Below are recalls and complaints reported to NHTSA for the 2026 Kia K5. This information is consumer-reported and provided for general informational purposes only. Vehicles like this may qualify under California lemon law depending on their individual repair history.
The following recalls were reported to NHTSA. A recall does not by itself establish that any individual vehicle is defective.
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2025 Kia K4, 2025-2026 Sorento, Sorento Hybrid, Sorento Plug-In Hybrid Electric (PHEV), 2026 Sportage, Sportage Hybrid, Sportage PHEV, K5, EV9, Carnival, and Carnival Hybrid vehicles. Due to a software error, the instrument panel display may fail. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) numbers 101, "Controls and Displays" and 138, "Tire Pressure Monitoring System."
Reported consequence: An instrument panel display that fails to show critical safety information, such as the speedometer, tire pressure, or warning lights, increases the risk of a crash.
Remedy: The instrument panel display software will be updated over-the-air (OTA) or by a dealer, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed March 26, 2026. Owners may contact Kia Customer Service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC361. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov on February 9, 2026.
The following are consumer-reported complaints filed with NHTSA. These are unverified allegations and are not proof that any defect exists.
The contact owns a 2026 Kia K5. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with an engine harness failure. The contact was informed that the engine harness needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was informed that the parts were ordered and would be delivered within a week. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact was informed that the dealer would be contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 89.
NHTSA #11723870
Low oil engine warning. Oil level is okay. Car has 80 miles on it, total.
NHTSA #11722165
My vehicle is 3 months old with only 3300 miles on it at the time this happened. I was driving on the interstate near on Saturday, January 17th, 2026. It was reasonably cold outside, and of course I had the heater on set to 70. My panoramic moonroof glass was closed, but the shade was open. My glass randomly exploded outward leaving a major hole in the glass. Glass shattered and sprinkled inside the vehicle while I was driving. After pulling over to identify what happened, I realized that the moonroof exploded outward from the vehicle.
Allegedly reported: 1 injury (as reported to NHTSA). NHTSA #11711862
Had the sunroof sunshade open, and the sunroof has exploded spontaneously out of nowhere. Since i had the sunshade open, the glass pieces went all over me and my wife, it had first scared us cause it was like a gun being fired off in the car, and i could've gotten into an accident. No. the car hasn’t been seen by the dealership. Theres has been many reports about this issue, me personally im in a group and theres a few people on there that this has happened to. No warning before it happened, there was no sign of impact. looks like it just spontaneously exploded outwards.
NHTSA #11703123
Driver awareness warning goes off frequently. There is no way to desensitize it. As a result warnings are ignored. Dealer and manufacturer says there is not way to prevent this issue.
NHTSA #11739815
The display is shows a "Check Oil Level" error. It comes on then goes off regularly. I have verified that the oil level is OK. Took it into the dealer and he said that this is a common issue and a software fix is coming. The car only has less than 2K miles. I depend on the engine displaying error messages, but they need to be real ones. Online complaints indicate that this is a common error and there seems to be no fix.
NHTSA #11730905
Kia has a known wiring‑harness defect that causes the low engine oil sensor to trigger incorrectly. Despite this, there has been no recall, and new vehicles are still being sold with the issue. The wiring harness is now on back order, leaving me without a car for weeks or longer. The vehicle has plenty of oil, and the dealership confirmed there are no engine problems, yet the warning light keeps coming back because of the faulty harness. This happened 1 day after buying this car new from the dealership lot.
NHTSA #11723226
The car only has 150 miles on it and I bought it 3 days ago and there is a LOW ENGINE OIL warning on the dash.
NHTSA #11722365
The contact owns a 2026 Kia K5. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the engine immediately started to rev extremely high, and smoke was coming from under the hood, and the front passenger side lights failed to illuminate. There was a sizzling sound coming from the engine compartment, and the hood was very hot to the touch. The contact turned off the vehicle, and a tow truck company was contacted. The contact stated that while raising the vehicle onto the tow truck, hundreds of shards of black plastic fell from the vehicle onto the driveway along with a pink colored liquid. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. After the failure, the contact received several engine failure codes on the Phone App. No further information was available. The failure mileage was 110.
NHTSA #11722163
If your 2026 Kia K5 has had repeated repairs for the same problem, you may have rights under California lemon law. Tell us about it and we will review your situation at no cost and no obligation.
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The recalls and complaints shown here are reported to NHTSA and are consumer-reported, unverified allegations. They do not establish that any defect exists in any individual vehicle, and nothing on this page should be read as asserting that the 2026 Kia K5 is defective. Counts reflect items filed with NHTSA and may not be current. “May qualify” statements are general and do not mean any particular vehicle or owner qualifies.
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