2017 Kia Sedona problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Engine (47) · Structure:body (12) · Electrical System (9)
🧭 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
35 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (4)
Air Bags 2022-01-25 · campaign 22V031000 · 410,619 vehicles
Defect: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Sedona, Soul, Soul EV, 2017-2018 Forte, and 2017 Forte Koup vehicles. The Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) cover may contact a memory chip on the printed circuit board and damage the electrical circuit. Circuit damage may result in deactivated air bags that will not deploy in a crash.
Risk: Air bags that do not deploy as intended can increase the risk of injury in a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the ACU, and either update the software or replace the unit, as necessary. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 21, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC226.
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.
Electrical System:software 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 (83)
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
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
Back Over Prevention: Warnings 2025-12-09 · PS797 · Other
pitstop: technical operations: external damage to ultrasonic sensor: this pitstop provides information related to parking distance warning (pdw) alerts and repairs involving ultrasonic sensors. the pdw system alerts the driver while parking, by calculating distance based on the difference in signal
Showing the 6 most recent of 83 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-09-21 · Structure:body“white paint is peeling off and flaking away, far more than i would expect from normal wear.…”
2026-08-23 · Electrical System“the transmission doesnt know what gear it it in. code p0705…”
2026-08-17 · Unknown Or Other“ on 8/6/26 my wife was driving home when the sedona van began emitting white smoke and started making a whining noise. little did we know the head bolts had pulled out of the engine causing the head gasket to blow and coolant to leak and total engine failure. safety risk was engine could have seized in the middle of my wife driving home which coul…”
2026-06-12 · Structure:body“white pearl paint is flaking/peeling of for no apparent reason.…”
2026-05-11 · Engine · 146,658 mi · 🔥 fire“the contact owns a 2017 kia sedona. the contact stated that while driving at 55 mph, the contact the oil light illuminated, and the vehicle decelerated independently. the contact mention he pulled over to the right side of the road, exited the vehicle and when he lifted the hood of the vehicle, he noticed flames coming from the engine. no injuries …”
2026-04-15 · Engine“same defect on nhtsa (investigation pe23-019) my vehicle is 1 month outside of the manufacturing date listed, having the same issues, but they will not cover it-even though the same engine is in it. kia bulletin wty039 vehicle is overheating, coolant is bubbling…”
2026-04-14 · Engine“there was an unusual amount of oil "slug" created by the engine which caused the engine to be inoperable. therefore, we had to replace the engine. …”
2026-04-14 · Electrical System“the sliding door located on the driver's side / left side behind the driver's seat will not close completely which causes an alert/warning to be displayed that the door is still open. the door slides on the track but will not close completely. you must apply pressure as it closes to turn of the warning light.…”
2026-04-13 · Engine“my vehicle would not start, after jumping and idling for a few moments, all dash lights started flashing and vehicle wouldnt go into gear. i shut it off as it started making a hum and smelled like something wasnt right. a mobile mechanic who came to my rescue after breaking down did a diagnostic of my engine. i was told i had low to no oil. i asked…”
2026-04-07 · Fuel/Propulsion System“137,000 miles, regular oil changes every 4,000 miles,even adding 2 quarts during the 4,000 miles it would still come up short by 1 quart. started throwing p0018 timing code,high pressure fuel pump on front blew off the valve cover,im assuming due to jumping out of timing,as the high pressure pump sits ontop of one of the camshaft rollers. engine st…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.