IllustrationDriver-side rear powered sliding door will not latch properly. Door slid completely open during turn. Power to sliding door off at that time. Also intermittent problems with passenger side rear sliding door.
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.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Sedona years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
180–25K
1825–50K
2250–75K
1475–100K
17100–150K
11150K+
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
What owners actually said
295 reportsI have already repaired the paint job on the hood if the van since then it's falling off in random places.
I was driving down the road and my van made a horrible noise and stopped moving. I was able to coast to a right turn lane to get out of traffic where I realized all of the oil was on the ground under my van. After towing it to the dealer they confirmed that a rod went through the oil pan for no apparent reason. They confirmed th…
Read full complaint
I was driving down the road and my van made a horrible noise and stopped moving. I was able to coast to a right turn lane to get out of traffic where I realized all of the oil was on the ground under my van. After towing it to the dealer they confirmed that a rod went through the oil pan for no apparent reason. They confirmed that there was oil in the van as it was all over the engine. The check engine light never came on and the van was running perfectly fine until this happened.
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sedona. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, there was an abnormal rattling sound coming from the engine. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and was then towed the following day to the dealer. The contact was informed by the mechanic that gasol…
Read full complaint
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sedona. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, there was an abnormal rattling sound coming from the engine. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and was then towed the following day to the dealer. The contact was informed by the mechanic that gasoline was leaking into the and mixing with the engine oil. Additionally, the plastic piece around the timing belt was cracked. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000.
While driving I smelled a burning odor. Then my heat started blowing cold air. I immediately went to a car shop and when they opened the hood, there was white smoke. After getting 3 separate opinions, all agreed that the engine was fried and needs to be replaced. There were no warning signs, lights, etc... and this could hav…
Read full complaint
While driving I smelled a burning odor. Then my heat started blowing cold air. I immediately went to a car shop and when they opened the hood, there was white smoke. After getting 3 separate opinions, all agreed that the engine was fried and needs to be replaced. There were no warning signs, lights, etc... and this could have been a very dangerous situation if I had driven it much further because the engine could have seized up (with my 4 young kids in the car), or even possibly caught fire.
we received notice for safety recall that the tail lights and turn signal lights could fail and they needed to change something to do with computer.we took it in and left with lights working and 3days later they stopped working again.Kia is refusing to fix it on the recall but it is the same issue.
Lower brake lights not functioning. Fuse is fine (swapped with good fuse, no change). Bulbs are fine (replaced with new anyway). Top brake light bar is fine. Only L and R rear brake lights not coming on. Dealer in Anchorage, Alaska confirmed all. No warning lamps came on. Car operates fine otherwise.
The Airbag seat sensor has malfunctioned. Took the vehicle to the Kia Dealer and they advised it was a 1200.00 part plus 300 plus for labor. This started months ago and the dealer stated it was covered and they "ordered" the part. They then stated my extended warranty would cover it only to be told it doesn't cover these items.…
Read full complaint
The Airbag seat sensor has malfunctioned. Took the vehicle to the Kia Dealer and they advised it was a 1200.00 part plus 300 plus for labor. This started months ago and the dealer stated it was covered and they "ordered" the part. They then stated my extended warranty would cover it only to be told it doesn't cover these items. When I took the vehicle back to the dealer they said it was not covered. The airbag light is intermittent when it comes on. I am afraid this will cause a problem if I am involved in an accident. This started around 70k miles.
Oil sending unit failed after 100k miles. Had it not been a quick trip, I could have easily ran it dry and stalled the motor. No warning was given. There are many reports of this happening with other models and years of Kia V6's.
Our Kia Sedona van was stolen on the overnight hours of 10/18/2021 from our driveway. This has been a rampant issue in our area because, it seems, certain model year Kia vehicles have a vulnerability that makes it easy to steal in just a few minutes. Because of this theft, we were without a secondary vehicle until 11/8/2021 an…
Read full complaint
Our Kia Sedona van was stolen on the overnight hours of 10/18/2021 from our driveway. This has been a rampant issue in our area because, it seems, certain model year Kia vehicles have a vulnerability that makes it easy to steal in just a few minutes. Because of this theft, we were without a secondary vehicle until 11/8/2021 and we had to pay out of pocket for a rental during much of that time (once we realized we couldn't get by with just one vehicle). In order to minimize our losses, we purchased a used vehicle with similar mileage and year, but we were still out over $1500 and many hours of our time to deal with all of the issues that arose because of this. These particular vehicles NEED to be recalled and retrofitted with some sort of security, as thousands of families have had to deal with similar issues as us.
Official recalls
422V612000 · 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
1DP24002 · 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.