NHTSA vehicle safety data

2026 Kia Sportage Phev Recalls & Complaints

The 2026 Kia Sportage Phev has 1 NHTSA recall campaign and 2 owner complaints on file as of November 3, 2026. Recall repairs are usually free at an authorized Kia dealer.

NHTSA recall and complaint data for the 2026 Kia Sportage Phev. Recall data is refreshed daily from NHTSA.

2026 Kia Sportage Phev owner complaints

Owners have filed 2 complaints with NHTSA about the 2026 Kia Sportage Phev, describing incidents dated March 7, 2026 to June 10, 2026.

Most-cited components

Engine 2 complaints
Electrical System 1 complaint
Fuel/Propulsion System 1 complaint
Power Train 1 complaint

Newest complaints

ODI #11744158 · Filed June 15, 2026
On start up (date 6/10/26) the dash warned "Check Driver Assistance System," but the car started. Turned off the car, restarted, and this warning was replaced by a yellow "check engine" light, and a remark that the hybrid controller had a fault; the Kia app on my phone indicated the trouble as well…
ODI #11725315 · Filed March 18, 2026
On 7 March 2026 our Kia Sportage PHEV died its first time on the highway with less than 1000 miles on it. There were no warning lamps or messages before the issue happened. The car's acceleration pedal stopped working and it slammed us from 70mph to less than 20mph. It had a loud grinding noise and…

Read all 2 complaints

Instrument Panel Display Failure/FMVSS 101, 138

NHTSA #26V046000 · Electrical System — Instrument Cluster/Panel · NHTSA notice

Reported January 26, 2026 · Kia America, Inc.

Potentially affected: 42,677 vehicles

Repair completion: 92.27% (latest rate the manufacturer reported to NHTSA; dataset updated November 3, 2026)

Kia campaign SC361 · Owners notified March 13, 2026 · Vehicles built July 15, 2025 – October 23, 2025 (per NHTSA)

Defect description

Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2025 Kia K4, 2025-2026 Sorento, Sorento Hybrid, Sorento Plug-In Hybrid Electric (PHEV), 2026 Sportage, Sportage Hybrid, Sportage PHEV, K5, EV9, Carnival, and Carnival Hybrid vehicles. Due to a software error, the instrument panel display may fail. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) numbers 101, "Controls and Displays" and 138, "Tire Pressure Monitoring System."

Safety consequence

An instrument panel display that fails to show critical safety information, such as the speedometer, tire pressure, or warning lights, increases the risk of a crash.

Manufacturer remedy

The instrument panel display software will be updated over-the-air (OTA) or by a dealer, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed March 26, 2026. Owners may contact Kia Customer Service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC361. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov on February 9, 2026.

try.vin has no NCAP crash-test rating on file for the 2026 Kia Sportage Phev. NHTSA rates some vehicles by body style — pickups by cab, vans by roof height — so check nhtsa.gov/ratings.

2 owner complaints have been filed with NHTSA for the 2026 Kia Sportage Phev.

Power Train; Electrical System; Engine

ODI #11744158

Incident: June 10, 2026 · Filed: June 15, 2026

On start up (date 6/10/26) the dash warned "Check Driver Assistance System," but the car started. Turned off the car, restarted, and this warning was replaced by a yellow "check engine" light, and a remark that the hybrid controller had a fault; the Kia app on my phone indicated the trouble as well. Called for roadside assistance; just before the tow truck operator arrived the faults cleared. Dealer found the stored error code C186387 (CAN BUS time out to navigation error). The error did not cause any safety issues as the car was parked. Another similar error occurred on 6/15/26, this time with check engine lights; the car would not go into drive. Restarting seemed to fix the issue, and my OBD scanner showed no faults in the ECUs.

Engine; Fuel/Propulsion System

ODI #11725315

Incident: March 7, 2026 · Filed: March 18, 2026

On 7 March 2026 our Kia Sportage PHEV died its first time on the highway with less than 1000 miles on it. There were no warning lamps or messages before the issue happened. The car's acceleration pedal stopped working and it slammed us from 70mph to less than 20mph. It had a loud grinding noise and the check engine light came on. My family was almost hit by a semi truck because of this. The car was immediately taken to the Kia dealership we purchased it from. A few days later they told us it was the "high pressure fuel pump" that failed. I asked them to check the fuel system or the engine oil to see if there was any glitter, then, because the grinding noise we would have heard is metal on metal. And any small metal shavings in the wrong place would cause another catastrophic issue. I also asked them if they checked the cam lobe for damage. They did not inspect any of these and told me so. Yet, their paperwork stated they did a 21 point inspection. They told me all that was is checking codes. The dealership is now claiming the car is repaired, without those concerns inspected, and neither my wife nor I feel safe taking the VIN back.

Other Kia Sportage Phev model years

Check your 2026 Kia Sportage Phev VIN

Not every recall applies to every VIN in a given year. Enter the 17-character VIN from your Kia Sportage Phev at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether your specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.

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