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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 →

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

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 · Sep 28, 2024
Engine

Car has bad oil leak Defective GDI engine which instantly stalled out while driving Car also has bad coolant leak, warped head gasket seal Smell of gas from top of the engine block

NHTSA ODI #11616980

Mileage unknown · Sep 19, 2024
Engine

On [XXX], my vehicle overheated and started to leek coolant. This happened while driving at about 65 MPH with my family. No check engine lights came up just noted that the HVAC started to blow hot air and then the vehicle shutdown making difficult to break. I remembered that received a letter from Kia on May 26, 2014 that e…

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On [XXX], my vehicle overheated and started to leek coolant. This happened while driving at about 65 MPH with my family. No check engine lights came up just noted that the HVAC started to blow hot air and then the vehicle shutdown making difficult to break. I remembered that received a letter from Kia on May 26, 2014 that extended the warranty to 15 years / 180,000 miles for this type of issues - warranty number WYT039. I took it to a Kia dealership in Puerto Rico to get service and they diagnose the vehicle with the same issue as stated in the letter. However, Kia claims that they can't do the work because it is in Puerto Rico and I will have to take to USA mainland. I argue that federal law covers Puerto Rico for Safety Recalls and Warranty information and that they can discriminate for this. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI #11615342

Mileage unknown · Sep 15, 2024
Electrical SystemEngineUnknown Or OtherFire

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 safe…

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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.

NHTSA ODI #11614733

Mileage unknown · Sep 13, 2024
Engine

On May 10, 2024 my van all of sudden started to jerk, stall and then die. My husband was able to make it to the side of the road before it died, but barely. There was no warning, no oil pressure lights, no engine lights nothing. It was running fine and then it wasn't. We took it to a shop because Valley Kia of Modesto was slamme…

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On May 10, 2024 my van all of sudden started to jerk, stall and then die. My husband was able to make it to the side of the road before it died, but barely. There was no warning, no oil pressure lights, no engine lights nothing. It was running fine and then it wasn't. We took it to a shop because Valley Kia of Modesto was slammed. The mechanic at the shop told us we needed to make sure there was oil in the vehicle as there was none. I told them that I'm always keeping up with my oil. They repaired it and it cost close to $3,000. Then one month later on September 8, 2024. my husband and I are driving and out of the blue this time it starts to make a clinking noise, stall and die on us. It died on the highway and my husband was able to keep it rolling to the side of the road. Again, no warning, no oil pressure light, no signal light, no warning at all. Once we are safe, my husband checks the oil, there is none in the engine. We had only drove 2,446 miles in total from when we picked up the van from the shop on August 6th. From August 6th to September 8th and only 2,446 miles later all of of the oil the mechanic put in the van was gone. I took it to Valley KIA of Modesto and they tried to say it was the other mechanic's fault. I explained that there is an underlying issue with the vehicle causing it to use up so much oil and no warning or anything. There was never any oil leaks under the vehicle, oil leaking out of the engine, or smoke coming out of the tailpipe. Nothing to indicate something was wrong. Now they tell me I need a new engine and is not willing to admit that there is an extended warranty on the oil pressure switch due to it malfunctioning. They did admit that they can tell the check engine light is not registering that the engine is bad or showing any indication it's not running right. Now I have a KIA Sedona that needs a new engine due to faulty sensors and some other underlying issue of extreme oil consumption.

NHTSA ODI #11614529

Mileage unknown · Sep 10, 2024
Engine

The vehicle suddenly uses all the oil and the engine locks up with no warning. No lights or guages alert the driver/owner.

NHTSA ODI #11613669

Mileage unknown · Aug 27, 2024
Engine

My car started over heating, took it to dealer, they said I had a blown head gasket. Since it isn't covered under warranty, they said I had to pre-approve a $2700 motor teardown in order to see if there were any other problems. Thank goodness there were, the head bolts separated. The engine was covered under dealership extended …

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My car started over heating, took it to dealer, they said I had a blown head gasket. Since it isn't covered under warranty, they said I had to pre-approve a $2700 motor teardown in order to see if there were any other problems. Thank goodness there were, the head bolts separated. The engine was covered under dealership extended warranty since I bought it used from a Hyundai dealer.

NHTSA ODI #11611284

Mileage unknown · Aug 18, 2024
Electrical SystemUnknown Or Other

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 manufactu…

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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.

NHTSA ODI #11609278

Mileage unknown · Aug 11, 2024
Engine

In February 2024, while driving on the highway, the van overheated causing us to pull over. Upon opening the hood, it was found that coolant was boiling in the reservoir. After letting the vehicle cool down, I began driving it again. Once back on the highway I heard a loud pop followed by smoke. I immediately pulled over. Coolan…

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In February 2024, while driving on the highway, the van overheated causing us to pull over. Upon opening the hood, it was found that coolant was boiling in the reservoir. After letting the vehicle cool down, I began driving it again. Once back on the highway I heard a loud pop followed by smoke. I immediately pulled over. Coolant had sprayed all over the exterior of the van. When trying to tow the vehicle, it was found that it wouldn’t start. The vehicle was towed home and sat until we received the recall from Kia at the end of May/beginning of June. Once the recall was received and we noticed the symptoms of the recall matched those of our van, we scheduled a diagnostic appointment with MidWest Kia in Wichita, KS. We received news from the dealership that Kia declined the request for repair due to hoses being broken and according to them, they are not covered by this warranty extension in the recall. We started researching and found that faulty head gaskets(the reason for the recall) can cause hoses to deteriorate and even break. We contacted Kia Motors and talked with them about this. They still denied the claim. The cost of the repair would be over $10,000. Ki has records of the phone calls made to appeal.

NHTSA ODI #11607858

Mileage unknown · Aug 11, 2024
Engine

My van has 126k miles and regularly gets an oil change. We are the original owners and haven't had any issues with it either. As I was driving up hill, I realized I was losing acceleration power. Where i should be going faster than 65 mph, I was barely going 40. The outside weather was around 100 degrees and I'd already been dri…

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My van has 126k miles and regularly gets an oil change. We are the original owners and haven't had any issues with it either. As I was driving up hill, I realized I was losing acceleration power. Where i should be going faster than 65 mph, I was barely going 40. The outside weather was around 100 degrees and I'd already been driving for an hour. I glanced at the other things on my dash. My coolant meter was straight up, so that didn't flag an issue either. I started to switch lanes to get to the shoulder. As I did, my check engine and oil light flashed on for my van to then turn off. When I tried to start it, it clicked with no ignition. I don't know if there was smoke behind my car or if it was me turning up dirt when I pulled over, but there was a pop sound. It wasnt like a backfire. When i got out, I could smell a burned smell outside my van. There wasn't anything dripping from the bottom of my van either. A person who stopped to help checked my battery and it was fine. When it got towed to my house ($400), another person was surprised with a gummy residue in my oil tank. There are holes punched all over the bottom of my engine, but there is no oil anywhere. They said the engine should be covered with it or there should be oil splatter somewhere. Talking with the KIA dealership, they said it 75% doesn't sound like a recall, and I would have to tow it there at my expense for them to check, too. How can there be no warning of any issue if this isn't tied to the recall? We are now debating on if we want to spend another $400+ to tow it and then again to bring it back if they aren't going to cover the cost of the engine.

NHTSA ODI #11607802

100,000 miles · Aug 9, 2024
Exterior Lighting

The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sedona. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact became aware that the turn signal was not operating as designed. The contact stated that the turn signal was activating on the opposite side of the turn signal desired. There were no warning lights illuminated. The dealer wa…

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The contact owns a 2016 Kia Sedona. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact became aware that the turn signal was not operating as designed. The contact stated that the turn signal was activating on the opposite side of the turn signal desired. There were no warning lights illuminated. The dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

NHTSA ODI #11607544

Official recalls

4

22V612000 · 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

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.