2016 Kia Sedona

2016 Kia Sedona with power sliding doors. Both rear power sliding doors fail to completely latch upon closing. Doors make loud clicking sounds while attempting to close and require manual pushing to latch. Kia of Attleboro diagnosed and confirmed in writing that both rear door roller arm assemblies are completely missing the roller, and that this condition is contributing to the latching failure. Both power sliding door motors and rear door latches also need replacement. This is a safety hazard as the doors may appear closed but are not fully latched, posing a serious risk of doors opening while driving, particularly with children as passengers. The condition has been confirmed in writing by a Kia dealership. Kia Motors America issued Warranty Bulletin WTY019 in March 2021 specifically extending coverage for this exact latching condition on 2015-2017 Sedona vehicles to 15 years/unlimited miles. The covered components (motors and latches) have been approved for warranty replacement. However, Kia America has denied coverage for the roller arm assemblies despite their own dealer's written confirmation that these parts are directly contributing to the covered latching failure. Components are available for inspection upon request. No warning lamps appeared prior to failure. Problem developed gradually with increasing noise before doors failed to latch completely.

This concerns an unresolved airbag safety issue that went undetected due to a negligent recall inspection at a Kia dealership. On March 16, 2026, I brought my vehicle to Ed Voyles Kia of Chamblee, GA for a recall inspection to determine whether damaged wiring under the passenger seat was causing my airbag warning light to remain on. I dealt with the service advisor throughout the process. After the appointment, I was told the inspection was complete and no wiring damage was found. Upon leaving the dealership, I immediately noticed that my exterior and interior lights, radio, seatbelt indicators, and numerous other systems had stopped working, none of which were issues before my appointment. I contacted the dealership the same day and returned on March 17, 2026. The service advisor relayed the technician's position that these failures were pre-existing and unrelated to the service. After I pushed back, the manager became involved and pointed to a separate BCM recall to explain the replacement, rather than acknowledging that the BCM had failed immediately after their service. My BCM had been functioning normally before the appointment. The service advisor and manager continued to deny any wiring damage. On April 20, 2026, I personally inspected the area under the passenger seat while cleaning my vehicle I immediately found visibly damaged wires, the exact area the technician had examined during the recall. I found this damage within minutes. The damaged wiring under the passenger seat is the very issue this recall was designed to identify. The technician failed to find it, leaving a known safety hazard unresolved. My airbag warning light has been on since before the appointment and remains on today. I have been driving my family in this vehicle with a compromised airbag system. I have photo evidence of the damaged wires and request that NHTSA log this as a formal safety complaint and investigate if this reflects a broader pattern of incomplete recall inspections

In Feb of 2023, my van had no known issues and out of nowhere it started making a terrible noise, every light in the dash came on, my power steering stopped working and then my engine shut off. I had it towed to a mechanic shop, they said it needed an engine. I had it towed to our local KIA dealership. They said it did not need an engine, it only needed a timing chain. That was $8000. We decided to get it done. 4 weeks later exactly from when we picked it up, I was on the interstate and the exact thing happened. I had it towed back to our local KIA. They stated it now needed an engine and it would be a used engine because they do not manufacture the engine anymore. It had over 60K miles on it and it would be $13K not including shipping or labor. We decided not to do this. After further investigation, this should have been under warranty the entire time and we never should have spent any money on it. This has been a terribly unreliable “family car”. I will NEVER buy a KIA again. My family is still suffering from paying $8K+ to have it “fixed”.

On Tuesday June 10, 2025 at approximately 11:43 am, while heading north on 75 at mile marker 148, my 2016 Kia Sedona caught fire. I initially became aware of a problem while heading southbound on 75. While listening to an audio book, my wife and I heard a sudden noise which appeared to come from the engine. I (the driver) I noticed that this noise (rattling/ ticking) only occurred when I accelerated. We pulled off at the nearest safe exit (exit 101/102 Cordele) at a Marathon gas station. I inspected the engine to see if we were low on oil or anti-freeze. I noticed that the oil was low, however we did not have any visible leaks at our home. I added 3 quarts of oil and the vehicle began making a ticking noise. I asked Siri to locate the nearest auto repair shop (Quality Auto Repair) which was approximately .5 miles away from our location. The mechanic on duty informed me that it was the engine and that because I was under 150,000 miles I could take it to a Kia dealership to have this replaced because it was a GDI engine. Instead continuing our trip south, we decided to head back toward home to take our van to a Kia dealership near our house. Approximately 42 miles into our drive back home the vehicle began to idle and then smoke came from the engine. I pulled over to the side of the road and opened the hood to investigate the potential problem and then suddenly flames came from beneath the van near the engine. I asked my wife and 14 year old daughter to exist rapidly. My wife had no issues, however we couldn't open my daughters door. She was able to successfully climb to the front and exit out of the passenger side safely. Within 10 mins or so, 70-75% of the vehicle was engulfed in flames. Prior to pulling over, none of my indicators were illuminated so there was no warning until the vehicle completely shut down. My insurance company has assessed that this is a total loss. Pics and videos are available upon request.

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The vehicle's engine and electrical system appear to have failed, resulting in a fire originating from the engine compartment. The vehicle is currently at a salvage yard and available for inspection upon request. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? The fire occurred while my wife was picking up our children from school. Fortunately, they were able to exit the vehicle safely, but the incident posed a significant risk to their safety and could have resulted in severe injury or death. The vehicle was completely engulfed in flames and is now unusable. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? The specific issue leading to the fire has not yet been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or service center. However, the vehicle had been previously serviced by Gilman Honda on March 12, 2024, due to a loud grinding noise and issues with the air conditioning, for which I was charged $855. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? The vehicle has not yet been inspected by Kia or any other manufacturer representative. I have opened a case with Kia, and they are aware of the incident and have expressed interest in inspecting the vehicle. My insurance company has been informed, but they have not inspected the vehicle. The vehicle has not been inspected by the police. Were there any warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? There were no warning lights or messages indicating a potential problem immediately before the fire. However, the vehicle had been experiencing intermittent grinding noises and air conditioning malfunctions, which were brought to the attention of the service department on March 12, 2024.

The turn signals do not work properly. Has I attempt to turn left my right blinker turns on, otherwise none of the blinkers work and blowing my rear light bulbs. I addressed this to the dealer however any dealer or mechanic wants to charge me to look into this. As I was reviewing my cars history it has been noted as a manufacturing issues and failure to repair this defect. I purchased this Kia sadoma without being told this was an issue. It seems that the transmission gear li lage issue was not addressed or repaired on my car either. I was not made aware of this issue either. After a year of ownership I only knew of this after reviewing my car history through a database. Now I am very mad and unhappy with the fact that I am driving a vehicle not working properly and everyone wants to charge me a ton of money knowing this is a manufacturing fault issue.

While driving from La Crosse WI to Champlin, MN on [XXX] I noticed car was not responding as much as usual when pressing gas and might have been making some clicking type noises but lots of other noises in and around vehicle could not tell for sure. Then suddenly heard very loud clanking and banging sounds and saw smoke come out of engine, I pulled over. Upon pulling over I discovered a large oil leak under the vehicle and oil pouring out. This happened while on a highway about to merge onto a freeway. I was 34weeks pregnant and had 3 kids in the vehicle. We were barely able to make it to the shoulder before stopping. Cars were not slowing down passing us. Very dangerous situation. If we had not been able to get to the shoulder when we did we would have likely been hit at high speeds. Vehicle was towed to Heartland Tire Inc at 11438 Jefferson Court, Champlin MN 55316. Upon inspection on [XXX] they found a hole (around 3" diameter) in the engine block. We have reached out to Kia 5 different times only able to speak to one person who suggested we pay Kia to investigate what happened, they have no interest in exploring this issue without charging us. Therefore with a current estimate of $9316.84 we have made the decision to scrap the vehicle. There were no warning lamps on prior to pulling over. After pulling over the engine, oil and possibly a third lamp were lit up. For about 10 mins we had no power after turning off the vehicle (even to put the windows down, another safety concern) I was able to open the front passenger window until the I could get some power and roll down some windows. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I just purchased this 2016 kia sedona and both of the power sliding doors will make a grinding/popping noise when they close and occasionally will not latch completely making it possible for them to come open when the van is moving. Kia is aware of the problem but did not issue a recall instead made it a service bulletin. I was informed that the warranty only went to 60000 miles and my van is at 83000 so I would have to pay for the repair. This is extremely unsafe and should have been recalled immediately not left to a service bulletin.