There are 5 stored owner reports matching the steering leading-label group for the 2001 Kia Sportage in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 5 of 5 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 KIA SPORTAGE. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 30 MPH, A CRACK FORMED IN THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD. THE STABILIZER BAR DISCONNECTED FROM THE RIGHT BALL JOINT WHILE TRAVELING AT APPROXIMATELY 5 MPH; AT THAT POINT, THE CONTACT WAS UNABLE TO TURN THE STEERING WHEEL TO THE LEFT. THERE WERE NO WARNINGS BEFORE THE FAILURE OCCURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER TO BE DIAGNOSED BUT NO REPAIRS HAD BEEN PERFORMED WHEN THE COMPLAINT WAS FILED. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 121,600. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 121,500. UPDATED 05/18/10. *LJ
2001 KIA SPORTAGE SUFFERED TWO COMPLETE ENGINE FAILURES.*MR ALONG WITH THE ENGINE FAILURES, THERE WERE PROBLEMS WITH THE RADIO, BATTERY AND THE TERMINALS, FRONT BRAKES, A SENSOR KNOCK, EXHAUST SYSTEM, AIR CONDITION, VALVE COVER GASKET, FRONT WHEEL BEARINGS, FRONT PADS AND ROTORS, CRUISE CONTROL, AND A DEFECTIVE IDLER ARM. *JB
2001 KIA SPORTAGE, STOPPED DEAD IN THE MIDDLE OF A MAJOR HIGHWAY. *BF THE CONSUMER WAS UNABLE TO GET A FULL ALIGNMENT BECAUSE THE IDLER WAS DEFECTIVE, ON 2 OCCASIONS THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT START AND IT HAD TO BE JUMP STARTED, WHICH WAS DUE TO DEFECTIVE BATTERY TERMINALS, THE RADIO, FONT BRAKES EXHAUST SYSTEM, AIR CONDITION VALVE COVER GASKET, FRONT WHEEL BEARING, CRUISE CONTROL WERE ALL INOPERATIVE, THE VEHICLE HAS HAD 2 ENGINE REPLACEMENTS, AND THE DRIVE BELTS WERE OUT OF TENSION. *JB
POWER STEERING IS HARD TO TURN AT TIMES, ESPECIALLY WHEN COLD FROM PARALLEL PARKING SPOT. DEALER SAID THEY COULD NOT FIND PROBLEM. PROBLEM UNRESOLVED. *AK
VEHICLE WAS UNSAFE FOR THE DRIVER, PASSENGERS AND OTHER MOTORISTS ON THE ROAD. WHILE DRIVING TWICE, CONSUMER LOSS CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE, AND WAS NEARLY INVOLVED IN COLLISION. *AK *JB *TS
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Apr 28, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.