Kia ownership costs & problem years

Kia models ranked by owner data

26 Kia nameplates carry enough federal data to score: 31,770 owner complaints and 386 recall campaigns in total. The strongest average across its model years is the Niro Plug-in at 90/100; the weakest is the Optima at 67/100.

ModelAvg scoreVerdictYears scoredBest yearWorst yearComplaintsRecalls
Niro Plug-in90BUY420212018210
Rondo90BUY12011201121
Borrego89BUY12011201102
Sportage Plug-in88BUY220242024180
Niro87BUY520212023816
Sorento Plug-in87BUY320242025350
Niro Electric82BUY320212022490
K90081BUY520192015588
Cadenza80BUY72020201421612
Optima Hybrid80BUY102015201248012
Optima Plug-in80BUY4201720184730
Rio80BUY102011201349012
Forte Koup79BUY7201620141,51214
K479BUY120252025452
Sorento Hybrid78BUY5202320257910
Forte76BUY14201620142,18331
Seltos76BUY5202520215347
Stinger76BUY62023201816620
Telluride76BUY5202120201,62426
Sedona73BUY52014201664119
Sorento73BUY15202020168,38463
Sportage73BUY15202220232,54045
Soul71BUY15202420145,38831
Carnival70BUY42023202538313
K569CAUTION22022202129111
Optima67CAUTION10202020136,07741

Average score is the mean across the model years we hold data for. Complaint counts are raw NHTSA totals and rise with how many cars were sold — the score itself corrects for that. Methodology.

Every Kia model we hold data for

Kia Borrego1 model years indexedKia Cadenza7 model years indexedKia Carnival4 model years indexedKia Carnival Hybrid1 model years indexedKia EV6 GT3 model years indexedKia EV6 Long Range4 model years indexedKia EV6 Standard Range4 model years indexedKia EV9 Long Range2 model years indexedKia EV9 Long Range GT-Line2 model years indexedKia EV9 Standard Range2 model years indexedKia Forte14 model years indexedKia Forte 55 model years indexedKia Forte Eco4 model years indexedKia Forte FE6 model years indexedKia Forte Koup7 model years indexedKia K41 model years indexedKia K55 model years indexedKia K9006 model years indexedKia Niro9 model years indexedKia Niro Electric7 model years indexedKia Niro FE9 model years indexedKia Niro Plug-in7 model years indexedKia Optima10 model years indexedKia Optima EX Hybrid4 model years indexedKia Optima FE5 model years indexedKia Optima Hybrid10 model years indexedKia Optima Plug-in4 model years indexedKia Optima S1 model years indexedKia Rio13 model years indexedKia Rio Eco5 model years indexedKia Rondo2 model years indexedKia Sedona10 model years indexedKia Sedona SX4 model years indexedKia Sedona SXL4 model years indexedKia Seltos5 model years indexedKia Sorento15 model years indexedKia Sorento FE3 model years indexedKia Sorento Hybrid5 model years indexedKia Sorento Plug-in4 model years indexedKia Soul15 model years indexedKia Soul Eco2 model years indexedKia Soul Eco dynamics9 model years indexedKia Soul Electric6 model years indexedKia Sportage15 model years indexedKia Sportage FE3 model years indexedKia Sportage Hybrid3 model years indexedKia Sportage Plug-in3 model years indexedKia Sportage SX2 model years indexedKia Sportage X-pro2 model years indexedKia Stinger6 model years indexedKia Telluride6 model years indexed

Sources: NHTSA complaints and recalls, EPA fuel economy · Methodology · Calculators · Updated 2026-10-04