2016 Kia Sedona problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Engine (122) · Exterior Lighting (26) · Structure:body (21)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Kia Sedona model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
100 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (4)
Power Train:automatic Transmission:lever And Linkage:column Shift 2022-08-10 · campaign 22V612000 · 28,065 vehicles
Defect: Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2016 Sedona and Sorento vehicles. The vehicles may have been manufactured with faulty automatic transmission shift lever assembly components, preventing the shift lever from locking, which can allow the vehicle to rollaway.
Risk: A vehicle rollaway increases the risk of a crash and injury.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the automatic transmission shift lever assembly components, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 7, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC246.
Electrical System:software 2021-09-17 · campaign 21V725000 · 88,576 vehicles
Defect: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Sedona vehicles. The Smart Junction Box (SJB) software logic may not properly interpret the signals received from the multifunction switch, which could cause the turn signal to activate in the opposite direction of what the driver intended.
Risk: A turn signal activating in the opposite direction of what was intended by the driver increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will update the SJB software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 12, 2021. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC217.
Electrical System:wiring 2019-02-19 · campaign 19V109000 · 94,389 vehicles
Defect: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2015-2018 Sedona vehicles equipped with manually-adjusted front passenger seats. Over time, the Occupant Detection System (ODS) wiring harness located underneath the front passenger seat may break from the seat being occupied.
Risk: If a child is in a child seat in the front seat, a broken ODS wiring harness will not prevent the front passenger air bag from deploying in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury to the child.
Fix: Kia will notify owners, and dealers will remove the wire harness clip to prevent the wiring harness from breaking. If the harness is found damaged, the front passenger seat cushion will be replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began March 19, 2019. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC175.
Structure:body:door 2018-05-23 · campaign 18V338000 · 106,428 vehicles
Defect: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2015-2018 Kia Sedona vehicles equipped with a power sliding door (PSD). The PSD may not auto-reverse when its closing is obstructed.
Risk: If the door closes on an occupant, there is an increased risk of an injury.
Fix: Kia will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the PSD module software, free of charge. The recall began on June 18, 2018. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC164.
Service bulletins (112)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Structure:body 2026-06-08 · CS2312_TSB_R2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: customer satisfaction: theft deterrent ignition cylinder protector and decal installation (cs2312) - this bulletin has been revised to include additional information. new/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. this bulletin prov
Engine 2026-03-18 · WTY026_TSB_R2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: warranty extension campaign: oil pressure switch (ops) replacement (wty026 revision 2) - this bulletin has been revised to include additional information. new/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. this bulletin provides informa
Structure:body 2026-02-19 · TSB_CS2312_R1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: customer satisfaction: theft deterrent ignition cylinder protector and decal installation (cs2312) - this bulletin has been revised to include additional information. new/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. this bulletin prov
Structure:body 2025-12-18 · TSB_CS2312 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: customer satisfaction: theft deterrent ignition cylinder protector and decal installation (cs2312) - this bulletin provides information to install a theft deterrent ignition cylinder protector on certain 2010-2022my kia vehicles outlined on page 19, which may not have bee
Engine 2025-12-18 · WTY039_TSB_R7 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: engine sub assembly inspection/replacement (wty039 - revision 7) - this bulletin has been revised to include additional information. new/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. this bulletin provides information associated with t
Structure:body 2025-12-17 · CS2312_OWNR · Other
customer satisfaction campaign: owner notification (cs2312) - this document is the owner notification advising that kia is conducting customer satisfaction campaign. a software upgrade that addresses the social media theft method has been made available to owners of eligible kia model vehicles free
Showing the 6 most recent of 112 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-08 · Engine“in january 2026, i brought my vehicle to a kia dealership specifically complaining that it was "burning oil." the dealership documented this exact complaint on the invoice, but only repaired external leaks. they failed to perform an oil consumption test, failed to diagnose the internal burning issue, and failed to warn me of any ongoing risk. appro…”
2026-09-24 · Engine“while driving my van i had stopped to put car in reverse to park and as i was putting van back into drive to finish parking the engine quit, i was unable to restart the vehicle, just a click sound. all the lights doors everything electric worked, still purchased a new battery in case that was the issue. there were no service engine lights, oil li…”
2026-09-08 · Engine“total engine failure at 120k miles, no warning signs. …”
2026-09-08 · Unknown Or Other“both sliding door on left and right side wouldn’t close and stayed open for a short period of time. now the door can’t be opened because it doesn’t latch.…”
2026-09-03 · Seats“i purchased the minivan as a used car last year and i noticed that the airbag light turned on when a passenger would sit on the front passenger seat. i tried to get a diagnosis ever since but many shops that i brought my minivan to didn’t work with airbags. so i eventually brought my minivan to a kia dealership, luther bloomington kia in bloomingto…”
2026-08-20 · Engine · 155,326 mi“the vehicle radiator exploded while driving on the freeway. towed to mechanic radiator replaced and housing. problem persosted. with a simple pressure test the coolant in the reservoir began to boil immediately meaning there's a cracked engine block.…”
2026-08-09 · Structure:body“pearl white paint peeling, there is an extension for a warranty through hyundai for the same paint but not through kia. please advise what to do.…”
2026-08-06 · Unknown Or Other“2016 kia sedona with power sliding doors. both rear power sliding doors fail to completely latch upon closing. doors make loud clicking sounds while attempting to close and require manual pushing to latch. kia of attleboro diagnosed and confirmed in writing that both rear door roller arm assemblies are completely missing the roller, and that this c…”
2026-07-15 · Engine“engine experienced mass, sudden oil consumption with no warning of any sort, resulting in significant engine damage. oil had been changed apx 800 miles prior to incident, and vehicle showed no signs of leaks or oil consumption following the oil change. no oil leaks or wetness were found around oil filter or drain plug. vehicle drove perfectly fine …”
2026-07-10 · Latches/Locks/Linkages:doors:latch · 159,259 mi“the contact owns a 2016 kia sedona. the contact stated that the climate control panel became inoperable, failing to distribute heat and air conditioning. while the middle and third-row climate systems functioned, an abnormal burning odor was detected. the fan speed adjustment button experienced an electrical short, and upon removing the climate con…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.