2016 Kia Sedona: won't start

Filed Feb 11, 2026 · Engine · TX

My family and I were all driving in the car. We were at a stoplight, and fully stopped as it was a red light. All of a sudden, we heard a weird noise, and all of the dash lights on our car appeared, and then the car fully turned off. We could not get the car back on, and it would not start. Prior to this, it was driving totally fine, and we had no lights on our dashboard indicating something was wrong. Just stopped out of nowhere. If we were on the freeway, and our car just immediately turned off, we could have been in a major, life-threatening accident. After 2-3 times of trying to restart the car, we were able to turn it on, and at least get it into neutral so we could move it off the side of the road. We were able to get it towed to a Kia dealership in which they diagnosed it as engine failure and said we would need to replace the whole engine. This car is around 10 years old and has less than 130,000 miles. It has been meticulously maintained according to Kia standards, and there should be no reason that a well maintained car should need a new engine at this point. We had frequent oil changes, and even had an oil leak that we had to repair just a couple months ago.

Filed Dec 14, 2025 · Engine · NC

I was at an intersection & was turning left. In the middle of the turn the car started knocking noise and vibrating and turned off in the middle of the intersection. It did not crank for several tries while I was panicking with a car full of kids in a busy intersection. When I got it to crank again it turned off again. Some good Samaritans then helped by holding traffic and pushing us out of harms way in a church parking lot. I kept trying to crank it and when it did, I tried to put it in drive and it started the violent knocking and vibrating like it was going to blow up. I had it towed later when I had gotten paid. I had it towed to Keffer Kia where they told me total engine failure at 88,000 miles. I still pay $300 monthly for the car and have 5 kids that I have to shuffle in my mother in laws 4 door car.

Filed Sep 15, 2025 · Engine · SC

Engine overheating and check engine light went on. Vehicle would not start after shutting down.

Filed Mar 24, 2025 · Engine · NC

The engine will not start. It has been diagnosed as an engine failure. It is available for inspection. The engine stopped working as my family was in the car, putting us at risk. Why it happened is unknown, but the internet is full of people with the same year/make/model with the engine going out at a very low mileage. Mine is 117,000. There was absolutely no warning lamps or messages prior to the engine breaking down. This is a serious problem and safety hazard.

Filed Dec 23, 2024 · Engine, Transmission · WI

My 2016 Kia Sedona developed a loud engine knocking / idling noise around 90000 miles. Had at least one oil change at a non-Kia shop around that time and was given vague warning about Kia engines as to why I was hearing the louder idling. At the time of another oil change at 99631 miles I was told there were a large number of metal shavings found in the oil, and my Check Engine light was illuminated with a message about faulty camshaft timing. After bringing to Kia dealership at that time. They first assessed that the camshafts needed to be replaced. After working for some time they eventually determined that the entire engine needed to be replaced (3.3 Liter GDI_DOHC). The engine was replaced and the car was given back to me. After 2 days of driving the car would not start up again and I had it towed back to the dealership. They needed to replace one of the already-repaired parts (CVVT ASSY / CAMSHAFT ASSY-INTAKE). These engine issues could have occurred at a more problematic time in the middle of a busy highway and could have resulted in damage / harm to human life.