engine. Every mechanic we have spoken with has stated this is incorrect procedure that will result in numerous problems down the road. This is not an acceptable solution to resolve a long term known safety issue.

70 Engine And Engine Cooling problem

Failure Date: 09/14/2021

While driving my 2013 kia Sportage at 70 mph from wisconsin to duluth mn, I heard a tapping coming from the engine. Very quickly, the noise escalated to a very loud knocking. At this time, I thought my engine was going to blow up while driving. I was very frightened by this experience. Then car shut off while I was driving putting myself and those behind me at rick of an accident, however I was able to pull over. I was alone. I had no idea what was happening and I was 75 miles from home. There was no warning indicator light to come on in my dashboard to inform me that there was an engine problem. After I steered my vehicle on the side of the road, I was able to start the car to get to the nearest gas station for help. There was no one available to help me. So I decided to drive my vehicle slowly home. That is when my engine blew-up and I could no longer drive the vehicle. I contacted kia for road side assistance and they informed me the the tow would cost me near $560. 00. Then I called my mechanic friend for a tow. After he arrived and looked at the engine, he looked over and under the engine and told me that a rod blew through the engine block. (pictures available) my 2013 kia Sportage was brought to kia of duluth the following day for repair. Kia of duluth inspected the vehicle and informed me that a knock sensor detection recall was not preformed on my vehicle and that my 100,000 mile warranty had expired as I had 105,812 upon arrival. On October 27, 2021 I submitted a claim to kia engine settlement and have received no satisfaction. Further I was informed that I would be eligible for towing and rental cost by kia consumer affairs and kia engine and most resent been denied that as well. My 2013 kia Sportage was valued at 10, 900 dollars when this happened on September 14th, 2021. I received no reimbursement. I have paid $2192. 00 in towing and rental cost. This resulted in me purchasing a new vehicle.



Safety Ratings of Sportage Cars
Fuel Economy of Sportage Vehicles
Sportage Defect Investigations