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2016 Kia Sedona

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

More warning signs than most Sedona years

Owner complaints for the 2016 Kia Sedona are substantially higher than the model-year median of 120.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

100 reports with mileage · 195 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Engine. Review the 146 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 46 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Exterior Lighting. Review the 37 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

10 crash reports14 fire reports9 injury reports

Engine complaints

146 reports
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Mileage unknown · Apr 26, 2024
Engine

According to the my local Kia dealer, the head gasket is blown. There was no warning indicators. It was driving perfect until suddenly the engine temperature spiked and I immediately had it towed to the dealer in which they want $13,000 to fix it.

NHTSA ODI #11585532

Mileage unknown · Apr 11, 2024
Engine

Engine seized without warning. Oil was empty, no warning light or any indication at all, just died. Lost all power in middle of traffic, couldn’t steer or control the car. Luckily managed to direct into someone’s driveway, but was left half blocking the road until tow truck came

NHTSA ODI #11582474

Mileage unknown · Apr 9, 2024
Engine

Engine failure at 155,540 miles. Presented a knocking sound. When evaluated by the dealership, metal fragments were present at the oil pan, indicating internal breakage. The driver was traveling on a highway when noticed the knocking, the engine could have ceased and locked during the trip, putting occupants at severe risk.

NHTSA ODI #11581951

Mileage unknown · Apr 8, 2024
Engine

While driving down the highway we noticed the rpm’s were getting high while accelerating. There were no warning indicators on the dash and the car recently passed state emissions. By the time we could safely pull over there was a knocking sound from the engine. We checked the oil and could not get a reading. We added oil but it …

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While driving down the highway we noticed the rpm’s were getting high while accelerating. There were no warning indicators on the dash and the car recently passed state emissions. By the time we could safely pull over there was a knocking sound from the engine. We checked the oil and could not get a reading. We added oil but it was too late, the engine has severe damage. The entire time there were no warning lights or other indications that anything was wrong.

NHTSA ODI #11581645

Mileage unknown · Apr 4, 2024
Engine

Head bolts pulled out of block causing head gasket to fail needing engine replaced

NHTSA ODI #11581152

Mileage unknown · Apr 1, 2024
Engine

On 25 March 2024, my wife was driving our 2016 Kia Sedona with my two children. Without warning, the engine stopped, the vehicle jolted to a halt, and my wife was left stranded in the middle of the road with no ability to pull the vehicle onto the shoulder. She was only traveling about 15 miles per hour at the time and no one wa…

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On 25 March 2024, my wife was driving our 2016 Kia Sedona with my two children. Without warning, the engine stopped, the vehicle jolted to a halt, and my wife was left stranded in the middle of the road with no ability to pull the vehicle onto the shoulder. She was only traveling about 15 miles per hour at the time and no one was no crash or injuries, but at higher speeds this could have been disastrous. We had the vehicle towed to a Kia dealership, and after performing diagnostics and inspecting the vehicle, we were told that the engine "seized" and that they were unable to provide a more detailed explanation. They also said that it could take months to replace the engine (a $10,000 plus repair) and that our only immediate recourse was to buy a new vehicle. For additional context, the vehicle has about 150,000 miles on it, we have kept up with all recommended maintenance and oil changes, and there were no warning lights, check engine lights, or low oil lights present. We had also had the vehicle inspected as part of a recent oil change, and a mechanic ran diagnostics and changed some of the necessary fluids. In summary, the vehicle was in good shape, well maintained, and there was no warning for the sudden engine failure that could have been catastrophic at high speeds.

NHTSA ODI #11580407

138,231 miles · Mar 11, 2024
Electrical SystemEngineFire

No lights on the dash, no maintenance or check engine lights. The van began making noises under the hood and then blowing white smoke from the exhaust. The electrical connectors to the fan were melted and hot. To the cooling fan, radiator, etc. The fan connector caused the car to over heat.

NHTSA ODI #11576715

Mileage unknown · Mar 11, 2024
Engine

The contact's daughter owns a 2016 Kia Sedona. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed with engine failure and the contact's daughter was provided an estimate for the repair. The failure persisted, and the vehicle w…

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The contact's daughter owns a 2016 Kia Sedona. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed with engine failure and the contact's daughter was provided an estimate for the repair. The failure persisted, and the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it remained in their possession. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA ODI #11576578

Mileage unknown · Mar 4, 2024
Engine

The engine light came on sunday 25 Feb, I took it to autozone the next am and had the code read, it was for the crankshaft alignment sensor. My mechanic told me it may be several issues when that code came up and I should have it serviced soon but that it wasn't an emergency. The following day it had a new code show up on the…

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The engine light came on sunday 25 Feb, I took it to autozone the next am and had the code read, it was for the crankshaft alignment sensor. My mechanic told me it may be several issues when that code came up and I should have it serviced soon but that it wasn't an emergency. The following day it had a new code show up on the entertainment system on the way home from my wifes job. The engine began to shake a bit and the engine light began to blink, it would not accelerate smoothly but as there were no safe places to stop my wife drove it the 3 miles home. It went in that night and was looked at Wednesday. It threw codes p0300, p0019, p0024, p0302, p0304, p0306 it was missing 5 quarts of oil (no warning light) 3 cylinders misfiring, timing codes, fuel samples were taken and were normal. The mechanic said there were no contributing factors to the engine failure other than poor design. As I have a 7 person house and need a second vehicle I have no choice but to trade it in tomorrow and get a new vehicle and roll the negative equity into the new car. My kids need to get to school and both the wife and I to work.

NHTSA ODI #11575366

116,000 miles · Mar 4, 2024
EngineEngine And Engine Cooling

The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sedona. The contact stated while driving at approximately 35 MPH, he heard an abnormal clicking noise coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact drove the vehicle back to the residence and checked the oil and the coolant level. The contact stat…

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The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sedona. The contact stated while driving at approximately 35 MPH, he heard an abnormal clicking noise coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact drove the vehicle back to the residence and checked the oil and the coolant level. The contact stated that there was coolant leaking and that the oil level was low. The contact stated he filled the coolant reservoir and topped off the oil level and continued to drive the vehicle. The contact stated that he heard a loud clicking sound however, there was no warning light illuminated. The contact drove the vehicle to a local dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and informed the contact that the head gasket was blown, and that coolant had leaked into the long block. The contact stated that the dealer advised that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Action Number: DP24002 (Engine). The failure mileage was approximately 116,000.

NHTSA ODI #11575278

Official recalls

4

22V612000 · Power Train:automatic Transmission:lever And Linkage:column Shift

Aug 10, 2022

Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2016 Sedona and Sorento vehicles. The vehicles may have been manufactured with faulty automatic transmission shift lever assembly components, preventing the shift lever from locking, which can allow the vehicle to rollaway.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A vehicle rollaway increases the risk of a crash and injury.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the automatic transmission shift lever assembly components, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 7, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC246.

21V725000 · Electrical System:software; Exterior Lighting:turn Signal

Sep 17, 2021

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.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A turn signal activating in the opposite direction of what was intended by the driver increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy: 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.

Additional source detail variants (2)

Electrical System:software

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.

Consequence: A turn signal activating in the opposite direction of what was intended by the driver increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy: 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.

Exterior Lighting:turn Signal

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.

Consequence: A turn signal activating in the opposite direction of what was intended by the driver increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy: 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.

19V109000 · Electrical System:wiring

Feb 19, 2019

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.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: 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.

Remedy: 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.

18V338000 · Electrical System:software; Structure:body:door

May 23, 2018

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.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the door closes on an occupant, there is an increased risk of an injury.

Remedy: 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.

Additional source detail variants (2)

Electrical System:software

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.

Consequence: If the door closes on an occupant, there is an increased risk of an injury.

Remedy: 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.

Structure:body:door

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.

Consequence: If the door closes on an occupant, there is an increased risk of an injury.

Remedy: 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.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

1

DP24002 · 3.3L Engine Loss Of Motive Power (lomp)

Opened Feb 27, 2024 · Closed Mar 5, 2024

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Engine

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) received a petition on February 20, 2024, requesting the opening of an investigation into an alleged defect of the "engine" on the following vehicle model stated by the petitioner: 2016 Kia Sedona vehicles equipped with the 3.3L V-Shaped GDI Lambda-II engine. The petitioner raised the issue of a Loss of Motive Power. On November 13, 2023, ODI opened PE23-019 to address allegations of loss of motive power, on the 3.3L V6 Lambda-II engine for 2016-2017 Kia Sorento and included the 2016 Kia Sedona as a peer vehicle. This investigation is ongoing and addresses the potential safety-related defect raised by the petitioner.  In view of the open Investigation, PE23-019, ODI considers the petition moot and is closing this action.  The closing of the petition does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exist.  The Agency reserves the right to make that determination at the close of PE23-019.