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 reports
Mileage unknown · Jun 16, 2025
Engine
While driving the vehicle started making a rattling sound and the engine started to fail. There were no engine lights or warning signs. The vehicle only had around 78,000 miles on it and had regular maintenance. Total engine replacement was recommended. Repair costs totaled more than the vehicle’s value. I feel it was unsafe fo…
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While driving the vehicle started making a rattling sound and the engine started to fail. There were no engine lights or warning signs. The vehicle only had around 78,000 miles on it and had regular maintenance. Total engine replacement was recommended. Repair costs totaled more than the vehicle’s value. I feel it was unsafe for this to happen while driving with no warning signs of failure.
NHTSA ODI #11667138
Mileage unknown · Jun 13, 2025
EngineUnknown Or OtherFire
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 noti…
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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.
NHTSA ODI #11666747
104,000 miles · May 21, 2025
Electrical System
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2016 Kia Sedona. The contact stated that while attempting to register the vehicle, it was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a dealer sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was approximately 68,000 and at the time of registration, it was discovered…
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Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2016 Kia Sedona. The contact stated that while attempting to register the vehicle, it was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a dealer sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was approximately 68,000 and at the time of registration, it was discovered that the mileage was approximately 104,000.
NHTSA ODI #11662362
Mileage unknown · May 14, 2025
Engine
The 3.3l v6 failed with no warning
NHTSA ODI #11661034
Mileage unknown · May 13, 2025
Engine
After driving home from work, my engine just started pouring out oil. It was all over our road and driveway. Had it towed to shop, they have stated a whole new engine is needed and suggested I report it as Kia has a lot of engine problems
NHTSA ODI #11660741
Mileage unknown · Apr 24, 2025
Unknown Or Other
Paint is chipping on my white Kia.
NHTSA ODI #11656480
Mileage unknown · Apr 15, 2025
Engine
Engine suddenly started knocking and shaking entire van. Engine seizing up and needs to be replaced. No prior trouble with the engine. I looked on the internet and saw that there is a petition for a recall on 2016 Sedonas. Please add me to that petition. Many van owners had engines that seized up. Since it’s a common problem for…
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Engine suddenly started knocking and shaking entire van. Engine seizing up and needs to be replaced. No prior trouble with the engine. I looked on the internet and saw that there is a petition for a recall on 2016 Sedonas. Please add me to that petition. Many van owners had engines that seized up. Since it’s a common problem for this year/make & model, there should be a recall. It’s not safe to be stuck on the side of the road with no prior warning.
NHTSA ODI #11654740
Mileage unknown · Apr 11, 2025
Engine
On Wednesday, April 9, the van started making a noise. Then it lost power. It slowed down and then stopped. In the middle of the road. We were able to move it out of traffic. We had it towed to a service station. We were told that it was due to engine failure. I called our local Kia dealer where we bought it. He told us there we…
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On Wednesday, April 9, the van started making a noise. Then it lost power. It slowed down and then stopped. In the middle of the road. We were able to move it out of traffic. We had it towed to a service station. We were told that it was due to engine failure. I called our local Kia dealer where we bought it. He told us there were no problems with that particular engine. I looked it up online and found that that is not true. I found that this particular engine is being investigated for the same issues that I had.
NHTSA ODI #11654126
130,000 miles · Apr 9, 2025
Power TrainService Brakes, Hydraulic
The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sedona. The contact stated that while attempting to park the vehicle, the brake pedal was depressed, and the vehicle failed to respond. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact had experienced the vehicle rolling while attempting to park the vehicle. On another occasion, while the contact…
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The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sedona. The contact stated that while attempting to park the vehicle, the brake pedal was depressed, and the vehicle failed to respond. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact had experienced the vehicle rolling while attempting to park the vehicle. On another occasion, while the contact was attempting to park the vehicle on an incline, the contact depressed the brake pedal however, the vehicle started to roll away. The contact believed that the vehicle should have been included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V612000 (POWER TRAIN). The vehicle was then taken to a dealer, but was not yet diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.
NHTSA ODI #11653732
Mileage unknown · Apr 7, 2025
Engine
On April 1st my vehicles engine started normally and upon leaving the neighborhood began to rough idle. Prior to this, no lights were on and the vehicle had just passed an inspection. The engine was shuddering and there was very little power and the vehicle had difficulty maintaining speed. The codes were read and came back wit…
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On April 1st my vehicles engine started normally and upon leaving the neighborhood began to rough idle. Prior to this, no lights were on and the vehicle had just passed an inspection. The engine was shuddering and there was very little power and the vehicle had difficulty maintaining speed. The codes were read and came back with P0304, P0306, P0302, P0300 and P0019. The vehicle was towed to a shop because it was undrivable. The vehicle is currently in the shop and they are recommending an entire engine replacement.
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.
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.
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.
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.
2016 Kia Sedona Problems, Complaints & Recalls | Skip That Year