2017 Kia Sportage
Complaints about this year name open far more often than the other years of this generation — 7% of them, about 5× the usual rate of 1.4%.
First year of a new generation. The Kia Sportage was redesigned for 2017. A first year carries problems nobody has found yet, and they are found by the people who buy it — which is worth knowing before you become one of them.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 398 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 98 |
| Involving a crash | 14 |
| Involving a fire | 27 |
| Recalls | 4 |
| NHTSA crash rating | 5/5 |
| EPA combined | 23 mpg |
Also unusual this year
- door — 7% of complaints, 3× usual
- replace — 6% of complaints, 3× usual
What owners wrote
The back passenger door behind the driver's seat will not open from the outside or the inside. The driver's door handle (outside) must be pulled several times before the door will open. I had the handle replaced (driver's door) but now must pull 3 times before…
The car has had issues starting even with a brand new battery and will randomly not start. The driver side window does not go down, and the driver side door gets stuck and will not open from the outside. It’s been an ongoing issue for three years. The car will…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 18V907000 FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE Fixed free of charge.
- 21V137000 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC Fixed free of charge.
- 16V862000 TRAILER HITCHES Fixed free of charge.
- 22V703000 TRAILER HITCHES Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Kia Sportage was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2017 Kia Sportage? What happened to yours?
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