Model Year Scorecard · NHTSA + EPA data
Kia model years compared
Every Kia model in the catalogue (1994–2027), with owner complaints, recall campaigns, urgent advisories and fatal-crash involvement summed across all model years. Open a model to see its years side by side and the best and worst year called out.
Kia models ranked by complaints
| Model | Years | Complaints | Recalls | Urgent | Fatal (FARS) | MPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sorento | 2003–2026 (23) |
10,125
|
40 | 1 | 1,027 | 22 |
| Optima | 2001–2020 (20) |
7,486
|
21 | 1 | 1,254 | 25.9 |
| Soul | 2010–2025 (16) |
5,495
|
15 | 1 | 1,100 | 27.8 |
| Sportage | 1995–2027 (31) |
4,671
|
35 | 1 | 681 | 25.3 |
| Forte | 2010–2024 (15) |
2,529
|
18 | 2 | 1,164 | 30.1 |
| Sedona | 2002–2021 (19) |
2,401
|
23 | — | 256 | 19.5 |
| Telluride | 2020–2027 (7) |
1,967
|
19 | 1 | 114 | 22.5 |
| Sephia | 1994–2001 (8) |
1,706
|
8 | — | 2 | 24.1 |
| Rio | 2001–2023 (23) |
1,290
|
11 | 1 | 452 | 32.2 |
| Spectra | 2000–2009 (10) |
906
|
2 | — | 188 | 25 |
| Seltos | 2020–2026 (7) |
539
|
4 | 1 | 73 | 30.7 |
| EV6 | 2022–2026 (5) |
535
|
5 | 1 | 12 | 86.5 |
| K5 | 2021–2027 (7) |
484
|
9 | — | 168 | 27 |
| Carnival | 2022–2026 (5) |
398
|
7 | 1 | 18 | 21.4 |
| Niro | 2017–2026 (10) |
338
|
6 | — | 83 | 49 |
| Rondo | 2007–2017 (10) |
297
|
5 | 1 | 36 | 20.9 |
| EV9 | 2024–2026 (3) |
248
|
9 | 1 | 2 | 85.2 |
| Amanti | 2004–2009 (6) |
247
|
2 | — | 26 | 18.6 |
| Cadenza | 2014–2020 (7) |
216
|
6 | 1 | 43 | 22.6 |
| Stinger | 2018–2023 (6) |
166
|
7 | 1 | 74 | 20.8 |
| Borrego | 2009–2011 (3) |
92
|
4 | 1 | 11 | 18 |
| Niro EV | 2019–2026 (8) |
89
|
6 | — | — | — |
| K900 | 2015–2020 (5) |
68
|
4 | 1 | 12 | 18.9 |
| Forte Koup | 2010–2017 (8) |
52
|
5 | 1 | 3 | 26 |
| K4 | 2025–2027 (3) |
52
|
3 | — | — | 28.4 |
| Spectra5 | 2005–2009 (5) |
44
|
— | — | — | — |
| Soul EV | 2015–2023 (9) |
39
|
5 | — | 1 | — |
| Rio5 | 2006–2011 (6) |
5
|
— | — | — | — |
| Forte5 catalogue only | 2012–2024 (12) |
—
|
— | — | — | — |
| K3 catalogue only | 2024–2026 (3) |
—
|
— | — | — | — |
| Magentis catalogue only | 2001–2010 (10) |
—
|
— | — | — | — |
| Sonet catalogue only | 2024–2026 (3) |
—
|
— | — | — | — |
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Every Kia model opens to every model year compared side by side, with the best and worst year called out. Free account, no card, takes a minute.
Sources. Owner complaints, recall campaigns and advisories are from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation datasets; fatal-crash vehicles from FARS; fuel economy from the EPA. VehDB sums them per model; the figures are not VehDB's own findings.
How to read it. Complaints and recalls are summed over every catalogue year of the model, so long-running best-sellers rank high on volume alone; the model page ranks each year against other vehicles of the same model year, which is the fairer read. Urgent counts do-not-drive and park-outside campaigns. Fatal (FARS) is a census of vehicles in fatal crashes from 2020 onward, exact, and is never mixed with CRSS estimates. MPG is the EPA combined average across the model's trims. Sources are U.S. public domain; nothing here is a verified defect finding.