2024 Kia K5 Complaint Log

I am reporting a documented and unresolved brake system safety issue on my 2024 Kia K5 involving repeated premature brake pad wear and rotor damage. The vehicle has required three full brake pad and rotor replacements by approximately 40,000 miles, with each set lasting less than 15,000 miles. Service records consistently document uneven wear on the front brakes, particularly the outer pads, with up to a 4 mm difference between sides. This has resulted in one side reaching metal-to-metal contact while the opposing side retained usable material. This pattern has repeated across multiple brake replacements. This condition creates a braking imbalance that affects vehicle control. The vehicle exhibits pulling under braking and changes in steering alignment, indicating uneven braking force across the front axle. Braking performance can degrade rapidly, transitioning from normal operation to reduced stopping effectiveness without sufficient warning. Despite these documented conditions, the dealership and manufacturer, including escalation through Kia customer care and technical support, have been unable to identify a root cause. The condition has been classified as “within normal range,” and warranty coverage has been denied. The vehicle has been returned to service multiple times without corrective action. It has been acknowledged that the wear pattern is not typical, yet no defect has been identified. This creates a contradiction and uncertainty regarding the vehicle’s ability to safely perform under normal operating conditions. Due to rapid wear progression and lack of warning before significant degradation, there is limited opportunity to service the vehicle before braking performance is affected. This results in continued operation with a recurring braking imbalance. I request this be reviewed as a safety defect due to repeated loss of braking consistency, impact on vehicle control, and increased risk of reduced stopping performance or crash.

My brand new 2024 Kia K5 has been at Kia of temple hills since February 23, 2026. The dealership has stated they do not know how to diagnose or repair the issue and indicated they needed a special diagnostic tool from the manufacturer. The vehicle has now been out of service for an extended period with no repair timeline provided and no communication from them at all. I also have not been provided a loaner or rental vehicle during this timeframe. While driving with my toddler child the steering wheel gets tight the speedometer isn’t reading correctly. Dashboard lights up like a Christmas tree with almost all warning lights on and messages to check every system: from tire pressure to forward collision to RearCross-TrafficSafety and the list goes on

Water intrusion from A/C system Mold growth inside cabin Health effects Vehicle returned unrepaired / unsafe

The contact owns a 2024 Kia K5. The contact received the recall notice of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V794000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The contact was concerned that the vehicle might catch fire while driving. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that the parts to do the recall repair were not available. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The contact had not experienced a failure.

The contact owns a 2024 Kia K5. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V794000 (Fuel System, Gasoline); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair, and the contact was unable to ship the vehicle as planned. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.

On three occasions, my car cutoff on me. Once on the highway at 60+ mph. The dash would go out, then all indicator icons popped on. I've been to the dealer twice & now a third time. They found nothing. AAA diagnosed low alternator once.

The contact owns a 2024 Kia K5. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V493000 (STRUCTURE). The contact stated that while the vehicle was at the dealer for an oil change, the contact was informed by one of the service employees that the rear window trim on the passenger’s side was loose. In addition, there was an abnormal wind sound coming from the rear window. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, the contact became aware that the chrome on the rear window was loose. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired after the most recent failure. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 44,000.

On 10/20/25 as a rideshare driver one of my riders told me that the right side back seat was lifting. I could not believe what the rider was telling me until one of my family members told me the same thing. I immediately for safety reasons parked the car and started searching about any problems with the gas tank, for my surprise there was a serious safety problem in the car where the gas tank was expanding. The car could have got on fire and exploited putting my family, riders and myself at the risk of death. This was reported to Kia Customer Care on 10/20/2025, case # XXX, and later was complemented with the Kia Customer Care case # XXX. On 11/11/25 Kia America recognized that the car was unrepairable and offered a buyback process which was accepted by me on 11/12/25. It has passed 105 days since the car was parked and not used for ridesharing, my main source of income. During this 105 days Kia Finance America has been demanding payments from me, they have not stopped the billing despite my several request. Kia offered me rent a car through Enterprise which does not allow to do ridesharing with their cars, and also car rental reimbursement which I cannot afford. As of today, my lost income has achieved the amount of $ 33,036.77; this was warned to Kia America since the beginning of the process. Kia America has been very a bureaucratic company, and the buyback process has not been finished due to the lack of check from Kia America to the company Morley. All I want is to finish the buyback process because it is giving me a very bad psychological and economic hardship times. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The C-Pillar garnish fell off both sides of my rear view a while ago.

On [XXX], while driving to campus during rush-hour traffic at approximately 15-20 MPH, the car suddenly felt as if the brakes had been slammed, giving me a serious scare and nearly causing an accident. The car stopped in the middle of the road, and I was stuck there, forced to manually push the car to the side to avoid further risk to myself and other drivers. I immediately had the vehicle towed to Ourisman Chantilly Kia for service. Upon arrival at the dealership, I requested a loaner vehicle. However, it took an entire week for one to be provided, leaving me without transportation for a significant period of time. I was informed that the dealership needed my approval to take apart the transmission, which I gave immediately. Despite this, for the next two weeks, I called daily for updates, only to be told that no new information was available and that the dealership was still waiting for guidance from Kia's technical team. After two weeks of no progress, I asked my service advisor, Sean, what had actually been done to my car. He informed me that the only action taken was draining the transmission fluid. I was baffled that it had taken two weeks just to drain the fluid while waiting for Kia's tech team to respond. Out of frustration, I contacted Kia directly, and within minutes, I was informed that Kia had approved a new transmission a week earlier—something the dealership had failed to communicate to me. When I informed the dealership of this, Sean confirmed that the new transmission had arrived, and I was told the car would be ready by the end of the week. However, this deadline passed with no progress. Over the course of several more weeks, I was repeatedly told the car would be done by the end of the week, only for that promise to be broken each time. Sean then explained to me that there is only one mechanic certified to work on my car, which was causing a delay. If this is indeed true, it could explain why Kia's service department is so backlog INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

My vehicle was manufactured with bad rotors, which make it difficult to slow down when driving at high speeds on the highway. The vehicle’s steering wheel and the vehicle itself shakes violently when trying to slow down. My vehicle started having these issues with low mileage also.

The contact owns a 2024 Kia K5. The contact stated while driving 80 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was restarted; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 12,780.

I was driving on the expressway and the engine made a noise and I lost power. I was in the left lane of the expressway. I did not have any warning lights or signs or symptoms prior to this incident. No oil ever leaked prior to this incident. When it occurred, oil was pouring out of the engine all over the ground. The engine was smoking. And a warning message came across the entertainment screen that said, “A possible condition with your engine control system has been detected, recommend service soon” I never received any notification of any oil pressure loss, oil loss, warning lights, nothing. My car has been at the dealership for over 60 days, and KIA is refusing to cover the engine under warranty, blaming an oil change place that did an oil change over a month prior to this incident, and I drive 100 to 200 miles per day for work, so this would have occurred sooner. Terrible vehicle, terrible dealersip, Napleton Northlake Kia palm beach gardens Florida

Exterior trim of car is coming off and warping.

While driving in a utility work area on 5/3/24, there was a worker placing cones to redirect traffic. Since he was very close to the travel lane, I proceeded very slowly While placing a cone, the worker got to within a few inches of the passenger side of my vehicle. This set off a warning in my car that something (or someone) was very close. After exiting the work area, I tried to accelerate, but I was unable to. I estimate the car was going no more than 5 mph. Fortunately, there was no car behind me or coming toward me, and I was able to turn left into a shopping center parking lot. It was then that I noticed a warning on the touch screen display that read: "Engine Management System - Details". When I went to look at details, it gave me some warnings but I don't recall what they were. Unfortunately, I did not get a screenshot of the messages. I tried turning off the engine several times, but there was no change. I called the dealer where I purchased the car in December 2023, but he was unable to provide any help without physically looking at the car. Since the dealer was about 40 miles away, that wasn't an option. He did however, provide me with a number to call for emergency roadside assistance from KIA. After about ten minutes, the car restarted without any issues. If this would have occurred while driving at higher speeds, it would have been extremely dangerous, most liking causing an accident.

At 2500 miles when checking my oil I discovered flakes of metal on the dipstick. I immediately changed the oil and in doing so found a massive amounts of metal in the filter housing. I took it to the dealer along with pictures and told them on startup the engine was noisy and sounded like it was low on oil, noisy on acceleration and would exabit an engine knock at times when hot. They didn't investigate it at all. Being an auto tech all my life, I know that metal flakes are a sigh of a damaged bearing and by the sound, a conrod bearing. I'm afraid to take it anywhere other than local commutes. This sounds like the same thing as the K4 Tuscan issue in my professional opinion.

The contact owns a 2024 Kia K5. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle was able to be restarted. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired, and the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, who then diagnosed a failure with the throttle body. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was then taken back to the dealer, who diagnosed an additional failure with the main wiring harness array. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but did not assist. The failure mileage was 3,000.

Per SA552 for earlier models, the rear trunk lid trim has become detached due to insufficient lamination. Please extend to later models.

After driving the car for approximately 30 minutes at freeway speeds I exited the freeway at my off-ramp and being driving on Surface streets. Suddenly several alerts started appearing on the screen of my car. That was followed by the engine revving up and down on its own without me touching the accelerator. When I arrived at a stoplight the engine was idling but revving slightly up and down. When the light changed I pressed accelerator and the engine never exceeded idle speed so I basically idled my way across the intersection and pulled over and stopped. The car is at the dealership now and they haven't duplicated the problem. I purchased the car brand new about one month ago. It has only 800 miles on the odometer. If this had happened a few minutes earlier I would have been on the freeway with no power to the drive train. This could have put me in a very dangerous position.

Break caliper and brake rotors

The contact owned a 2024 Kia K5. The contact stated that while his son was driving at an undisclosed speed, another vehicle abruptly crossed into his lane. As a result, the contact's son collided with the rear of the other vehicle. Although equipped, the forward warning collision and automatic emergency braking systems failed to activate, which could have possibly prevented and/or lessened the severity of the collision. The air bags did deploy. No warning lights were illuminated. A police report was filed, and injuries were reported. The contact's son was transported to an area hospital by EMT and treated for a broken wrist. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard and deemed a total loss. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 1,400.

I purchased a brand new 2024 kia k5 gt on September 2 2023; from kia of Cerritos "18201 Studebaker Rd, Cerritos, CA 90703" . My car has noticeable defects that affect the driving experience and can be dangerous. When coming to a stop the engine turns off as if it was deactivating one or more of my cylinders. While that happens it stalls the car. My adaptive cruise control doesn't work as intended since it came damaged from the manufacturer, while driving with the adaptive cruise control on the vehicle requires more input to maneuver. The vehicle did a sudden jerked and almost ran me into a freeway barricade. I also noticed some of my trim pieces and my steering wheel aren't properly put on and are falling off and the body trim is under recall. The dealer handlingthe recall is kia of downtown los angeles "1945 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90007". I was able to fix the trim pieces by another dealer. I let the dealer I purchased the vehicle from know of the experiences I had with the vehicle and nothing was done.