2023 Kia Sportage Hybrid problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Vehicle Speed Control (23) · Service Brakes (12) · Power Train (11)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Kia Sportage Hybrid model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (1)
Electrical System: Instrument Cluster/Panel 2023-04-26 · campaign 23V298000 · 108,936 vehicles
Defect: Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023 Sportage, Sportage Hybrid, Sportage Plug-in Hybrid, Niro Hybrid, Niro Plug-in Hybrid, Soul, and Telluride vehicles equipped with a digital instrument cluster containing a 4.2" LCD screen. The instrument cluster may fail to display any information when the vehicle is started. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard numbers 101, "Control and Displays," and 138, "Tire Pressure Monitorin
Risk: A blank instrument cluster display will not show critical information, such as tire pressure, warning messages, and warning lights, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will update the instrument cluster software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 26, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC270.
Service bulletins (67)
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.
Suspension 2026-09-25 · WTY047_TSB · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: warranty extension campaign: rear shock absorber inspection & replacement (wty047) - this bulletin provides information associated with the ‘warranty extension program’ (wty047) to inspect, and if necessary, replace one or both left and right rear shock absorber assemblie
Suspension 2026-09-11 · WTY047_REIMB · Warranty Program/Extension
warranty extension campaign: reimbursement form (wty047) - 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 campaign program launch.
Suspension 2026-09-11 · WTY047_OWNR · Warranty Program/Extension
warranty extension campaign: owner notification (wty047) - this document is the owner notification advising that kia is extending the new vehicle limited warranty coverage to owners for certain repairs related to oil leakage from the rear shock absorbers on the following vehicles that were originall
Suspension 2026-09-10 · WTY047_REIMB · Warranty Program/Extension
warranty extension campaign: reimbursement form (wty047) - 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 campaign program launch.
Suspension 2026-09-09 · WTY047_QA · Warranty Program/Extension
warranty extension campaign: question and answer (wty047) – this document is the question and answer guide containing the most frequently asked questions regarding warranty extension campaign wty047.
Suspension 2026-09-09 · WTY047_DPSM · Warranty Program/Extension
warranty extension campaign: dealer parts and service manager memo (wty047) - this document is the announcement to dealer parts and service managers advising that kia is extending the new vehicle limited warranty coverage to owners for certain repairs related to oil leakage from the rear shock absor
Showing the 6 most recent of 67 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-20 · Fuel/Propulsion System“in the newer kia's, the gas lid is completely electronic. there is no emergency release for the gas lid. the lee's summit kia dealership is claims that kia has designed their newer cars with no emergency latch to open my gas lid so i can put gas in my car. i have a working car that i cannot put gas in. then the lee's summit kia dealership states th…”
2026-09-29 · Electrical System“was driving my child to school when the hybrid system alert came on, i only had a few seconds to try and pull over before the car completely shut down, we lost all motive power. i was on a downward incline right in front of an uncontrolled intersection with very little shoulder as i live in a rural mountain town. since the parking brake is part of …”
2026-09-16 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic · 43,000 mi“the contact owns a 2023 kia sportage. the contact stated that while driving 30 mph, the message "brake carefully" was displayed. the contact slightly depressed the brake pedal to test the brakes and continued driving; however, the vehicle lost motive power. the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where the contact was informed that the fa…”
2026-08-27 · Electrical System“i was driving my 2023 kia sportage hybrid when the vehicle displayed a "check hybrid system"/ "stop safely" warning and suddenly lost motive power/acceleration. i was unable to accelerate normally. i had luckily pulled of the road that i was going 55 mph into a parking lot prior to the lass of power or i would have stopped right on the roadway with…”
2026-08-21 · Vehicle Speed Control“2023 kia sportage hybrid. drop in power/acceleration! upsetting, stressful & unsafe. purchased brand new, nov 2023. when this occurred approx. 35695 miles. i left work, got on the freeway, (only maybe 1-2 miles away) and was trying to accelerate to merge with traffic flow and could only go approx. 52-54 mph. i tried to "floor" the pedal, but with n…”
2026-08-11 · Service Brakes“electronic parking brake switch has failed. yes the switch is available for inspection. electronic parking brake can no longer be manually activated. failure of the electronic parking brake switch has been confirmed by a dealer (citrus kia, ontario, ca). electronic parking brake switch has not yet been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insuran…”
2026-08-04 · Power Train“my 2023 kia sportage ex hybrid has experienced repeated engine-related failures since october 2022, requiring multiple dealer repairs. the safety issue escalated in 2026 when the vehicle experienced sudden loss of acceleration while driving on highways. in april/may 2026, the vehicle lost acceleration twice within approximately 10–15 minutes. warni…”
2026-07-31 · Engine · 104,000 mi“the contact owns a 2023 kia sportage. the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was smoke coming from the engine compartment and the vehicle stalled. the check engine and battery warning lights were illuminated. the vehicle was towed to a dealer to be diagnosed; however, the diagnostic result was unknown. the vehicle was …”
2026-07-24 · Fuel System, Gasoline:storage:evaporative Emissions:canister · 45,445 mi“the contact owns a 2023 kia sportage. the contact stated that while driving 75 mph, the engine seized. the hybrid engine message was displayed. the vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the road and parked. the contact stated that while attempting to restart the vehicle, the vehicle started. the contact reset the instrument cluster. the contact sta…”
2026-07-16 · Power Train“on xxx and xxx, while driving on the highway, the vehicle suffered a sudden, complete loss of motive power. flashing warning lights appeared on the instrument cluster, accompanied by a safety warning message instructing the driver to pull over and "check hybrid system" immediately. this sudden, uncommanded drop in propulsion on active, high-spee…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.