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2009 Kia Sportage Recalls & Complaints

3

open safety recalls on record

Critical

120 owner complaints filed · Severity Index 0.86 · updated 2026-08-07

The recalls

Critical16V815000

Electrical System:Wiring

If the HECU short circuits, there is an increased risk of an engine compartment fire.

Remedy & full details

Kia will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the connector pins for corrosion, if no corrosion is found, the connector cover will be replaced. If corrosion is present, the dealer will replace the HECU assembly and the connector cover, free of charge. The recall began on November 28, 2016. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC138.

Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain model year 2008-2009 Kia Sportage vehicles manufactured August 9, 2007, to May 13, 2009. The wire harness cover on the Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit (HECU) may be improperly sealed allowing water to get onto the HECU circuit board. If the water is contaminated with salt, such as could occur from melted snow, the wire harness connector pins may corrode and the circuit board may short circuit.

Critical22V800000 Park outside

Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip:Control Unit/Module

fire raises the risk of injury.

Remedy & full details

Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures and other vehicles until the recall repair has been performed. Dealers will inspect and replace the HECU, its wiring harness, and its fuses, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 22, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC253.

Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2008-2009 Sportage vehicles previously recalled under recall 16V-815. An engine compartment fire originating from around the Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit (HECU) may occur while parked or driving.

Serious13V114000

Exterior Lighting:Brake Lights:Switch

Failure to illuminate the stop lamps during braking or inability to disengage the cruise control could raises the risk of a crash.

Remedy & full details

Kia will send an interim notification to owners in May 2013. When parts are available, owners will receive a second notification and dealers will replace the stop lamp switch, free of charge. Owners may contact Kia at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's recall campaign number is SC098.

Kia Motors Corporation (Kia) is recalling certain model year 2007-2010 Rondo, model year 2007-2011 Sedona, Sorento and Sportage, model year 2010-2011 Soul, model year 2008-2011 Optima, model year 2010 Forte, model year 2007-2009 Amanti, and model year 2009 Borrego vehicles. Originally, in April 2013, Kia recalled 623,658 model year 2007-2010 Rondo and Sportage, model year 2007-2011 Sorento, model year 2007 Sedona, model year 2010-2011 Soul, and model year 2011 Optima vehicles. In September 2013, Kia informed the agency that it was adding an additional 356,719 vehicles to this campaign. The total number of vehicles being recalled is now 980,377. In the affected vehicles, the stop lamp switch may malfunction. A malfunctioning stop lamp switch may cause the brake lights to not illuminate when the brake pedal is depressed or may cause an inability to deactivate the cruise control by depressing the brake pedal. Additionally, a malfunctioning stop lamp switch may also result in intermittent operation of the push-button start feature, affect the operation of the brake-transmission shift interlock feature preventing the shifter from being moved out of the PARK position and cause the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) malfunction light to illuminate.

Complaint volume

120 this model-year 10 median, same year

Volume alone is not a fault rate — popular vehicles attract more reports. Read it next to the severity mix below.

What owners reported happened

7Crashes
15Fires
11Injuries
0Deaths

Across 120 complaints. Severity Index 0.86.

Severity Index weights each complaint's reported outcome (death ×10, injury ×4, fire ×3, crash ×2) and divides by total complaints. It measures how severe reports are, not how often faults occur.

What owners report most

Air Bags16 · 13%Electrical System16 · 13%Steering14 · 12%Engine10 · 8%Service Brakes, Hydraulic8 · 7%Service Brakes8 · 7%Electronic Stability Cont…7 · 6%Unknown Or Other6 · 5%
  1. Air Bags — 16 reports
  2. Electrical System — 16 reports
  3. Steering — 14 reports
  4. Engine — 10 reports
  5. Service Brakes, Hydraulic — 8 reports
  6. Service Brakes — 8 reports
  7. Electronic Stability Control (Esc) — 7 reports
  8. Unknown Or Other — 6 reports
  9. Exterior Lighting — 6 reports
  10. Vehicle Speed Control — 3 reports

What to do

  1. Find your 17-character VIN on the driver's door jamb or the base of the windscreen.
  2. Check it against NHTSA's official lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls — the authoritative record for your exact car.
  3. Book the repair with any franchised dealer. Safety recall work is free, with no time limit and regardless of who owns the car now.

Other model years

1995 (2) · 1996 (3) · 1997 (3) · 1998 (5) · 1999 (5) · 2000 (4) · 2001 (2) · 2002 (3) · 2003 · 2005 (3) · 2006 (1) · 2007 (2) · 2008 (3) · 2009 · 2010 (2) · 2011 (6) · 2012 (5) · 2013 (3) · 2014 (3) · 2015 (2) · 2016 (2) · 2017 (4) · 2018 (3) · 2019 (2) · 2020 (2) · 2021 (2) · 2022 (1) · 2023 (6) · 2024 (3) · 2025 (1) · 2026 (1)

Numbers in brackets are open recall campaigns for that year.

Questions

Does an open recall mean the car is unsafe to drive?

Not usually. NHTSA issues a "do not drive" or "park outside" advisory when a defect is dangerous enough to keep you out of the car — those are flagged Critical above. Everything else should be repaired promptly but is not an immediate stop-driving order.

Do I pay for recall repairs?

No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to fix a safety recall free of charge, including parts and labour, whether or not you are the original owner.

Why are there complaints but no recalls?

Complaints are unverified reports filed by owners. They can prompt an investigation, but many never become recalls — either the fault isn't safety-related or it isn't widespread.