2018 Kia Cadenza Recalls & Complaints

Incident: June 11, 2026 · Filed: July 1, 2026

The airbag light randomly came on 2 weeks ago and stayed on , indicating that the airbags would not deploy in the event of an accident. I called my mechanic, who confirmed it was not a warranty item. My car only has about 45,000 miles on it and is well maintained. it has never been in an accident. I dropped my car off with my mechanic, who is waiting on the needed part, but noticed after I dropped it off that other Kia models have been subject to a recall for this same issue. My guess is that not a lot of people purchased Kia Cadenzas, so maybe this flew under the radar. I am looking at a repair bill in excess of $2,000 because of the cost of the part and the time it takes to access and diagnose the problem. Kia must be aware of this.

Incident: November 7, 2025 · Filed: November 18, 2025

Complete engine failure due to rods and bearings (same as all other Kia engine recalls currently active). Ironically my car wasn’t included in the recall. Also I’ve noticed that Hyundai has extended the warranty for this same engine in the 2018 Santa Fe basically acknowledging it has a problem but didn’t include the 2018 Kia cadenza which has the EXACT SAME ENGINE. Now I have engine failure prematurely and they are trying to deny repairs. Also was never notified of the KSDS “upgrade” before engine failed only after and it had been to a Kia dealer for fuel pipe repair just recently in which they could have installed it before engine failure.

Incident: November 7, 2025 · Filed: November 16, 2025

No prior issues/light on dashboard as the car was just serviced for coolant hose replacement. On my way home from work, the car stalled and loss power at the light. The signs were giving engine failure due to losing power then a clicking/ticking noise. After pulling over and giving the car a break I tried to restart it, at that point the noise had change from the clicking to a weird knocking noise. I had the car towed to my trusted mechanic shop. He advised me that the engine indeed did fail and that it would need to be replaced. Verbatim he said: “The diagnosis is that the noise is an internal engine failure, rod bearing and connecting rods.” This was a major safety concern because the engine could have caught fire during that short drive I had home risking my life and surrounding vehicles. Aware of the Kia engine recalls already, I called Kia just for them to tell me it’s not on their recall list so it’s going to be an out of pocket repair. I asked if there was a way for it to be included in the engine recall as an exception due to low mileage (technically early engine failure) and the customer service rep was rude and condescending about how it’s not Kia’s problem.

Incident: August 20, 2025 · Filed: September 9, 2025

Vehicle has been properly maintained and at 78k miles, while at a stop sign, the engine seized. No warning signs from vehicle appeared.

Incident: December 26, 2024 · Filed: February 4, 2025

Failure of Oil Pressure Sensor resulting in oil leaking into wiring harness, this is the same problem with 3.3L engines in other models that KIA has extended coverage. I contacted KIA Customer Care and was told they tracked VIN and not enough Cadenzas had reported the same repair. If the problem is with the engine sensor then it should apply regardless of vehicle it was installed.

Incident: May 5, 2019 · Filed: May 16, 2019

I PURCHASED A NEW 2018 KIA CADENZA WITH 11 MILES ON IT. I HAVE HAD THE CAR LESS THAN A YEAR AND IT RANDOMLY STALLS WHILE IN DRIVE MODE IN MOTION AND SOMETIMES WHILE SITTING IDLE. IT HAS STALLED ON THE FREEWAY, NEIGHBORHOOD STREETS, DRIVE-WAY AND ON FEEDER ROADS. THE CAR HAS BEEN IN AND OUT OF THE DEALERSHIP AT LEAST 5 TIMES. KIA MOTORS CANNOT FIGURE OUT WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE. THEY PLACED A TRACKER IN THE VEHICLE AND DETERMINED THE CRANK SENSOR WAS MALFUNCTIONING. THEY REPLACED THE CRANK SENSOR, I PICKED THE VEHICLE UP AND LESS THAN 24 HOURS LATER THE CAR STALLED AGAIN. IT STALLED 2 ADDITIONAL TIMES BEFORE RETURNING IT TO THE SHOP AGAIN THIS PAST WEEK.

Incident: October 11, 2018 · Filed: October 13, 2018

WE BECAME MORE CONCERNED AFTER SEEING A REPORT ABOUT FIRES INVOLVING KIAS THIS MORNING. OUR NEW 2018 KIA CADENZA HAD ABOUT 1,750 MILES ON THE ODOMETER ON OCTOBER 11, 2018, WHEN THE FOLLOWING OCCURRED: WE WERE ON A CITY STREET, STOPPED AT A STOP LIGHT, WHEN WE SAW SOME SMALL, LIGHT STRANDS OF SMOKE THAT SEEMED TO BE RISING JUST OUTSIDE THE RIGHT, FRONT FENDER. WE PULLED INTO A NEARBY PARKING LOT & CHECKED UNDER THE HOOD. THERE WAS A SMELL. IT SEEMED LIKE SOMETHING HOT OR SCORCHED (RUBBER OR OIL RELATED??), BUT NO SMOKE OR LEAKS WERE NOTICEABLE. IT DID SEEM LIKE THERE WERE SMALL SPOTS, SCATTERED ON THE UPPER SURFACES TO THE RIGHT OF THE ENGINE. AFTER PARKING IN OUR GARAGE AT HOME, THE SMELL BECAME VERY STRONG & REMAINED THAT WAY IN THE CLOSED GARAGE. WE DID NOT CHECK TO SEE HOW LONG THE SMELL REMAINED STRONG, BUT IT WAS STILL VERY NOTICEABLE WHEN I RETURNED 10 OR 15 MINUTES LATER. YESTERDAY, ON 10/12/18, WE BROUGHT THE VEHICLE TO THE KIA GARAGE & REPORTED THIS. THE SERVICE ADVISER LOOKED UNDERNEATH, SAID THAT SOMETHING WAS GOING ON AND SENT IT TO THE SHOP TO CHECK. AROUND 90 MINUTES LATER, HE SAID THEY FOUND WIDESPREAD SPLASHES OF OIL, BUT HAD CLEANED THE ENGINE. HE ASKED IF WE HAD DRIVEN OVER ANYTHING LIKE THAT, BUT WE HAD NOT. THEY HAD RUN THE ENGINE & TEST DRIVEN FOR AT LEAST 40 MINUTES - BUT HAD NOT BEEN ABLE TO DETECT LEAKS OR OTHER SOURCES OF THE PROBLEM. THEY ALSO NOTED THAT THE OIL LEVEL WAS STILL FULL. HE SAID TO TAKE THE CAR, DRIVE IT FOR 100 MILES, THEN BRING IT BACK FOR FURTHER TESTING. THE SMELL IN THE GARAGE WAS STILL NOTICEABLE AFTER RETURNING HOME, BUT NOT NEARLY AS STRONG AS THE PREVIOUS DAY. WE ASSUME THIS IS BECAUSE THE GARAGE HAD CLEANED THE ENGINE. WE DO PLAN TO TAKE THE CAR BACK AFTER 100 MILES, BUT WE ARE QUITE NERVOUS DRIVING IT ANYWHERE NOW.