Kia Sedona won't start problems

Filed Apr 13, 2026 · Engine · CO

My vehicle would not start, after jumping and idling for a few moments, all dash lights started flashing and vehicle wouldnt go into gear. I shut it off as it started making a hum and smelled like something wasnt right. A mobile mechanic who came to my rescue after breaking down did a diagnostic of my engine. I was told I had low to no oil. I asked how was this possible as I had only driven around 2,000 miles since my recent oil change at the KIA dealer ( Wesley Chapel, FL). He said the tech may not have put recommended oil amount or the engine is consuming the oil. I told him I would contact the dealer regarding this matter. Long story, short I broke down to needing a new battery and alternator. I don't know if this was the exact cause of the latter 2 needing to be repaired. However, since speaking to others this is common with some models. I even had 1 individual state there were recalls and engines were being replaced as the engine could potentially lock up or fail. I am not finding a recall. Is this an issue that has been reported and I am missing something. Also, there was a recall on the sliding doors at 1 point. I am still having issues with the drivers side yet tge dealerships want to charge me a diagnostic fee. How do I go about seeing if this is an ongoing issue.

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 Jan 2, 2026 · Engine, Transmission · TN

March 2024 just before hitting 100,000 miles I started having oil consumption issues. Current milage is 137,300 About 10,000 miles ago my check engine light came on. I took it to an auto parts store and it was reading bank 1 O2 sensor. I took it for an oil change and never scheduled for the sensor replacement due to life events. I took it in for another service About 5,000 miles ago. At around 2,000 miles after the service the motor started stalling and sounded horrible. I took it to the dealership and it was 4.5 quarts low on oil. Took it back at 1,200 miles after top off and it was 2.5 quarts low. Started the new motor process which wasn't covered on the extended warranty due to manufactur defect. It cost me 500.00. Before the new motor was in my van started getting me stranded places. Motor wouldn't turn over at all. Got it started went to auto parts store and it was reading 4 bad sensors in bank 1 and 2 (O2 and air intake on the motor). Finally got it to KIA for the new motor told them about they sensors they were supposed to check/replace them when they put the new crate motor in. Picked my van up 3 days ago. I asked when they called if the engine light was off. They called me back several hours later and said yes. Picked it up at 5 pm 3 days ago. By 8am the next morning the engine light was back on. It's scheduled for 9am Monday. The van has now gotten me stranded 2 times in 3 days. Auto parts store ran the computer and the same 4 sensors are still showing bad. Sensors are in bank 1 and 2. The report on the old motor showed cylinder 1 and 2 oil fouling on the spark plugs (replaced at 100,000 miles by dealer) and excessive oil leakage in cylinder 1 and 2 into the crank case due to carbon stuck piston rings. I was told before the motor replacement that the KIA cares warranty may not cover these sensors. Even though the sensors are going out because they are gunked up with 7 quarts of oil their motor used and they didn't go out until the issue started.

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 Aug 5, 2025 · Electrical, Fuel system · UT

Unknown... So whenever it gets hot in the summertime lately. My car has an issue starting sometimes it doesn't start and I've taken it in have the mechanic look at it. They can't figure out what's going on with that. They say that it's known issue that they've had and they told me to Bang on the relay inside my vehicle. And sometimes that starts up right away and other times it takes a little bit for my car to start. They could not figure out what was causing it and sometimes all of my lights on my dashboard light up my air bag, ABS, check engine. Those will light up and I think it's something to do with the electrical or the fuel system. I don't know, i've replaced parts on it and I'm still having the issue. I don't know what is going on. I've replaced some fuses and they've blown so that's why I'm thinking it's something to do with the electrical. My mechanic couldn't figure out what it was and he says he has had many kias have the same issue.

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 Jan 31, 2025 · Engine · OH

I own a 2017 Kia Sedona with approximately 120,000. It has the 3.3L V6 engine. While driving, the vehicle lost power and would not run. The lights and the dashboard would come on, but it would not turn over to start. I took it to a mechanic, and they confirmed that the engine had seized up and would have to be replaced costing $11,000. I then had it towed to the dealership that I purchased the vehicle. They also confirmed that the engine had seized up and would have to be replaced at a significant cost. I had no warning that anything was wrong with my vehicle as the check engine light did not come on. I did hear a slight knocking the day before this happened. My husband checked the oil and added a quart of oil, which was unusual since we had not seen any oil on our driveway. I did have a warranty, but it lapsed due to being over the mileage cap by 2,000 miles.

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.

Filed May 31, 2024 · Engine · OH

My engine made a knocking noise and stopped working while I was driving down the road, without any warning. Then it would not start / work. It was towed to a Kia dealership, and I have been told I need a new engine, at the cost of $10, 750. The van has 135,000 miles on it. This van has the 3.3-liter V6 Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) Lambda Engine. The repair report from Kia states that it "needs a long block due to engine has bottom end noise and is seize up".