Vehicle Speed Control Problems of Kia Motor Sportage - part 1

3 times in the last two days, and dozens of times over the last six months, while driving or while idling, the "check hybrid system" warning has flashed. When it happens the car does into limp mode, where it will go no faster than 13mph. This has happened in the left lane of a highway where there is no where to pull over except the lane, since there is no time to get over before the vehicle shuts down. The car essentially will shut down in the middle of driving, no matter where it is. Especially with my kids in the car it is terrifying hazard. I have brought the car to the kia service and since its not easily reproducible they have not been able to help and have offered no solutions.

See all problems of the 2023 Kia Motor Sportage 🔎.

I was driving on the highway and had set the cruise control to 76. I then pushed the plus button once to increase the cruise control speed and the cruise control increased immediately to 110 mph. I braked right away which stopped the acceleration but could see it was still set at 110 mph. I pushed the button to turn the cruise control off. When I pushed it again, it went immediately back to 110. I tired multiple times over the next 45 minutes to turn the cruise control back on but it always went immediately to 110 mph.

See all problems of the 2024 Kia Motor Sportage 🔎.

The vehicle frequently fails to engage gas engine when depressing gas pedal to any degree. A full push of the gas pedal does not result in gas engine engagement. This has happened over 15 ties since the recall computer update last summer (2025). This creates extreme danger because the operator expects the full power of the engine to engage when pulling out of intersections or crossing oncoming traffic, but the engine does not engage causing a slow, creeping acceleration from the electric motor only. I took it into the kia dealer and they found nothing wrong. No warning lights occur when the malfunction happens. And no check engine lights occur either. The only correction is to fully turn the vehicle off and back on. Doing that resets everything back to normal. This malfunction usually occurs within the first 25-30 minutes of vehicle operation.

While driving the vehicle at 55 mph, it suddenly lost the ability to accelerate even when I pressed down on the accelerator. The rpms went up to 4 or 5 but I could not go over 30-35 mph. Fortunately, I was able to move into a left turn lane to get away from the flow of traffic and avoid an accident. A semi-truck was behind us when I was unable to accelerate. We had to have the vehicle towed to a local dealership in the area. I had been driving the vehicle for about 2 hours when this occurred. The service department at the dealer was able to recreate the issue. My vehicle has been out of service and remains at the dealership. They told me that a new transmission would be installed due to loss of transmission fluid. They had a difficult time identifying the issue because there were no warning lights or codes registered.

See all problems of the 2025 Kia Motor Sportage 🔎.

Blank instrument panel screen. Abnormal can message which can cause certain instrument clusters with a 4. 2” screen to reboot while driving. During this rebooting, the cluster will not show information such as the speedometer or telltales for approximately five (5) seconds. As a result, the subject vehicles do not comply with the visibility and illumination requirements of fmvss 101, §§ s5. 1. 2 and 5. 3. 1.

1. Hybrid system failure and check engine light on . 2. Car jerk while driving and gone to limp mode and my speed was reduced to 10 mph at traffic putting my self and other in danger . 3. My vehicle is currently at the dealership getting inspected this is the second time my hybrid warning light came on and the first time they told me nothing was wrong with my vehicle. 4. All of these symptoms happened at the same time while driving.

On Monday, Dec 15 at approximately 3:30 pm I was pulling into my parking spot in front of my house. The vehicle suddenly revved loudly and shot forward striking a tree in my front yard. If not for the tree would have ended up in the kitchen. When parking I do not have to apply gas once I enter the lot as I can drift into the spot. I barely have to brake to stop the vehicle. The steering wheel airbag deployed, fortunately no serious injuries. The passenger front end was pretty much gone and two big branches were sheared off at ground level. Police responded, report #xxx [xxx] sheriff office. Vehicle is due to get to the body shop today or tomorrow. Fortunately this happened where it did as if it had been in traffic or around people it could have been very serious. This was also reported to kia. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

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.

As I am driving, does not matter speed or weather, the instrument cluster screen will do a "system check" as if the vehicle is being started. The screen will go blank for about 5 seconds and then will reappear. If the vehicle is in cruise control, that will disengage and the vehicle will slow down and I have to catch it and keep speed up. This does not happen every day and has happened at different intervals of 6 days between incidents and up to 15 days. Occurred June 9, 2025; June 17, 2025; (vehicle in shop to be looked at June 23rd through August 5th); August 9, 2025, August 14, 2025; September 6, 2025, September 18, 2025; and October 2, 2025.

My 2018 kia Sportage (VIN [xxx] ) experienced complete engine failure due to low compression/internal combustion chamber failure. The vehicle lost power while driving on sept 30, 2025, and had to be towed to [xxx] kia in dayton, OH. This same dealership previously performed an oil retention test in Aug 2024 which failed, identifying a defective engine. Kia was aware of the issue but declined to replace the engine at that time. The failure pattern matches kia’s known engine defect. Kia consumer affairs (case #25572677) has denied goodwill assistance despite this safety-related engine failure and prior diagnostic documentation. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

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The fail that the kia Sportage 2025 had is that every time when accelerating the car would bounce back in a violent way. Safety was at risk on busy roads since car was not able to accelerate and instead bounced back making it more dangerous for the car behind. No problem has been confirmed. The car has not been inspected yet. The car seemed as normal without check engine lights or any manual transmission gear activated. Car was on drive and there was no alert or fail shown on screens.

After driving for roughly 7 hours upon activating my cruise control, after using the entire drive with no issues, it went up to 110 mph as soon as I hit the button and would not allow me to adjust the speed down. It would turn off upon pressing pause, cruise control, or brakes but would rise to 110 mph everytime. I searched for recalls for this and could find none. But I did find posts of other people with the same issue. The only thing I could find was an emissions campaign that seems like it may be related. This appears to me to be much more of a safety issue especially if the driver is not paying attention. Or for example let's say you're driving behind someone and turn cruise control on you could very easily rearend someone at a high rate of speed. I will be trying to get my car into the dealership to try and resolve the issue, but my main point for filing a report is to see if this rises to the level of a safety recall versus a TSB or emissions campaign. My vehicle is available for inspection if needed. No warning lights came on or anything of the sort. I do have a video of this but does not appear I can upload it. Any assistance is greatly appreciated thank you and have a great day.

While driving on the highway at 80 mph, the accelerator suddenly stopped working and was completely unresponsive. The dashboard displayed the message "check hybrid system. Stop safely" and a warning ding sounded. The gas engine was still operating and showing rpms on the dashboard, but all acceleration and/or engagement with the engine was lost. I was able to coast and safely pull over to the side of the road. After pulling over, I turned off the engine and pushed the 12v battery reset button. The car restarted, and I was able to continue driving. The issue repeated about 20 miles later and again on a different drive four days later. Each time, there is no early warning or noticeable issue with the vehicle before the sudden warning and loss of power.

I have a 2025 kiasportage hybrid that I loved due to all its safety features. Yesterday I was pulling into a parking space when my car lunged forward two times making very loud sounds. I was near a brick pillar it it tore off the right front of my car. The bricks were damaged. When I came home I looked up kia Sportage lunching problems. There are many to read. They talk about “sudden acceleration’” and that is exactly what happened. It just lunged forward. Thankfully a human was not on the sidewalk. It went up over the curb and on the sidewalk. It’s called a jerking car in articles. Even if my car is fixable I won’t trust it. If this problem is fixable, why isn’t it fixed before selling the car to consumers. I’m quite distraught about this event. Warning must go out to consumers. I called a collision center this morning and they have seen this before. On the cars connect website, it tells of this event on 2020 kia Sportage. It says ‘’violent, scared the heck out of me. ” so, what is happening and why hasn’t it been fixed? I could have injured someone badly. [xxx] [xxx] arlington, texas information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The car started making a knocking noise. I got it checked out and nothing showed up on the diagnostic. Today I was driving and it wouldn’t go over 65 and the engine light keeps blinking.

See all problems of the 2020 Kia Motor Sportage 🔎.

While driving at random times, no specific speed limit, the screen behind the wheel which shows speed and tachometer, will go into a system check mode. This is similar to when you start up the vehicle. The screen will come back after 5 to 10 seconds but during that time no information is displayed. If you have the vehicle in cruise control, it will disconnect cruise control, and you must catch it, so it does not decelerate to much while in traffic. When it comes back up it may reengage the cruise and it may not. This is a safety issue while driving for both no screen as well as disconnection of cruise control as you can not tell your speed and it slows vehicle down with no brake indication for those behind you which could result in a crash. Vehicle went to dealership and they could not recreate, but were told to replace the cluster which they did, but the issue is still happening on the vehicle. I have a case open with the automobile manufacturer to have the vehicle purchased back as they are not sure what the issue is.

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.

I was driving with cruise control on. I had to slow down for traffic. Upon resuming speed, I reactivated cruise control at which time it jumped to 110 mph. This happen several times. I turned cruise off and back on 110. I canceled and tried to reset, 110. I kept resuming 110 mph and the function was not usable. I have a video but was unable to upload because it was to large.

The contact owns a 2024 kia Sportage hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at 30 mph, the vehicle came to an abrupt stop. There were no warning lights illuminated. The seat belt failed to secure her grandson, who was occupying the front passenger seat, and he flew out of the seat. The driver's seat belt failed to secure her, and she was thrust forward over the steering wheel. The contact called the local dealer, but there was no response. While driving at approximately 30 mph, the vehicle came to an abrupt stop. There were no vehicles around. While driving at 30 mph, the vehicle suddenly stopped, and an unknown pickup truck crashed into the rear of the vehicle. The contact was concerned about driving the vehicle. The contact sustained injuries to her neck, back, and left shoulder, which was torn, and medical attention was provided. There was no reported fire or airbag deployment. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to another local dealer, raceway kia 4044 us-9, freehold, NJ 07728, who determined the vehicle was working as designed. There were no codes displayed during diagnosis. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, who opened a case, but no additional assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 3,200.

I was going 40 mph and tried to set the cruise control to my current speed. The cruise control set at 110 mph instead. I tapped the brake to stop the cruise control and it stopped. I tried to set the cruise control again multiple times and the same thing happened. I parked, turned the car off then on again and the cruise control worked like normal.

I have had three separate instances over the past year, most recently days ago, where I pressed the cruise control button, then pressed the cruising speed increase button, and the cruise control setting jumped to 110 mph. I could press the cruise control button again to turn off cruise control, but if I pressed cruise control again, it would immediately jump to 110 mph, no matter what my current speed was. Pressing the decrease cruise control speed button didn't lower the cruise control speed. The only workaround is to turn the vehicle off and the turn it back on. There are multiple online forum posts, and several youtube videos, of other kia Sportage owners experiencing the same problem.

Cruise control suddenly jumped to 110mph. Could not adjust the speed. Could only turn off cruise control. It happened several times in a row. Car would speed up until I hit the brake.

I purchased my car 10/12/24. On 11/2/24, one of the first times I had used cruise control, I was traveling between 40-45mph in a residential area and turned on my cruise control. The car immediately set the cc speed to exactly 110 mph and would not respond to the down arrow to adjust speed down. I paused cc and resumed and the setting remained at 110mph. I am not sure what caused the setting to finally clear as I was pretty frantically pressing buttons at that point. I do have a photograph of this instance and I have added it to this report. A brief google search confirmed multiple kia drivers reporting the same issue with this line of vehicles. On 11/5/24 I took my car in to olathe kia's service department, asking them to investigate this issue. The service department reported that they found no error codes and had no repair to offer for the cc issue.

I am reporting an incident of sudden unintended acceleration of my 2024 kia Sportage plug-in hybrid. On oct. 11, 2024, my wife was parking the vehicle in a lot near our home when the car suddenly accelerated, only stopping when it crashed into the side of a building. My wife was not injured, though the vehicle was damaged. She insists she did not accidentally hit the accelerator instead of the brake. I have reported the incident to kia, and we have filed a claim with our insurance company.

On oct. 11, 2024, I was pulling into a parking spot when my vehicle suddenly accelerated. My foot was not on the accelerator. I braked but not in time to stop the car before it hit the side of a building. I was not injured, but do not want to use drive the vehicle until I understand what happened and whether this sudden unintended acceleration defect can be fixed.

The car accelerated of its own accord, I had been driving 30-35 miles an hour when it accelerated suddenly and caused me to wreck.

See all problems of the 2016 Kia Motor Sportage 🔎.

When I was driving the vehicle using cruise control, the vehicle suddenly reset the cruise to 110 mph and the vehicle surged forward. The brake disengaged the acceleration but when I reengaged the cruise control it surged toward 110 miles an hours again. The only fix for this was to turn the car off completely and then the cruise control acted normally once again. Then it happened a second time. After that I quit using cruise control. I brought the vehicle in to luther kia of bloomington and they did not know how to fix it. They contacted kia who said their engineers were working on a fix and they were aware of the problem but at this point they did not have one. I have engaged a buyback request from kia because this vehicle is unsafe and potentially fatal to drive. They have denied my buyback request. I am reporting this because I think it is a danger to not only myself but other vehicles on the road.

I've had two issues with my 2023 kia Sportage cruise control. 1. When I press the 'set' cruise control button, it will set at a speed far grater than I'm driving and escalate to that speed. Example: I'm driving 65 on the highway. I set the cruise control. It sets to 100 mph and quickly gains to that speed. This has happened about 5 times. It doesn't happen every time I try to use cruise control. The last time it happened, I could click the 'set' button to disengage cruise control but it would never set to 60 mph- always 100. So I pressed 'set' at 60 mph. It went to 100 mph. Then I pressed set to disengage. Then pressed 'set'again at 60 mph and it went to 100 mph. The only way to get it to actually re set was to pull over and re-start the car. 2. When you actually get it to 'set' to 60 mph and then press the toggle to speed up, it will often toggle up to 90 mph instead of to 65mph. This has happened 3-5 times. This is super dangerous since it speeds up so quickly.

I bought the car in July 2024. After approximately 2 months after taking possession I took the car on a trip. While driving on the highway I engaged the cruise control. The vehicle immediately set to 110mph. I immediately turned it off and didn't drive that fast. I tried to reengage the cruise control multiple times and the speed still went to 110mph. I've taken the vehicle to a kia dealership the car was there for 2 months. There is no fix at this time. Just told not to use the cruise control. The dealership told me it's a known problem.

On three occasions in the last 1000 miles, my 2024 kia Sportage hybrid's cruise control has jumped to 110 mph and refused to accept user input. Turning cruise control off and back on again, it jumps back to 110mph immediately (got video). Only stopping the vehicle, shifting the vehicle completely off, and restarting the vehicle seems to fix this. Have read multiple forums that say others have experienced this. This is a major software and safety issue that needs to be corrected.

Good morning, I'm writing with a vehicle safety risk that my wife and I experienced on Sunday while driving home in our 2023 kia Sportage hybrid SUV that we purchased new in August 2022. On one of the surface streets in olympia, wa where we live, I turned on the cruise control to set it at the speed limit for that street. Instantaneously, upon turning on the cruise control, it set itself to 110mph and immediately started rapid acceleration. I was able to immediately turn off the cruise control. I tried turning it on again to see if the behavior repeated itself, and again it automatically set itself to 110mph and began acceleration. I tried turning the cruise speed setting to a lower mph, but the set speed would not adjust off 110mph. At that point, I turned it off, and we made it home without any problems. However, upon getting home, I immediately started to search online to see if other people are experiencing this problem. A number of users on reddit with either kia's or Hyundai's (same parent company) have dealt with the same exact issue. I'm including some links to reddit threads and videos below: [xxx] [xxx] [xxx] from what I can see online, this is likely a software issue that kia/Hyundai aren't making any moves to acknowledge or fix. However, it's an extremely dangerous issue. It looks like it's also happening to people who are using features like adaptive cruise control as well. It poses immense safety risk to drivers/passengers, as well as others on the road if the car randomly starts accelerating when it should be holding its speed steady in cruise. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The infotainment screen goes out randomly while driving and can stay off for the entirety of the trip. That includes the speedometer, check engine light, fuel gauge, etc.

When using cruise control and raising the speed, the cruise control gets maxed out to 110 mph, and requires the driver to disengage the cc to stop. It keeps reoccurring until the car is restarted. I did not take pictures, but there is are multiple reddit threads at the below url's with multiple users having the same issue. Some have reported to kia who claim it's a known issue with no fix. [xxx] [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

I have experienced a dangerous bug where cruise control shoots immediately to 110mph. I have experienced three incidents in the last 15 months. Too busy trying to disengage the accelerating vehicle to get a video, but many others have documented this bug: [xxx] [xxx] [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Second time reporting for the third instance dealer says nothing is wrong but I have a video when car speeds up and doesn’t stop when removing my foot for acceleration car keeps moving and it’s hard to stop unless I slam on brake this is occasionally instance but when it happens it’s highly risk for havug accident with kids I don’t feel safe.