2025 Kia Sportage Phev problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Lane Departure: Assist (2) · Wheels (1) · Vehicle Speed Control (1)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Kia Sportage Phev model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (1)
Trailer Hitches 2025-12-17 · campaign 25V874000 · 5,046 vehicles
Defect: Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023-2025 Sportage Plug-In Hybrid Electric (PHEV) and 2024-2025 Sportage vehicles equipped with a 4.2" screen and a Genuine Kia tow hitch harness accessory. Due to a software error, the instrument panel screen may fail. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 101, "Controls and Displays."
Risk: An instrument panel screen that fails to display critical safety information, such as the speedometer or warning lights, can increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the tow hitch harness control module, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 13, 2026. Owners may contact Kia Customer Service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC359. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning December 31, 2025.
Service bulletins (16)
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 16 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-07-16 · Lane Departure: Assist · 💥 crash“my 2025 kia sportage phev, brand-new with ~750 miles, was in a low-speed collision with a parked vehicle when the forward collision-avoidance assist (fca) system failed. i was pulling out of a parking spot from a complete stop. my foot was not on the accelerator; the vehicle moved forward under idle power as i prepared to brake. a parked vehicle w…”
2026-06-03 · Fuel/Propulsion System“on saturday [xxx] while driving on the highway my car lost propulsion and started slowing down even after i was pressing on the acceleration/gas pedal all the way. it happened 3 times within an hour's time frame the car refused to speed up and would stop driving. i was in immediate risk as well as the drivers behind me since i was on the highway an…”
2026-02-18 · Vehicle Speed Control“while driving the vehicle at 55 mph, it suddenly lost the ability to accelerate even when i pressed down on the accelerator. the rpms went up to 4 or 5 but i could not go over 30-35 mph. fortunately, i was able to move into a left turn lane to get away from the flow of traffic and avoid an accident. a semi-truck was behind us when i was unable to a…”
2025-07-18 · Back Over Prevention: Warnings“i’m the owner of a 2025 kia sportage phev and i’m experiencing a critical software bug: the car does not retain my custom driver assistance settings. specifically, i have a bike rack installed on the rear hitch. i disable automatic rear emergency braking to avoid false stops when reversing, but the setting resets every time i turn off the vehicle.…”
2025-06-29 · Lane Departure: Assist“this only happens on the freeway but happens every time on the freeway. when using adapted cruise control and you hit the brake, when you reengage the cruise the lka comes on and the steering wheel begins to assist. i do not want the lane assist to ever be engaged. i turned it off in the system settings. i believe it is a safety issue for drivers…”
2025-06-23 · Wheels“on [xxx] i took ownership of the described brand new vehicle from kia of portland or,(12miles on the odometer) and insisted twice to sales management that the vehicle is prep'ed with a full fuel tank, fully charged battery and that tires are set to oe spec. the following 2 days the area experienced a head wave of near 100of. during the following w…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.