2018 Kia Cadenza problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Engine (4) · Air Bags (1)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Kia Cadenza model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (1)
Service Brakes, Hydraulic:antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip:control Unit/Module 2021-03-04 · campaign 21V137000 · 379,931 vehicles ⚠ PARK OUTSIDE
Defect: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2017-2021 Sportage and Cadenza vehicles. The electrical circuit in the Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit (HECU) may short-circuit, which can cause a fire in the engine compartment.
Risk: An engine compartment fire can increase the risk of injury.
Fix: Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures as a precaution until the recall repair is complete. Kia will notify owners, and dealers will replace certain fuses in the electrical junction box. Vehicles equipped with an electronic parking brake (EPB) will also receive a HECU software update. Repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on April 30, 2021. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC206.
Service bulletins (51)
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.
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
Power Train 2025-04-17 · TSB_TRA046_R5 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: transmission fluid application guide - 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 relating to the correct transmission fluid ty
Fuel/Propulsion System 2025-03-27 · WTY034_TSB_R2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: warranty extension campaign: high-pressure fuel pump replacement (wty034) - 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 associat
Fuel/Propulsion System 2024-09-21 · WTY034_TSB_R1 · Warranty Program/Extension
technical service bulletin: warranty extension campaign: high-pressure fuel pump replacement (wty034) - 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 associat
Engine 2024-05-25 · WTY034_REIMB · Warranty Program/Extension
warranty extension campaign: reimbursement form (wty034) - this document is a reimbursement request form that was mailed with the customer letter advising them to submit the form if they had paid for repairs for this same matter prior to the warranty extension program launch.
Fuel/Propulsion System 2024-05-25 · WTY034_OWNR_YG · Warranty Program/Extension
warranty extension campaign: owner notification (wty034) - this document is the owner notification advising that kia is extending the new vehicle limited warranty coverage, to all owners, for the high-pressure fuel pump in 2017-2020 my cadenza vehicles from 5 years / 60,000 miles to 15 years / 180,0
Showing the 6 most recent of 51 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-07-01 · Air Bags“the airbag light randomly came on 2 weeks ago and stayed on , indicating that the airbags would not deploy in the event of an accident. i called my mechanic, who confirmed it was not a warranty item. my car only has about 45,000 miles on it and is well maintained. it has never been in an accident. i dropped my car off with my mechanic, who is wait…”
2025-11-18 · Engine“complete engine failure due to rods and bearings (same as all other kia engine recalls currently active). ironically my car wasn’t included in the recall. also i’ve noticed that hyundai has extended the warranty for this same engine in the 2018 santa fe basically acknowledging it has a problem but didn’t include the 2018 kia cadenza which has the e…”
2025-11-16 · Engine“no prior issues/light on dashboard as the car was just serviced for coolant hose replacement. on my way home from work, the car stalled and loss power at the light. the signs were giving engine failure due to losing power then a clicking/ticking noise. after pulling over and giving the car a break i tried to restart it, at that point the noise had …”
2025-09-09 · Engine“vehicle has been properly maintained and at 78k miles, while at a stop sign, the engine seized. no warning signs from vehicle appeared. …”
2025-02-04 · Engine“failure of oil pressure sensor resulting in oil leaking into wiring harness, this is the same problem with 3.3l engines in other models that kia has extended coverage. i contacted kia customer care and was told they tracked vin and not enough cadenzas had reported the same repair. if the problem is with the engine sensor then it should apply regard…”
2019-05-16 · Unknown Or Other · 9,500 mi“i purchased a new 2018 kia cadenza with 11 miles on it. i have had the car less than a year and it randomly stalls while in drive mode in motion and sometimes while sitting idle. it has stalled on the freeway, neighborhood streets, drive-way and on feeder roads. the car has been in and out of the dealership at least 5 times. kia motors cannot figur…”
2018-10-13 · Unknown Or Other · 1,750 mi“we became more concerned after seeing a report about fires involving kias this morning. our new 2018 kia cadenza had about 1,750 miles on the odometer on october 11, 2018, when the following occurred: we were on a city street, stopped at a stop light, when we saw some small, light strands of smoke that seemed to be rising just outside the right,…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.