Kia Sedona misfire problems

Filed Oct 14, 2026 · Engine · IN

This vehicle is burning oil at an alarming rate. Between oil changes it has lost 4 quarts before. I constantly have to check and add oil and have experienced stuck pistons and rough idle due to the oil not being at a safe level. Kia service advisors have admitted there have been reports of this happening with this engine, but no recall or inspection has been initiated to my knowledge. They did just issue an optional emission campaign that I completed, but it is unrelated to the oil burn issue.

Filed Sep 23, 2026 · Engine · IL

In 2025 I had my camshaft replaced by Fox Valley VW of [XXX]. They completed work on my camshaft with a misfire notification of cylinders 2, 4 and 6. Most recently, our sedona had a head gasket blow resulting in it needing a full replacement of the long block assembly. This was determined by the Kia Service Center of McGraf Kia on [XXX]. My vehicle has the 3.3L Lambda engine in which Kia extended the warranty on the head bolts and head gaskets. (Kia Campaign WTY035 and [XXX]). During our ownership, my husband and I kept up with all regular maintenance; oil changes with the proper oil, measuring our fluid levels, changing brakes etc. Our coolant never needed to be topped off until our engine stalled and died on a regular drive home. Our engines internal temperature never increased beyond reasonable/expected levels even in the heat of the summer. Our check engine light came on twice during our ownership, during the initial cam shaft repair and now, the blown gasket. My husband was driving the car home from work, as normal, on Wednesday XXX. He came to a full stop, accelerated and heard a pop and the vehicle couldn’t accelerate to full speed. He was able to safely make it home, where it promptly died in our drive when he shifted to “Park”. The camshaft repair is important context because it was a warranty job, so it had to be approved by an insurance agent. The agent deemed our vehicle and engine well maintained and approved the warranty coverage. Our vehicle is now sitting at Kia in [XXX] with a $7600 repair that we, the owners, feel was no fault of our own. Please consider the current extended warranties WTY035 and WTY039 as evidence of the history of this issue and I have attached the past and current invoice and quote, including the detailed notes from the mechanics. Thank you for your consideration at this time. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Feb 8, 2026 · Engine · TX

My husband and I originally bought our White 2017 Kia Sedona LX on 9/12/18 from Hertz automotive sales. Since that time we had had no engine issues. We maintained our brakes, and standard upkeeps on the car. Eight years in and still our car had given us no issues. Our most recent oil change was on 9/13/25 and it was inspected during that oil change and no issues were noted. The car had since that time been driven as expected to school for kids and work for myself and activities on the weekend for family time. There was no weird smells, discolored smoke from the tail piper or anything. The car was running fine. At no time were any warning signals on, flashing or intermittently coming on and off. Then on Thursday, 1/22/26 evening I stopped by the gas station to get gas before turning into my neighborhood for home. Upon leaving the gas station, I noticed and felt the engine seemed off and vibrating with soft tremor like shaking and as I pressed on the gas for power it was soft power, and at that moment only did I see the check engine light on solid (not flashing). I called my husband and a few mins later we made it home, he came out to check the car, and saw now that the engine light was flashing over and over. We read up on what this meant and new we had a problem. We dropped the car off on Saturday to the mechanic and on Monday, 1/26/26 a diagnostic was made and was given the bad news that the engine had complete failure. $18,000 bill to fix all the issues. But here is a short synopsis: Multiple codes found in ECM Metal found in oil, oil is also 1 or more quarts low P0300 (Random misfire), P0302 (CYL #2 misfire), p0304, (CYL#4 misfire) p0306. (CYL#6 misfire) p0175, (bank 2 rich) p0018 (crank - cam correlation) Engine has internal failure, failing piston rings allowing oil in combustion chamber, causing misfire, rich condition and engine shaking This was a shock and we had to sell it for nothing to a salvage company.

Filed Apr 7, 2025 · Engine · MO

On April 1st my vehicles engine started normally and upon leaving the neighborhood began to rough idle. Prior to this, no lights were on and the vehicle had just passed an inspection. The engine was shuddering and there was very little power and the vehicle had difficulty maintaining speed. The codes were read and came back with P0304, P0306, P0302, P0300 and P0019. The vehicle was towed to a shop because it was undrivable. The vehicle is currently in the shop and they are recommending an entire engine replacement.

Filed Jun 17, 2024 · Engine · NJ

The problem started in late July of '23 and I already filed a complaint back then. But I want to file again and emphasize that this is systemic issue with all 2016 Kia Sedona vans. Last year, I was driving with five kids in the car on the way to the beach. While exiting a traffic circle (anyone who has ever driven in NJ knows how dangerous NJ traffic circles can be) when we lost power. The van would not accelerate over 35mph, and we had to drive home in limp mode on the shoulder. Thankfully it was early in the morning, and no one was on the road. Had this happened during a busy time, we would have been rear-ended or worse. I took it to my local mechanic who did $200 worth of repairs, but the vehicle still would not run at full speed and had a very rough idle. I should add prior to loss of power, there were ZERO warning lights, and the car was running fine. I was just about due for an oil change, and I change it on a regular basis according to Kia's recommendations. Then I took it to Kia, and they said they could TRY to fix it for $8000 but they couldn't promise it would work and said my other option was a complete engine replacement. Currently, I have been continuing to drive the van locally because I cannot afford another car. If I drive more than 35-40 minutes the car completely loses power and I have to pull over to the side of the road, turn the car off and wait a few minutes. When I turn it on it will run fine for another 35-40 minutes. I know it is my choice to continue to drive the vehicle, but I wanted to report that the loss of engine power happens almost daily and continues to be a danger. Thankfully, I stick to back roads and avoid highways and I have not lost power on a busy road, yet. I am concerned that there are MANY MORE complaints with the NTHSA for the EXACT same issue and there doesn't seem to be any movement with investigations or recalls. Kia continues to sell these used vans to people who have no clue. This is a life-threatening issue!!!!

Filed Mar 4, 2024 · Engine · NC

The engine light came on sunday 25 Feb, I took it to autozone the next am and had the code read, it was for the crankshaft alignment sensor. My mechanic told me it may be several issues when that code came up and I should have it serviced soon but that it wasn't an emergency. The following day it had a new code show up on the entertainment system on the way home from my wifes job. The engine began to shake a bit and the engine light began to blink, it would not accelerate smoothly but as there were no safe places to stop my wife drove it the 3 miles home. It went in that night and was looked at Wednesday. It threw codes p0300, p0019, p0024, p0302, p0304, p0306 it was missing 5 quarts of oil (no warning light) 3 cylinders misfiring, timing codes, fuel samples were taken and were normal. The mechanic said there were no contributing factors to the engine failure other than poor design. As I have a 7 person house and need a second vehicle I have no choice but to trade it in tomorrow and get a new vehicle and roll the negative equity into the new car. My kids need to get to school and both the wife and I to work.

Filed Dec 19, 2023 · Engine · TX

Valve cover is cracked, loosing coolant and oil, ruining alternator, smoking, smells like it’s burning. Runs rough, dash lights up. Dies while driving

Filed Jul 21, 2022 · Engine, Fuel system · IL

Driving and van started decelerating while still pressing gas. Got off road. Turned off van. Smelled something burning. Called tow truck. Tried to re-start and won’t turn over. Mechanic said the fuel rails too low code and cylinder misfire. Engine is now damaged due hydraulic lock. Kia recalled 2011-2012 vans for defective fuel rail and possible fire. Will not assist as we are 2nd owners and don’t fall under warranty. It def could have caught on fire based on what I researched. Please advise.

Filed Oct 13, 2021 · Locks · FL

On three occasions my vehicle's engine would stumble and refuse to accelerate when gas peddle was depressed to reach a lower gear to accelerate. I was forced to pull out of busy traffic to roadway shoulder, where engine continued to stumble or misfire. When I shut off the ignition and restarted my Kia Sedona, it retuned to normal operation. A second mishap was the sudden opening of the engine compartment hood, which flew up and struck my windshield, completely blocking my view. Fortunately I was able to slow and stop the vehicle without further damage, beside a bent hood and broken hinges and hood struts. You have issued a recall for several states, but not for Florida where this happened.

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.