general problems of the 2024 Kia Motor Sportage

Sunroof exploded while driving. No rocks or anything hit it. Glass is pointing upward.

Sunroof on the vehicle shattered without being struck by projectile or road debris. The area where we were driving had no other cars near us at the time of the incident. There was no sound of something hitting then shattering, it just exploded. Examination of the sunroof did not reveal any points of impact, research done online has shown multiple other kia Sportage owners with the same issue. Spontaneous shattering of the panoramic sunroof.

As I was driving to work this morning, I heard a loud bang. The sun roof blew up. Based on how the glass is raised, it looks like it blew from the inside out.

In January 2026, my wife was driving our 2024 kia Sportage hybrid ex downhill in traffic when the hybrid system failed without warning. Cabin filled with smoke, lost steering control, and explosion shook the vehicle. She was surrounded by other vehicles and could have been killed or caused multi-car crash. Component failure: dealership diagnosed hybrid system failure after 2. 5 weeks. Vehicle at dealership awaiting repair. Failed components available for inspection. Safety risk: zero steering control downhill surrounded by traffic. Smoke impaired visibility. Explosion posed fire risk. Life-threatening danger to occupants and other motorists. Dealer confirmation: yes, confirmed by dealership. Repair pending. Warning symptoms: none. Instantaneous catastrophic failure. Critical issue: I discovered kia issued service campaigns for 2024 Sportage hybrids directly related to this failure: service campaign sc322 (January 2025) - hybrid control unit software failure affecting 2023-2025 Sportage hybrids built Feb 2022-Jul 2024 12v battery overcharge campaign - battery management system overcharging causing loss of motive power and "check hybrid system stop safely" warnings sc319 (NHTSA 24v-422) - motor-driven power steering contaminated circuit board causing loss of power steering never notified of campaigns despite being owner since may 2024. Nhtsa shows zero recalls, falsely indicating safety. By classifying defects as "voluntary service campaigns" instead of safety recalls, kia avoided mandatory federal notifications. My wife drove with multiple known defects kia failed to disclose. Vehicle under 2 years old, within warranty. This catastrophic failure and notification failure warrants NHTSA investigation. There was smoke and we called 911 and the fire department came out.

While highway driving, suddenly and without warning, the panoramic sunroof shattered and exploded. Nothing hit the vehicle. Yes, it is available I took a photo. Yes, the kia southern pines, nc saw the vehicle and damage.

A month after buying my vehicle in February of 2024, while driving my vehicle the screen behind my steering wheel will black out and come back on and do a system check as if I had just turned my car on. It happens at all times of day, at all speeds. I kept a log of some of the incidences and there are no two that are the same. I have even been in park with the car on and it will happen. When you are driving with cruise control on and it does it the cruise control shuts off then comes back on after it has done the system check again. This is extremely dangerous while driving on the interstate and a line of cars around you. I have taken it to the dealership and they have worked with kia to try to figure it out and still have not been able to. I am now going on almost two years of this happening without any resolution. Below I put the last time it happened but this happens all the time and is not one isolated incident. I have attached a log I kept for two months of the incidences.

The sunroof shattered while driving without any sort of impact.

The component that failed is the sunroof (glass) the sunroof exploded while driving down the street, glass splattered in my head, face, and body. I almost wrecked because it sounded like a gunshot. The component is being inspected by the insurance adjuster and dealership on 10/23/25. There was no warning lamp, message or other symptom of the problem prior to the explosion.

I am writing to report a serious and dangerous issue with my kia vehicle that is putting my life and my family’s safety at risk. While driving, the engine shuts off completely whenever I come to a stop or press the brake pedal. I then have to manually restart the engine to continue driving. This happens frequently, including while I am in traffic or on the highway. I have come very close to being hit by other vehicles multiple times while my children were in the car. I already brought the vehicle to a kia dealership, and they informed me that the issue was fixed. However, within one week, the same problem started again. This clearly indicates that the problem has not been resolved and may be due to a manufacturing or system defect. I cannot continue to drive this vehicle under these conditions. I am requesting immediate assistance to ensure my vehicle is either: properly repaired and guaranteed safe to drive, or replaced with another vehicle if the defect cannot be corrected. Please treat this as a high-priority safety matter. I am sending this email as official documentation that I have reported this issue to kia headquarters in case anything happens to me or my family while operating this vehicle. I expect a prompt response and resolution. Thank you for your urgent attention to this matter. Sincerely, [xxx] [xxx] [xxx] [xxx] vehicle information: make/mode: 2024/kia Sportage VIN: [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Driving, just left my house and turned on to the road. Sunroof shattered for no apparent reason. Owned vehicle for a year and half, no previous issues. No prior damage. No other vehicle around, clear skies and it shattered. The moving part, not the stationary part.

Sunroof unexpectedly shattered at highway speed with no vehicles or obstructions present.

The panoramic sunroof glass spontaneously shattered upon entry in to the vehicle and closing the driver door. If the privacy cover closed, my daughter would have been showered with glass. I have tried reaching out to a kia dealer directly but have not received a response. I did notify my insurance so there would be a record and I am waiting for an adjuster to come out to look at the vehicle and document it. No warnings.

Horn stopped working.

Rear liftgate window imploded.

The dash on my Sportage will go black while driving, and then the system reboots showing "system check" the cruise control also goes out when this happens. This happens about once a month. Dealer has checked it more than 3 times and has found no issues except the first time I brought it in.

The doors won't lock. The button on the handle won't work sometimes. It's just random. This has happened 4 times in the last 2 years I have owned the car. I have to use app to lock and unlock the car. Once I drive it again everything is fine.

My sunroof shattered without anything hitting it.

I have had no accident. In my opinion the 2024 kia Sportage has a dangerous fire safety problem. This car has no way to open the back tailgate from inside. No release inside the car or on the key. I an accident occurs and the driver should pass out and could not get the key to someone, there is no way inside the car to release the back door to escape. If the car should catch on fire you would have to breakout the windows and then you will still have to take the door off to get to the people if driver can not hand you the key . There was an auto opener on the 2023 but not this model . . Unless you purchase it special, which no one told me this when I purchased this car or I would not have purchased it . I even called back 3 months later trying to find out how to open my door and first was told by a dealer it was on my key as I tried to find it and called the dealership two additional times and asked at the dealership 2 more when I went for maintenance. Made a 3rd trip and finally spoke to someone at the dealership who just now told me there is no key or inside access to the trunk. The dealers did not know and had me searching to use the key and the drivers door section. I think there should be a recall and they should have to put this on the car for it is a great safety hazard if you or your child is trapped inside a wrecked car. They should at least tell you this before purchasing and I would not have bought and paid cash for this car. Now they want me to pay for this ? it is a fire safety hazard. They need to make this right! cars have had a way to get into the rear on key and from inside for 20 years now please consider this before people dies in a accident due to this. I did call the company and they seem unconcerned. They need to get this feature on my car without charging me for it. If this was a standard feature on the 2023 then it should be on the newer cars . . It is all about money and not our safety. Why would you take a feature this important off a vehicle?.

Vehicle mpg does not match estimated mpg statement on sales sticker. This has been a consistent problem from date of purchase. Dealer and car manual claim it would improve gradually. It has not. I think they over estimated mpg and/or the milage calculator is defective. I have been to dealer 3 times, they do not make records of my concerns and tell me that 5 mpg off is normal. I have wide fluctuating numbers from the display whether running on battery or gas.

This deals with auto locks on the vehicle. The doors are supposed to lock when the vehicle is put in gear, and unlock when it is put in park. That happens most of the time, perhaps 75% of the time. When it doesn’t work properly, the doors remain locked. Passengers can get out, but unopened doors remained locked, and if you try to reopen a door from which someone just excited the vehicle, they will find that the door is locked, and they can not open the door. This is mostly an annoying situation, but it could be life threatening under the right circumstances, such as a child in the back seat needing to be removed in an emergency situation. Both the salesman and the service department told me that a lot of owners have reported this problem. When I called kia’s 1-800 customer support, they know nothing about the problem. Additionally, a quick internet search confirmed that it is widespread. I have had the vehicle to the dealership four times for repair. The first three times, the service department said they couldn’t do any repairs because the problem did not duplicate for them. The fourth time, I drove into the service bay, got out, and all the doors were locked. Not good enough, even though it happened right there and was easily verified. They said they had to remove the door panel, hook up some piece of equipment, and then have it happen. Well, it didn’t, so they did nothing. They said that kia will not repair it without it happening while hooked up. Obviously, their warranty is a joke, but it goes beyond that, as this is a potential safety hazard.

The ecu malfunctioned and the passenger side airbag didn’t go off and should have. There were error codes and I told kia service department about it but they weren’t to concerned and said they would look at it at my first service appointment.

Panoramic sunroof shattered while driving - there were no rocks or falling objects.

I was driving on the 99tollway about 70mph and I heard what I can only describe as an explosion sound and when I looked in my rearview mirror I saw glass flying from my car. My panoramic sunroof exploded, leaving a large hole in the middle of the sunroof. There were no car around me thankfully and nothing struck my car prior to the explosion sound. No sensors went off in my car and my car did not alert me that there were any issues with the roofing system.

While driving down highway, roof molding came loose and started to bang against the roof by flopping.

The sunroof exploded all of the sudden. I was driving on the I-675 highway toward wright-patt air force base and the sunroof exploded, barely maintained vehicle control. The shattered glass hit my head and my child legs. Some glass sand enter my eye. I manage to pulled over and check my car interior for any strange/outside object but there was no external object, nothing. Called the police, they also inspect the vehicle and found nothing. I’m very concerned about this, could cost our lives. Drop the car at the dealership and they said that definitively was a manufacturing defect.

On October 22, 2023, we made a restroom stop at an arco in moapa, nv. I was in the car while my wife used the facilities. It was a clear day with the temperature in the mid 70s. As I backed out of our parking space I heard a loud pop. I checked to see if I had run over something or had a flat. I saw nothing. I got back onto the interstate and about 2 miles later I heard a loud pop and in my rear view mirror saw debris flying from our car. I pulled off the road and again checked my tires. I then checked the roof and saw that part of the sunroof glass was gone. This was a new car only 23 days old, with only about 550 miles on it. It had never been on rough roads. We had never opened the sunroof. We understand that this is an ongoing problem with sunroofs that use tempered glass. Please add ours to your investigation and fix the problem. It is at the kia dealer now. They said they would check with kia.