2008 Kia Sportage problems
The 2008 Kia Sportage has 138 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (20%) concerns electrical system. Next are brakes (17%) and engine (15%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 138 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 20% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 2 and 37
- Injuries and deaths
- 5 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 88,000 miles 93 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 13 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 9 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 15 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 7 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 16 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 9 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 4 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 16 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 3 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 1 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 93 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 88,000 miles. For electrical system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 90,000 miles (19 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 2 complaints mention a crash; 37 complaints mention a fire; 5 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 93% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2008 ranks 24th most-complained-about out of 30 model years of the Kia Sportage with enough data (53 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
The radiator fan component was smoking. The car is available at anytime for inspection. I definitely feared that the car was going to explode in front of my baby cousins and elderly Aunt. The car has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealship or independent service center. It also has not been inpected by manufacturer or police, insurance. The vehicle was not going faster than 30 mph, when parked, the radiator expelled the all the water on floor. It began to let out white smoke, and than black smoke.
I was recently injured when using a 2008 kia sportage. As I was opening the back door, the ring finger on my left hand was caught in the latch, below the exterior metal portion where you push the door shut. The end of that finger was crushed in the lock hidden under the latch. It bled profusely and hurt terribly. It continued to bleed, and was horrifically bruised, although I had it in ice for over an hour. The injury kept me up during the night, and continued to hurt, any time the finger touched anything.
I rented a kia sportage and while closing the tailgate the top hinged portion of the tailgate lifted up and then slammed down on my finger causing a painful contusion and extensive discoloration under the fingernail. I had absolutely no idea that the upper portion of the tailgate was hinged or I never would have had my hands located anywhere near the glass part of the tailgate.
While driving at a continuous speed of 55MPH on the main road, the ESC light randomly came on and the car jolted into 1st gear. I was unable to move it and it was towed back to my house. Since then, the brake pedal goes to the floor without stopping the vehicle.
While driving rpms would jump. Had vehicle inspected and was told I would need to replace the transmission or get it rebuilt. Replaced the transmission but didn't seem to resolve the issue. Rpm's still jump while driving. Almost as if I'm pushing the gas down hard then letting off. Not sure what the issue may be, ive been told it could be the cruise control or possibly shift solenoid. Vehicle stalls/jumps while in motion, happens on interstate as well as city streets and back roads.