2025 KIA K5

2 recalls, 65 complaints - 5/5 safety rating

STRUCTURE:BODY:ROOF AND PILLARS

Defect Description

Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023-2025 K5 vehicles. The left and right rear window trim pieces may loosen and detach.

Consequence

Detached trim pieces can create a road hazard for other vehicles, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

Dealers will inspect and replace the C-pillar trim assemblies, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 19, 2025. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC346.

100,063 vehicles affected

Manufacturer: Kia America, Inc.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING:LIGHTING CONTROL MODULE:SOFTWARE

Defect Description

Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2025 K5 vehicles. A software error in the Power-net Domain Controller (PDC) may cause the parking lights to flicker. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devi... Read more

Consequence

Parking lights that fail to illuminate properly can reduce visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

The PDC software will be updated by a dealer or through an over-the-air (OTA) update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 24, 2025. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC341.

82,281 vehicles affected

Manufacturer: Kia America, Inc.

Complaint Statistics

65 total complaints 2 crashes 1 fires 1 injuries

Top Reported Components

Component	Complaints
ENGINE	10
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	9
POWER TRAIN	8
UNKNOWN OR OTHER	5
STEERING	3
SERVICE BRAKES	2
TIRES	2
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL	2
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC	2
WHEELS	2

Incident date: Jul 6, 2026

The turning lights keep flickering and the back trim became lose.

Incident date: Jul 6, 2026

The turning lights keep flickering and the back trim became lose.

Incident date: Jun 22, 2026

At approximately 22,000 miles, all four original-equipment Pirelli P Zero All Season tires on my 2025 Kia K5 are showing rapid and uneven tread wear that is far beyond normal for the mileage. Last week I discovered that the front driver-side tire has also developed a visible bulge/bubble in the side... Read more

Incident date: Jun 22, 2026

Incident date: Jun 27, 2026

While my 2025 Kia K5 was parked in the driveway, the front driver-side original-equipment Pirelli P Zero All Season tire suddenly blew out. I had just parked and walked inside when we heard a loud pop. There was no impact, no curb strike, and no driving event - the vehicle was stationary when the ti... Read more

Incident date: Jun 8, 2026

My 2024 Acura ZDX has an intermittent braking-related malfunction that causes the vehicle to jerk unexpectedly while slowing or stopping. The problem has occurred in stop-and-go traffic, on hills, and while reversing. The exact cause is UNKNOWN. This creates a serious safety risk because the vehicle... Read more

Incident date: May 14, 2026

The contact owns a 2021 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle's rear brakes rub significantly to the point of prematurely wearing out the brake pads. Additionally, the instrument panel is failing and displaying all warning lights, and the side mirror... Read more

Incident date: Sep 20, 2025

My engine failed with no warning on my 2024 Chevy Trax , at night in the express lanes of a very busy expressway in Chicago. I was able to get on an off ramp, but the car then stalled again and I was almost hit by other vehicles trying to exit the ramp. I did call 911 and was told to stay in my car ... Read more

Incident date: Sep 20, 2025

I was driving yesterday when my car began to shake at low RPMs. The traction control light came on steadily and the check engine light was blinking. I was unable to safely accelerate. I took it to my mechanic who tested spark plugs and coils, which he confirmed aren't the problem. He informed me tha... Read more

Incident date: Sep 20, 2025

Since taking delivery of this vehicle in June 2024 from Kenny Ross Mazda, I have experienced a persistent and unresolved error message on the vehicle’s display screen relating to “Multiple ECUs Reprogramming.” This error message first appeared within the first twelve (12) months of ownership a... Read more

Incident date: Mar 30, 2026

The AWD system failed and now its only FWD

Incident date: Mar 30, 2026

We were driving down the interstate at speed and the Engine shut off unexpectedly. The truck flashed a notification on the dash asking to turn it back on. Pressing the on button would not turn the truck on. The tow truck company also couldn't get it to shift into neutral so he had to drag it up the ... Read more

Incident date: Mar 30, 2026

1. Driver side seat belt is not retracting as it should. 2. Causing a slower exit when getting out of the vehicle. 3. A compliant has been made to Glassman Southfield MI. Mitsubishi service department not only for the driver side seat belt but the passenger seat belt as well. 4. Just by Glassm... Read more

Incident date: Mar 14, 2026

I’m using this car in Poland (Europe) my engine starts to make knocking noise due to Bearings rods and lifters failure . N252494001 L87 Engine Loss of Propulsion I called to European Cadillac authorized service and they refused to replace the engine because USA based manufacturer don’t wan’t ... Read more

Incident date: Mar 14, 2026

The contact owns a 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4XE. The contact stated that the vehicle battery had died. The contact stated that upon shifting to Neutral(N) and pushing the vehicle from the declined driveway to the garage, the vehicle unintendedly picked up speed and crashed into the garage door. The ... Read more

Crash

Incident date: Jan 10, 2026

The contact owns a 2015 Land Rover Range Rover. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V514000 (STEERING); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that the part was not yet available for the recall repair. The con... Read more

Incident date: Oct 11, 2025

Every 7 minutes of driving electrical failure , happens, which results in Check driver assistance system warning. Once vehicle is turned off, driving 7 minutes error pops again. Due to this all systems : Adaptive Cruise Control , Automatic Emergency Braking , Blind Spot Warning , Forward Collision W... Read more

Incident date: Oct 11, 2025

Incident date: Dec 25, 2024

See attached document for complaint.

Incident date: Dec 25, 2024

Rear view camera is inverted left to right and stuck in the trailer hookup mode (magnify +). At night the picture is very grainy to almost unusable.

Incident date: Feb 9, 2026

The stock OE Pirelli PZero 235/45 R18 tire had a sidewall bubble identified after 7200 miles. The tire was originally the front passenger tire, moved to the rear passenger after tire rotation.

Incident date: Feb 26, 2026

The instrument cluster is is not working. I am unable to see how much gas is in the vehicle nor am I able to see any critical warnings for the vehicle

Incident date: Feb 21, 2026

The contact owns a 2017 Ram 1500. The contact stated that after restarting the vehicle, the message "Service Power Steering" was displayed. The vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist. The contact restarted the vehicle several times to correct the failure, but the failure persisted. The ... Read more

Incident date: Dec 30, 2024

The seal on the sunroof of the car allows water into the car. My car will be available for inspection upon request. This issue allows water into the car around the b pillar airbag and the side window airbag which can damage the airbag and make it deploy without any accidents or make them not deploy ... Read more

Incident date: Dec 30, 2024

The engine on my 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe sport was deemed defective according to Downey Hyundai. They ran a diagnostic test on it and it failed the test. They offered to replace it for me at no cost to me. On December 11, 2025 the engine caught fire while the service technician from Downey Hyundai was... Read more

Fire

Incident date: Jan 13, 2026

I purchased my Jeep in 8/2024. Since purchasing this Jeep it has had an intermittent burning smell. I was told by the dealership I got it at that it’s normal for burning smells on new cars. Well 13,700 miles later it’s still doing it and a couple of times I have seen smoke coming from the hood a... Read more

Incident date: Jan 13, 2026

When I’m driving at highway speeds my steering wheel gets stuck and when this happens I’m over correcting my steering which is causing my car to swerve . I since took the vehicle to the dealership and had the steering rack and pinion replaced.They told me there has been several complaints of thi... Read more

Incident date: Jan 13, 2026

The 9 speed transmission suddenly lost power while accelerating onto an interstate from an on ramp. It is available for inspection at the auto shop as it is not driveable and had to be towed. The vehicle did not give any indication in the moment. My safety and the safety of other drivers were at ris... Read more

Incident date: Dec 26, 2025

Check engine light is on and off for the past month. The day before I took it to the dealer the light went off. I went into my vehicle appointment, and the check engine light was off and there were old codes for the fuel temperature. He reset the codes, and the engine light went off. I drove off and... Read more

Incident date: Nov 26, 2025

Both horns on my 2023 Hyundai Santa FE have failed 3 times. The first set was covered under warranty (3/24), the second set cost $499.64 (3/25). Now both horns are nonfunctional after just being replaced this Spring. After reviewing many complaints on the Hyundai community form, it is very obvious t... Read more

Incident date: Nov 26, 2025

Multiple times when driving, at interstate speeds and highway speeds I have a full loss of power, requiring me to pull to the side of the road and power off the car and power it back on. Turtle mode gets activated not allowing me to go more than 5mph. Not safe at all especially when children are in ... Read more

Incident date: Nov 26, 2025

Incident date: Dec 12, 2025

While driving, the vehicle experienced a sudden loss of electrical voltage. Multiple warning messages appeared, and several vehicle systems disabled while the vehicle was in motion. Power and safety features malfunctioned, and the parking brake engaged unexpectedly. The vehicle became unsafe to ope... Read more

Incident date: Nov 5, 2025

The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-350. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V957000 (Fuel System, Diesel); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. T... Read more

Incident date: Oct 20, 2025

The contact owns a 2023 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle was vibrating abnormally. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the vibration occurred especially when the vehicle was idling. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; h... Read more

Incident date: Oct 20, 2025

Passenger side sun visor will not stay in place. Cannot lock it in up position, which means it droops. Causing sight of vision impairment.

Incident date: Oct 20, 2025

The contact owned a 2024 Ford Edge. The contact stated that, upon pulling into a parking space, the vehicle suddenly accelerated on its own. As a result, the contact lost control of the vehicle, only coming to a complete stop after partially driving through a storefront. The contact also stated that... Read more

Crash

Incident date: Oct 6, 2025

These tires are good year wrangler trail runner at size lt275/65 r20. My total mileage on these tires was 40970These were the original tires that were installed when the truck was purchased new. My tires are rotated every 5000 miles. Tire pressure is maintained at the exact pressure. I was driving o... Read more

Incident date: Jul 1, 2025

I just filled a report but on October 3rd @ 3:34pm the same thing happened where while in cruise control the car just brakes and there was no reason for that to happen.

Incident date: Jul 2, 2025

on July 19, 2025 my 10-year old daughter entered the back seat and shut the door. When I (her mother) went to get into the drivers door the electricity in the car completely shut down locking my daughter in the vehicle. There were no visible icons or labels showing where the emergency/manual latch... Read more

Incident date: Sep 14, 2025

I have captain seats in the middle. Driver side seat has 4 bolts that secure it to the vehicle floor. The front two bolts were ready to fall out. Caused a squeak that only my wife could hear due to my hearing impairment. I tightened that bolts and the squeak is gone. Pretty serious issue if onl... Read more

Incident date: Sep 2, 2025

Opened the sunroof and a loud popping sound followed by complete sunroof failure and a loud flapping sound from sunroof which appears to be from the sunroof wind deflector that is not attached I tried to take photos of this too, I pulled over and the sunroof has completely come off the runners on on... Read more

Incident date: Sep 4, 2025

This vehicle continues to have electrical issues which effects the drivability. For the current service visit, the vehicle was taken in due to “shut down” or “shudder off” as if the car had completely been downshifted and lost power while in full drive mode causing a driving interruption. Th... Read more

Incident date: Aug 20, 2025

The contact owns a 2019 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The check engine warning light was illuminated, and the contact received a power train malfunction notification through the Mobile App. The ve... Read more

Incident date: Aug 10, 2025

The contact owns a 2020 Toyota Camry Hybrid. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (Air Bags). The contact had been in contact with the dealer for over a year and was informed that the parts needed to complete the recall were not yet available. The contact attempted t... Read more

Incident date: Jul 31, 2025

Rear view camera does not always display, either black screen with distorted view lines or complete blue screen. Vehicle is not on current camera recall list

Incident date: Jul 31, 2025

Update to ODI 11678614. This problem applies to non-FSD (Full Self Driving) Tesla Model Y cars. Tesla's manual describes Autopilot as Traffic Aware Cruise Control - it's the first step on non-FSD cars. The second step on non-FSD cars, Autosteer, is active lane keeping. In older Ys, the first st... Read more

Incident date: Jul 13, 2025

The vehicle stopped playing interior sounds, including indicator “clicks”; alerts like collision avoidance, parking collision warning, etc; as well as radio. A hard reset of the infotainment system was required to restore functionality. The issue continued through multiple times “turning the v... Read more

Incident date: Jul 9, 2025

The visor on the drivers side will not assume the position so that it does not interfere with complete visibility of the front window. It was hard to adjust when we first bought the car and we thought it would get less stiff but it hasn’t.

Incident date: Jul 4, 2025

I bought my 2014 Nissan Pathfinder 4x4 sv a couple months ago and it’s always had when starting where the RPMS will constantly jump while driving, I took the car in to Nissan dealership in Tridelphia wv multiple times, after buying to have recalls done that needed to be done and they said it was f... Read more

Showing 50 of 65 complaints.

NHTSA Safety Ratings, 2025 KIA K5

2025 Kia K5 4 DR AWD

Category	Rating
Overall Rating	5 / 5 ★★★★★
Frontal Crash	4 / 5 ★★★★☆
Frontal Crash, Driver	5 / 5 ★★★★★
Frontal Crash, Passenger	4 / 5 ★★★★☆
Side Crash	5 / 5 ★★★★★
Side Crash, Driver	5 / 5 ★★★★★
Side Crash, Passenger	5 / 5 ★★★★★
Rollover	4 / 5 ★★★★☆
Rollover Risk	10.7%

Safety Technology

Feature	Status
Electronic Stability Control	Standard
Forward Collision Warning	Standard
Lane Departure Warning	Standard

Source: NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings Program. Ratings are based on crash tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

EPA Fuel Economy, 2025 KIA K5

Trim / Engine	City MPG	Highway MPG	Combined MPG	Fuel Type	Annual Fuel Cost
2.5L 4-cyl, Automatic (S8) (Front-Wheel Drive)	25.0	36.0	29.0	Regular	$2,150
2.5L 4-cyl, Automatic (S8) (Front-Wheel Drive)	26.0	37.0	30.0	Regular	$2,100
2.5L 4-cyl, Automatic (AM-S8) (Front-Wheel Drive)	23.0	33.0	27.0	Regular	$2,300

CO2 Emissions: 310.0 g/mile (Large Cars)

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Actual fuel economy may vary based on driving conditions.

KIA K5 - All Years Overview

Complete safety history for the KIA K5 across all model years (2021, 2026).

20 Total Recalls

709 Total Complaints

0 Investigations

34 Reported Crashes

14 Reported Fires

0 Reported Deaths

KIA K5 - Year by Year

Compare recalls and complaints across model years. Click any year to see full details.

Year	Recalls	Complaints
2026	1	17	View
2025 (current)	2	65
2024	2	38	View
2023	4	139	View
2022	5	212	View
2021	6	238	View

Other KIA Models

Model	Recalls	Complaints
SORENTO	188	13,593	View
SPORTAGE	165	6,601	View
SEDONA	118	3,350	View
OPTIMA	100	10,128	View
TELLURIDE	70	2,186	View
SOUL	66	7,233	View
SORENTO HYBRID	62	159	View
SOUL EV	62	50	View

Vehicle Safety

Consumer Safety

Infrastructure

Public Health

2025 KIA K5

Complaint Statistics

Top Reported Components

NHTSA Safety Ratings, 2025 KIA K5

Safety Technology

EPA Fuel Economy, 2025 KIA K5

KIA K5 - All Years Overview

KIA K5 - Year by Year

Other KIA Models