2020 Kia Sportage problems and complaints

Owners have filed 160 complaints with NHTSA about the 2020 Kia Sportage. The most-reported areas: Engine (73), Unknown Or Other (31), Electrical System (19).

Key takeaways

  • 160 owner complaints on file with NHTSA.
  • 11 involve a crash, 12 a fire, 8 reported injuries.
  • Complaints are unverified owner reports; recalls are confirmed defects.
Complaints by component
ComponentComplaintsShare
Engine7346%
Unknown Or Other3119%
Electrical System1912%
Service Brakes128%
Structure106%
Engine And Engine Cooling96%
Steering85%
Fuel/Propulsion System74%
Forward Collision Avoidance64%
Hydraulic64%
Vehicle Speed Control53%
Power Train32%

One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.

NHTSA 5-Star crash ratings
VersionOverallFrontSideRollover
2020 Kia Sportage SUV FWD5/54/55/54/5
2020 Kia Sportage SUV AWD5/54/55/54/5

Latest complaints, as filed

Owner-written and unverified by NHTSA.

Power Train - filed 2026-09-06

High oil consumption burning a quart of oil every 500-600 miles.

Engine - filed 2026-08-13

While driving on the expressway posted speed 65 was doing 70, left lane driving, suddenly my check engine light started flashing, my oil light came on and my vehicle started slowing down. Acceleration was not an option, causing hazardous conditions to have to put my hazards on and cross two lanes of heavy traffic. Vehi...

Engine - filed 2026-08-13

Need an engine replaced for the infamous knocking of the motor from the previous class action but my model isn’t covered. Ridiculous to need a new engine on a less than 5 year old car

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More for the 2020 Kia Sportage

Complaints are reports filed by owners with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them, and counts rise with how many cars were sold, so compare years of the same model rather than different models. Crash ratings are NHTSA's own 5-Star Safety Ratings results.