2015 Kia Sedona: engine overheating

Filed Sep 29, 2025 · Engine · MI

The car has 107,000 miles, and one day while driving, the coolant temperature suddenly spiked. I scheduled an appointment at Kia service (Glassman Kia Michigan), and the available appointment was in four weeks. The local mechanic checked the water pump and, after removing it, determined it was good, but he installed an aftermarket gasket because that's the only one available in local stores. At Kia, they replaced the pump with a new one, but the overheating problem persisted. After the car spent five weeks at the service center, they determined it was the head gasket. They offered me an engine replacement (costing $10,000). They never contacted Kia headquarters about a warranty replacement. Engines in 2015-16 Kia Sedonas have head gasket problems, and apparently, this is covered for 150,000 miles. Why do I have to pay for engine replacement?

Filed Sep 4, 2025 · Engine · 182,000 miles · UT

The contact owns a 2015 Kia Sedona. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine overheated. No warning lights were illuminated. In addition, the thermostat gauge indicated that the engine was overheating. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a cracked head gasket. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was informed that the repair was not covered under warranty because the mileage was over the limit. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 182,000. The VIN was unavailable.

Filed Oct 7, 2024 · Body · NH

I got an oil leak and it was covered but it caused a coolant leak and the dealership wants to charge me for this when it should be covered . Also I went a couple of times for my door coming open while I am driving and they didn’t fix it .

Filed Jul 25, 2024 · Engine · NJ

We were going down the highway when the engine suddenly stalled. We had to shift lanes during heavy traffic without assisted steering or braking and no way to accelerate. This almost caused an accident just to get the car off the main traffic lanes. We were able to coast out an exit where the car came to a stop and had to be pushed of the road. When trying to restart the engine, it immediately seized. There were no warning lights or any indicators before the incident. The engine had been running perfectly fine before with no abnormal oil consumption, overheating problems or any other issues. The car was towed to a shop where the next day a terminal engine failure was diagnosed and we were informed that the engine would have to be replaced for about $8,000. The failure mileage was approximately 128,000.

Filed Jun 12, 2024 · Electrical, Engine · TX

Car engine overheated without any warning indicating that it was overheating. It just started smoking. Car is available for inspection upon request. Our safety was put at risk because in 95-degree weather, warm air was coming from AC when car sat idle. The root of the problem has not been confirmed by the dealer. Vehicle pictures were sent to insurance. No warning appeared before failure.

Filed Apr 26, 2024 · Electrical, Engine · OH

July 2021 family of 6 driving on vacation. 3 hours from home car started losing power. Dash lights were coming on and no lights were on at anytime before this. Vehicle had 68,000 miles at the time. Lost power would not accelerate for several minutes and car started smoking under the hood. Coolant was spraying everywhere. Family stuck on side of highway in middle of Pennsylvania and no exit for 15 miles. Had to walk to an unknown home to ask them to fill several bottles of water. Put water in the car. It would run about 5 minutes and overheat again. Finally got to a rest stop. Took to O'Reilly auto parts where we had new thermostat, coolant and fluid and other minor parts installed spending about $700. Drove 15 minutes car broke down again overheating. Trucker mechanic stopped to help but no luck. This was on a Sunday where everything was closed. We could not get a ride or a rental. Continued driving about 3 minutes at a time and constantly adding fluids made it to a hotel. Had to store the van for the week at the hotel. They agreed to keep it while we rented a van and went to Virginia beach. Van had to be towed home. Took to a garage near home where the mechanic said the heads needed replaced. Replaced head gaskets, head bolts. New thermostat, spark plugs, heli coil, coolant,oil and labor. They gave us a discounted rate of $2087.00. Drove home worked for few days and needed towed. Broke down again overheating on a main 3 lane busy road near home. This time repair shop said it would need a while new engine. While we paid $700 in parts on way to vacation. Had $1200 in car rental fees. $2100 in head gaskets shop repair fees. $600 in towing fees. And they were wanting $6000 for a new engine. I sat the van in my driveway for months paying the payments and eventually had to voluntarily repo at 70K miles. Car had 1 owner before us and car was regularly serviced. We had free service and oil for the first year we owned. Now being sued for the balance. Help!!!

Filed Jan 23, 2023 · Body, Engine · FL

Took our 2015 Kia Sedona for an oil change and checkup due to the engine overheating multiple times. They did the oil change at about 96k miles and said nothing was wrong with the engine. That if anything were to happen then just bring it back in. We went on a trip to Georgia from Miami, we got stranded there because the engine again started overheating. We got the car back and took it to Kia in Doral. Service department stated that the head was damaged. Sales manager says it needed a new engine that would cost us 7500 to replace. We owe 7200 on the vehicle. That would put us at 14k dollars when it was not our fault that the engine failed at 96k miles. The sales manager at Doral Kia promised that they would take care of the 7200 loan if we bought a New Kia Carnival once they arrive in the lot. We took our Kia Sedona and left it there while we waited a week for the Kia Carnival to arrive. We finally get a call and we walk in to see it. Car states on window sticker MSRP $36k. We wait for them to bring the financing paper work and they put the cars MSRP AT $51k. Very upsetting what we encountered. Turns out that the scammers will only pay our loan off if we pay their markup of $51k for the new van. After expressing how upset we were for having waited our time, they try to say that the only way they could sell the New Kia Carnival to us at MSRP of $36k is if we pay the 7200 that we owe and we leave our Kia Sedona to them as trade in for ZERO dollars. Need this issue resolved asap!

Filed Jan 5, 2023 · Engine · CA

Car overheats. Dealership confirms Blown head gasket . Kia won’t cover repairs. Van is under 100k miles

Filed Nov 25, 2022 · Engine · NY

My car a kia sedona, 2015, 85000 miles, was inspected by Matthews Kia on 10/7. It was RECOMMENDED that I have spark plugs and coils replaced. I was NOT told of the consequences or the urgency of this repair if I declined this repair. The check engine light was not on and it was running fine! THEY LET ME DRIVE IT HOME WITHOUT ANY WARNINGS. I went to bring it to a mechanic on 11/8 to have a second opinion and have the work done if they agreed with the diagnosis. That is when I was told it was a blown head gasket and the mechanic said there was nothing I did to cause this, I was able to drive it home, but i drove it directly to the dealership. They are supposed to last the lifetime of the car. It is only when I drove it 1 MILE from that mechanic to kia when it started to overheat, and The check engine light came on. When Kia inspected it and confirmed it was a blown head gasket and quoted me for a new engine. My safety was at risk because I have 2 children and when the engine went that is when the engine light came on and we almost got into an accident because I lost power.

Filed Nov 23, 2020 · Engine, Transmission · 80,000 miles · MD

Our 2015 kia second minivan overheated repeatedly in 2020 for unknown reasons resulting in a total engine failure and complete loss of value. After leaving a highway, the minivan overheated, resulting in a blinking engine light. It was quickly parked and later driven to a mechanic, who could not replicate the problem. After a period of operation at normal temperatures, it began to misfire. No warning lights appeared prior to or during these misfires. Nonetheless, we had the starter coils replaced based on a repair code. After another period of normal operation, it again began to misfire and overheated without triggering any warning lights. We drove it immediately to our mechanic, who determined that the head gasket was blown. A kia dealer to which we towed the car confirmed this assessment and reported it needed a $6k new engine that would cost $3k to install. (neither we nor our independent mechanic could locate a used engine for less than $4k.) in its current state, the dealer estimates that the 5 year old minivan's trade-in value is $500. Kia regional is unable to confirm that a replacement engine is available and their representative reported that it is remanufacturing these engines and may need to wait for parts to be created and shipped from south korea. The 2015 sedona engine is of the same type (kia lambda ii 3.3l v6 gasoline direct injection) included in vehicles that were the subject of the recent engine fire lawsuit (andrea smolek v. Hyundai motors america and kia motors america). However, the sedona was not included in the settlement of that case or the related recall.