There are 17 stored owner reports matching the air bags & restraints leading-label group for the 2002 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 17 of 17 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)JUST GETTING IN VEHICLE READY TO PUT ON MY SEAT BELT IT WOULD NOT TIGHTEN NOR RETRACT BACK IN SO I COULD TRY AGAIN NOW THE SEAT BELT WILL NOT TIGHTEN AT ALL IT IS VERY UNSAFE I WILL GET TICKTED. I BOUGHT THE VEHICLE AS IS. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 KIA SPORTAGE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AFTER LEANING FORWARD, THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT BELT FAILED TO RETRACT. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 130,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 134,000.
BOTH DRIVER & PASSENGER-SIDE REAR SEAT BELT ASSEMBLIES ARE DEFECTIVE. PASSENGER-SIDE SEAT BELT HAS BEEN INOPERABLE SINCE SHORTLY AFTER I BOUGHT IT IN 2005. DRIVER-SIDE SEAT BELT HAS HAD SPORADIC PROBLEMS IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS & WITHIN THE LAST WEEK HAS BEEN INOPERABLE. *JB
DT: THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT 40 VEHICLE WA SINVOLVED IN A COLLISION AND AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. SOMEONE PULLED OUT IN FRONT OF THE CONTACT'S VEHICLE AND SIT HIT THE OTHER VEHICLE. THERE WERE NOT LIGHTS ON THE DASHBOARD TO INDICATE THE AIR BAGS WOULD NOT DEPLOY. DEALER DID NOT SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THE AIR BAGS TO HER. MANUFACTURER HAS NOT BEEN CONTACTED YET. POLICE CAME AND A REPORT WAS TAKEN. *AK
MARCH 30TH I WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT, A LADY PULLED ACCROSS TRAFFIC AND I HAD NO TIME TO STOP, NEEDLESS TO SAY I SLAMMED INTO HER DRIVERS SIDE DOOR AT ABOUT 30MPH. THE ENTIRE FRONT END OF MY KIA SPRORTAGE WAS DAMAGED WITH ABOUT $6700 IN DAMAGES AND THE AIR BAGS DIDN'T DEPLOY AND MYSELF AND MY PASSENGERS WERE IN OUR SEAT BELTS BUT BADLY BRUISED AND THROWN ABOUT. I WAS INFORMED BY KIA THAT I DIDN'T HIT THE SENSORS ... OK THE WHOLE FRONT END WAS GONE WHERE EXACTLY ARE THE SENSORS? I DON'T FEEL SAFE IN THE CAR AND MY CHILDREN ARE IN IT , PLEASE CAN SOME ONE TELL ME WHAT TO DO? I FEEL THAT I'M STUCK WITH A VEHICHLE THAT ISN'T SAFE AND I DON'T SEEM TO HAVE ANY RECOURSE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.
WHEN ATTEMPTING TO UNLOCK THE SEAT BELT ON THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE AND REAR RIGHT PASSENGER SIDE THE SEAT BELTS WOULD NOT UNLOCK. CONSUMER TOOK THE VEHICLE BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR INSPECTION, AND THE MECHANIC WAS ABLE TO RELEASE THE SEAT BELTS. *AK
UPON IMPACT AIR BAGS DEPLOYED WITH SUCH FORCE THAT THE UNDER FRAME OF THE DASHBOARD DETACHED FROM THE BODY OF THE VEHICLE. WHEN THIS OCCURRED, IT BROKE AN OCCUPANT'S ANKLE AND FOOT. DEALER INDICATED IT WAS NOT HIS PROBLEM, AND URGED CONSUMER TO CALL THE MANUFACTURER. *AK
CONSUMER'S VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A FRONTAL COLLISION WHILE TRAVELING APPROXIMATELY 65MPH, AND NEITHER FRONT DRIVER'S/ PASSENGER'S OR "KNEE" AIR BAGS DEPLOYED.*AK
WHILE TRAVELING ABOUT 55MPH ON THE HIGHWAY. WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING A DEER RAN IN FRONT OF THE VEHICLE. THE CONSUMER HIT THE DEER. THE DUAL AIRBAGS DIDN'T DEPLOY PLEASE PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. TS
WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE AT 30 MPH, CONSUMER HAS AN FRONTAL ACCIDENT AND THE AIR BAGS DIDN'T DEPLOY. DEALER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. MR
AIR BAG SENSOR MODULE FAILED.*AK
AIRBAG INDICATOR LIGHT IS ILLUMINATED. VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO DEALER 3 TIMES BEFORE ISSUE WAS RESOLVED.
CONSUMER WAS TRAVELING ABOUT 15MPH AND COMING OFF THE OFF RAMP ON THE HIGHWAY, ANOTHER VEHICLE WAS COMING TOWARDS THE CONSUMER AND COLLIDED WITH CONSUMER'S VEHICLE. UPON IMPACT, AIRBAGS DID NOT GO OFF. DEALERSHIP WAS AWARE OF PROBLEM. *AK ONE PERSON WAS INJURED IN THE ACCIDENT. *JB
2002 KIA SPORTAGE AIRBAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY IN AN ACCIDENT. CONSUMER STATES THAT THE AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY AND HER SEAT BELT DID NO LOCK CAUSING INJURY TO HER CHEST. MANUFACTURER STATED AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY BECAUSE FORCE WAS NOT SUFFICIENT. *KB
CONSUMERS STATED WHILE TRAVELING 35-40 MPH VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A FRONTAL COLLISION. DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT DISENGAGED FROM BUCKLE ASSEMBLY RELEASING THE CONSUMER. *AK
ON SEPT. 18, 2002, WE PURCHASED A 2002 KIA SPORTAGE. UPON COMPLETION OF PAPER WORK, I QUESTIONED DEALER ABOUT A SEAT BELT EXTENDER AS ORIGINAL INSTALLED SEAT BELT WOULD NOT FIT COMFORTABLY AROUND MY LARGE FRAME. UNLIKE FORD & CHEVROLET, WE WERE TOLD THAT KIA DID NOT MAKE SEAT BELT EXTENDERS! THE NEXT DAY I IMMEDIATELY PHONED KIA MANUFACTURERS MAIN OFFICE, AND AGAIN WAS TOLD THEY DID NOT MAKE SEAT BELT EXTENDERS, THEY COULDN'T HELP ME. I CALLED THE DEALER AND TOLD HIM WE HAD JUST MADE A PURCHASE ON A BRAND NEW VEHICLE THAT NOW I COULD NOT DRIVE SAFELY. HAD WE KNOWN THAT A SEAT BELT EXTENDER COULD NOT BE PROVIDED, WE WOULD NOT HAVE PURCHASED THE VEHICLE. WE DO TAKE FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, BUT IT IS STATE LAW IN MISSOURI THAT A SEAT BELT BE WORN WHILE DRIVING OR RIDING IN A MOTOR VEHICLE. THE RAMIFICATION WITHOUT A SEAT BELT IN A CRASH IN FRONT OF AN AIRBAG IS NOT SOMETHING I THINK ANY CAR MANUFACTURER WANTS TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR IN A COURT OF LAW SHOULD A CRASH OCCUR AND AN AIRBAG INFLATE. THE BOTTOM LINE: I NEED A SEAT BELT EXTENDER FOR MY KIA SPORTAGE, LIKE CHEVROLET AND FORD OFFER FOR SAFETY WHILE RIDING IN A VEHICLE. (DOCUMENTATION - 10/10/2002). **DIMSII IVOQ ENTRY POSTED AFTER 12/12/02 CUT OVER TO ARTEMIS**768337
WHILE DRIVING 35-40 MPH VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A FRONTAL COLLISION. UPON IMPACT, AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. *AK
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.