IllustrationI bought my car July 27,2022 from Rt 119 Auto Sales and service. It came with a drive train warrenty. Nothing was said to me of a problem until I took it to get inspected then I found out my frame is rotted out on both sides.
2008 Kia Sportage
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2008 Kia Sportage do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 122.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Sportage 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
80–25K
1125–50K
1150–75K
1175–100K
17100–150K
6150K+
64 reports with mileage · 34 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.
- Electrical System. Review the 27 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine. Review the 17 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Service Brakes. Review the 15 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
2 crash reports24 fire reports4 injury reports
What owners actually said
98 reports2008 KIA SPORTAGE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO VEHICLE CATCHING FIRE WHILE PARKED THE CONSUMER STATED SHE WANTS TO BE COMPENSATED FOR THE LOSS OF THE VEHICLE.
The contact owns a 2008 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and unattended, the vehicle caught fire. The ABS warning light was illuminated before the failure. The fire department extinguished the fire. There were no reported injuries. A police report was filed under case number 22027268. The local …
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The contact owns a 2008 Kia Sportage. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and unattended, the vehicle caught fire. The ABS warning light was illuminated before the failure. The fire department extinguished the fire. There were no reported injuries. A police report was filed under case number 22027268. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 112,000.
Smoke was pouring out from the passenger front side of the motor compartment. The fuses for the ABS (I think) were taken out so it would stop. I was a told a control module could have something to do with it.
The contact owns a 2008 Kia Sportage. The contact stated while checking the oil in their vehicle, the hood latch suddenly did not lock and the front hood of the vehicle fell down and on the contact's head which caused her nose to fracture. The contact stated she has a laceration on the bridge of their nose where they were bleed…
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The contact owns a 2008 Kia Sportage. The contact stated while checking the oil in their vehicle, the hood latch suddenly did not lock and the front hood of the vehicle fell down and on the contact's head which caused her nose to fracture. The contact stated she has a laceration on the bridge of their nose where they were bleeding and the contact has two black eyes. The contact did not receive any medical treatment at the scene or go to the hospital. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made of the failure. The failure mileage was 167,000.
The contact owns a 2008 Kia Sportage. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact took the vehicle back to the used car dealer where she purchased the vehicle and was informed that the 02 sensors and another unknown component needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired how…
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The contact owns a 2008 Kia Sportage. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact took the vehicle back to the used car dealer where she purchased the vehicle and was informed that the 02 sensors and another unknown component needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure persisted. The contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 129,232.
The contact owns a 2008 Kia Sportage. The contact stated while inspecting under the vehicle, he noticed the subframe was corroded. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 155,000.
I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY WITH THE CRUSE CONTROL SET AT 65 AND THE VECHILE STARTED TO INCREASE SPEED ON IT'S OWN I ATTEMPTED TO TURN OFF THE CRUSE CONTROL BY PRESSING THE BRAKE AND TURNING OFF THE SYSTEM THE CAR SLOWED UNTIL I REMOVED MY FOOT FROM THE BRAKE, THEN IT BEGAN TO ACCELERATE AGAIN. ONCE I WAS ABLE TO STOP THE VEHIC…
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I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY WITH THE CRUSE CONTROL SET AT 65 AND THE VECHILE STARTED TO INCREASE SPEED ON IT'S OWN I ATTEMPTED TO TURN OFF THE CRUSE CONTROL BY PRESSING THE BRAKE AND TURNING OFF THE SYSTEM THE CAR SLOWED UNTIL I REMOVED MY FOOT FROM THE BRAKE, THEN IT BEGAN TO ACCELERATE AGAIN. ONCE I WAS ABLE TO STOP THE VEHICLE THE ENGINE CONTINUED TO TRY AND FORCE IT'S WAY BACK TO MOVING SPEED ON IT'S OWN, I WAS ABLE TO GET THE VEHICLE IN PARK AND THE ENGINE SPEED INCREASED TO FULL THROTTLE ON IT'S OWN. I WAS ABLE TO SHUT DOWN THE ENGINE AND RESTART THE VEHICLE, IT WAS BEHAVING NORMALLY ABOUT 10 MINUTES OF DRIVING LATER I ATTEMPTED TO STOP THE VEHICLE AND THE PROBLEM RETURNED AND IT STARTED ACCELERATING AGAIN ON IT'S OWN. I WAS ABLE TO SHUT THE VEHICLE DOWN
WHILE DRIVING RPMS WOULD JUMP. HAD VEHICLE INSPECTED AND WAS TOLD I WOULD NEED TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION OR GET IT REBUILT. REPLACED THE TRANSMISSION BUT DIDN'T SEEM TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE. RPM'S STILL JUMP WHILE DRIVING. ALMOST AS IF I'M PUSHING THE GAS DOWN HARD THEN LETTING OFF. NOT SURE WHAT THE ISSUE MAY BE, IVE BEEN TOLD I…
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WHILE DRIVING RPMS WOULD JUMP. HAD VEHICLE INSPECTED AND WAS TOLD I WOULD NEED TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION OR GET IT REBUILT. REPLACED THE TRANSMISSION BUT DIDN'T SEEM TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE. RPM'S STILL JUMP WHILE DRIVING. ALMOST AS IF I'M PUSHING THE GAS DOWN HARD THEN LETTING OFF. NOT SURE WHAT THE ISSUE MAY BE, IVE BEEN TOLD IT COULD BE THE CRUISE CONTROL OR POSSIBLY SHIFT SOLENOID. VEHICLE STALLS/JUMPS WHILE IN MOTION, HAPPENS ON INTERSTATE AS WELL AS CITY STREETS AND BACK ROADS. SEEMS TO JERK MORE AROUND 40MPH AND 80MPH BUT HAS DONE IT AT DIFFERENT SPEEDS AS WELL. OIL HAS BEEN CHANGED AS WELL AS FILTERS, ALL FLUIDS LOOK GOOD. UNSURE WHAT THE ISSUE MAY BE. *TR
WHILE DRIVING AT A CONTINUOUS SPEED OF 55MPH ON THE MAIN ROAD, THE ESC LIGHT RANDOMLY CAME ON AND THE CAR JOLTED INTO 1ST GEAR. I WAS UNABLE TO MOVE IT AND IT WAS TOWED BACK TO MY HOUSE. SINCE THEN, THE BRAKE PEDAL GOES TO THE FLOOR WITHOUT STOPPING THE VEHICLE.
Official recalls
322V800000 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic:antilock/traction Control/electronic Limited Slip:control Unit/module
Oct 24, 2022
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2008-2009 Sportage vehicles previously recalled under recall 16V-815. An engine compartment fire originating from around the Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit (HECU) may occur while parked or driving.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A fire increases the risk of injury.
Remedy: Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures and other vehicles until the recall repair has been performed. Dealers will inspect and replace the HECU, its wiring harness, and its fuses, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 22, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC253.
16V815000 · Electrical System:wiring
Nov 10, 2016
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain model year 2008-2009 Kia Sportage vehicles manufactured August 9, 2007, to May 13, 2009. The wire harness cover on the Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit (HECU) may be improperly sealed allowing water to get onto the HECU circuit board. If the water is contaminated with salt, such as could occur from melted snow, the wire harness connector pins may corrode and the circuit board may short circuit.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: If the HECU short circuits, there is an increased risk of an engine compartment fire.
Remedy: Kia will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the connector pins for corrosion, if no corrosion is found, the connector cover will be replaced. If corrosion is present, the dealer will replace the HECU assembly and the connector cover, free of charge. The recall began on November 28, 2016. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC138.
13V114000 · Exterior Lighting:brake Lights:switch
Apr 1, 2013
Kia Motors Corporation (Kia) is recalling certain model year 2007-2010 Rondo, model year 2007-2011 Sedona, Sorento and Sportage, model year 2010-2011 Soul, model year 2008-2011 Optima, model year 2010 Forte, model year 2007-2009 Amanti, and model year 2009 Borrego vehicles. Originally, in April 2013, Kia recalled 623,658 model year 2007-2010 Rondo and Sportage, model year 2007-2011 Sorento, model year 2007 Sedona, model year 2010-2011 Soul, and model year 2011 Optima vehicles. In September 2013, Kia informed the agency that it was adding an additional 356,719 vehicles to this campaign. The total number of vehicles being recalled is now 980,377. In the affected vehicles, the stop lamp switch may malfunction. A malfunctioning stop lamp switch may cause the brake lights to not illuminate when the brake pedal is depressed or may cause an inability to deactivate the cruise control by depressing the brake pedal. Additionally, a malfunctioning stop lamp switch may also result in intermittent operation of the push-button start feature, affect the operation of the brake-transmission shift interlock feature preventing the shifter from being moved out of the PARK position and cause the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) malfunction light to illuminate.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Failure to illuminate the stop lamps during braking or inability to disengage the cruise control could increase the risk of a crash. Additionally, when the ignition is in the 'ON' position, the transmission shifter may be able to be moved out of PARK without first applying the brake. This may lead to unintentional movement of the car which may increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Kia will send an interim notification to owners in May 2013. When parts are available, owners will receive a second notification and dealers will replace the stop lamp switch, free of charge. Owners may contact Kia at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's recall campaign number is SC098.
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
1AQ23002 · Hyundai And Kia Abs Module Fires
Opened Nov 17, 2023 · No close date supplied
Status: open (inferred from source dates) · Service Brakes, Hydraulic:antilock/traction Control/electronic Limited Slip:control Unit/module
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received eight Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) and eight Kia America, Inc. (Kia) Part 573 Recall Reports between 2016 and 2023. The combined 16 safety recalls all involve the antilock braking system (ABS) modules or Hydraulic Electronic Control Units (HECU) manufactured by the equipment supplier Mando. The Part 573 Recall Reports contain varying defect descriptions and differing remedy descriptions for the same or similar equipment supplied by Mando. Safety recalls included in this Audit Query (AQ) review include: Hyundai recalls 20V-520, 20V-543, 21V-161, 21V-160, 21V-303, 22V-056, 22V-810, and 23V-651. Kia recalls 16V-815, 20V-518, 20V-519, 21V-137, 21V-331, 22V-051, 22V-800, and 23V-652 The purpose of this AQ is to evaluate the timeliness and scoping of Hyundai and Kia’s defect decision making and adherence with reporting requirements; and understand the varying defect descriptions and remedies between these recalls.