2025 Kia K4 problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Power Train (6) · Vehicle Speed Control (4) · Steering (4)
Safety recalls (2)
Electrical System: Instrument Cluster/Panel 2026-01-26 · campaign 26V046000 · 42,677 vehicles
Defect: Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2025 Kia K4, 2025-2026 Sorento, Sorento Hybrid, Sorento Plug-In Hybrid Electric (PHEV), 2026 Sportage, Sportage Hybrid, Sportage PHEV, K5, EV9, Carnival, and Carnival Hybrid vehicles. Due to a software error, the instrument panel display may fail. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) numbers 101, "Controls and Displays" and 138, "Tire Pressure Monitoring System."
Risk: An instrument panel display that fails to show critical safety information, such as the speedometer, tire pressure, or warning lights, increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: The instrument panel display software will be updated over-the-air (OTA) or by a dealer, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed March 26, 2026. Owners may contact Kia Customer Service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC361. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov on February 9, 2026.
Engine And Engine Cooling:critical Fasteners 2025-08-25 · campaign 25V548000 · 30 vehicles
Defect: Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2025 K4 and Sorento vehicles. The connecting rod bolts in the engine may have been improperly tightened, which can cause a loss of drive power.
Risk: A loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the sub engine assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed September 12, 2025. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC349.
Service bulletins (19)
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.
Electrical System 2026-07-22 · TSB_ELE414_R1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: body domain controller (bdc) replacement (ca2515 revision 1) - 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 regarding the body do
Electrical System 2026-05-28 · TSB_ELE422 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: infotainment system software update using update.kia.com - this bulletin provides information and service procedures for updating the infotainment systems on applicable kia vehicles using the kia navigation updater available at update.kia.com. the software update may impr
Electrical System 2026-04-28 · TSB_ELE414 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: body domain controller (bdc) replacement (ca2515) - this bulletin provides information regarding the body domain control unit (“bdc”) on certain 2025my and 2026my k4 (cl4) vehicles manufactured from may 1, 2025, through feb 9, 2026. due to a communication issue between th
Electrical System 2026-04-14 · TSB_ELE417 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: infotainment software update procedure - this bulletin provides information on the process for downloading infotainment software updates and preparing usb for installation on applicable kia vehicles. the software downloads and usb preparation process is similar across all
Electrical System 2026-03-20 · TSB_ELE413 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: dcu communication logic improvement - this bulletin provides the procedure to upgrade the data connectivity unit (dcu) system software on some 2025–2026my vehicles listed in the table below. kia has identified that connected car services (ccs) functionality may intermitte
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 19 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-12 · Power Train“i purchased my 2025 kia k4 in march 2025. approximately two months after purchasing the vehicle, around may 2025, i began experiencing serious and recurring safety issues. while driving, the vehicle intermittently loses acceleration and becomes unresponsive when i press the gas pedal. when this occurs, i have to pull over, turn the vehicle off, an…”
2026-10-01 · Forward Collision Avoidance: Adaptive Cruise Control“check driver assistance system light came on. it wasn’t until driving at night that i realized the steering wheel had no power. the horn, buttons, and lights all did not work or function. this also caused all driver assistance settings to not work or function. with no power to the steering wheel, their is no way of knowing if the airbag would deplo…”
2026-08-23 · Wheels“the tpms system will stop working and display a message saying check tire pressure monitoring system. while this message is displayed i cannot see any tire pressures and presumably will not receive any warnings about tires losing pressure. it starts working again on its own at seemingly random intervals. the dealership has been asked to look at it …”
2026-07-29 · Steering · 💥 crash“i am submitting this complaint regarding a suspected safety defect involving a 2025 kia k4. on xxx, the vehicle was involved in a single-vehicle crash in the town of [xxx]. according to the driver, the vehicle unexpectedly steered off the roadway when the lane keeping assist/lane centering steering system appeared to intervene. the driver attempte…”
2026-07-27 · Air Bags“air bag did not deploy, yes high risk yes yes no hit a street sign. went through radiator, bent frame in front on passenger side, busted windshield, punctured roof. car is totaled…”
2026-07-18 · Electrical System“the primary dashboard of the vehicle stopped working (while driving the car) and i lost access to all important information such as speed, rpm, current cruise setting, milage, visual alerts for any driver assistance warnings. the entire screen went black and showed “no signal” in red text in the middle. it later came back after a few minutes. this…”
2026-07-16 · Unknown Or Other“i'm not sure what's going on. it's telling me to start stop the car when it's running and then it will turn off and go into accessory mode even when i'm driving that's dangerous. i took it to kia a month ago for the same thing but they said they couldn't find anything, but it has to be something if i'm not the only one saying this is happening to t…”
2026-07-07 · Engine And Engine Cooling · 69,085 mi“the contact owns a 2025 kia k4. the contact stated while driving at 40 mph on several occasions, the vehicle stalled. the vehicle was able to restart but would immediately stall again, requiring the driver to wait approximately 10 minutes before the vehicle could be successfully restarted and driven. the vehicle was towed on one occasion and taken …”
2026-07-04 · Unknown Or Other“the car completely cut off while driving on the highway going 65 mph. this isn’t the first time it has turned off while driving. i had to pull over and put the car in park before it would turn back on. the error says accessory mode. i have taken the vehicle to kia dealership in winston salem but they told me they are unable to recreate the issue so…”
2026-07-03 · Unknown Or Other“this car is a rental to [xxx]. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.