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Kia Sportage wipers problems

45 of the 4,730 owner complaints about the Kia Sportage describe windshield wiper failure, most of them for the 1999 model year.

owner complaints
45
worst model year
1999
typical mileage
12,500
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.

By model year

  • 2024
    2
  • 2023
    1
  • 2020
    1
  • 2017
    1
  • 2012
    1
  • 2011
    1
  • 2007
    1
  • 2006
    3
  • 2005
    1
  • 2002
    2
  • 2001
    3
  • 2000
    7
  • 1999
    15
  • 1998
    4
  • 1997
    2

What owners say

Filed Jul 8, 2026 · Acceleration, Airbags · TX

One day as I was turning at a green light the car completely stopped on me. I had to turn it off and then restart it and it worked fine. About a week later I had to drive to my cousin's house 45 minutes away and the car would not go, it acted like it was stalling and It didn't want to go over 2000RPMs and it was really sluggish like it didn't want to shift into the next gear. I finally got on the highway and it would not go past 60 miles an hour and then also if you try to drive it, it will slow down like its shutting off on you. I've had a new battery replaced, 4 new tires a windshield, and wipers replaced. I took the car to AutoZone and also to another guy and both of them used their computers and said that it's the engine and they called it rod knocking. I called customer service and they said yes their is a recall and that they would replace the engine. I tried to call kia in mesquite Texas because that is the closest one to me and I left a voicemail they did not call me back I am carless I'm a single disabled mother I need a working car.

Filed Mar 3, 2025 · Visibility · CO

What I assume happened to my wiper blades: In December of 2024 we got a lot of heavy snow. I turned on my car to heat it up while I worked on cleaning off the outside of the car. My wipers were set to auto so the car automatically tried to clear the snow from the windshield. I did not notice this since they didn't move due to the snow weight. Once snow was removed I noticed the wipers did not work so I brought it in for the dealership to look at it. They determined that the gear had been stripped and needed to be replaced and informed me that this is not covered under warranty. Since the repair I have not driven the car in snow, no longer use the auto wiper function, and am sure to clean off all snow/ice before I turn the blades on. End of February I turned the wipers on to clean the windshield by pulling lever back. No fluid came out, the blades went back and forth a few times and then only one blade started coming up while the other lay in its off position. Determined that my car is not holding any wiper fluid (unsure if this was not connected properly during last repair). Have an appointment to get the car looked at again.

Filed Apr 12, 2024 · Visibility · NH

On 4/42024 I was driving home and there was a mix of rain and snow. My riverside windshield wiper went out of sync and slammed into the passenger side damaging the blade, it then went over the edge and was stuck on the windshield frame overhanging the side view mirror. It made it very difficult to drive. When driving behind any other vehicle ot creates a scenario where you can't see how far or close you are to another vehicle. When I got to the dealership to have it looked at, they tried to blame it on a buildup of the wet snow that happened overnight. I cleared off my car completely before going to work. The fix was they had to tighten the linkage. While I was there, I overheard them complain in the service department that they had a lot of wiper related incidents that day.

Filed Feb 9, 2023 · Visibility · GA

automatic wiper does not work in rain

Filed Oct 30, 2022 · Driver assistance, Fuel system · IL

I have and had many problems including: Steering components that break suddenly, causing partial or complete loss of vehicle control, Problems with fuel system components, particularly in their susceptibility to crash damage, which result in leakage of fuel and may cause vehicle fires or gets a strong fire smell at the moment, the Accelerator controls that break or stick and has been acknowledged a Kia dealership repair man. Most recently, Wheels that make loud cracking sound, which may result in loss of vehicle control, had a poor Windshield wiper assemblies that fail to operate properly causing bad vision for driving, Critical care components that are constantly and simantously needing repair. Beyond belief. Also, Wiring system problems that result in a strong fire smell, or loss of lighting, Wiring system problems that result in a strong fire smell or loss of lighting, or loss of power. Many times, I have been left stranded after having 20 seconds of power flickering and then the car abruptly shuts off. This is very hazardous. I fear for my 5 year old child when this happens. I also have proof of emergency road side assistance for loss of power. Furthermore, I have proof and evidence via road side assistance, many invoices to different dealerships all keeping my car for several hours for diagnostic testing. Then after paying for the services, my car will have another episode of leaving me stranded in bad situations., I have pictures and videos of all these malfunctions occurring and its only a part of what I have been able to catch on video and camera because it happens so fast. I had all of the lights light up on ths dash almost looks like Christmas lights. On and off I have pictures.

Filed Aug 16, 2021 · Engine · TX

I financed my 2012 Sportage about year and half ago and since the turbo has began to leak which being under warranty was replaced but now my oil pan and filter is leaking oil and failrly good amount, so I noticed this because the dash light for low wiper fluid came on and when i tried to pop hood by pulling interior latch i learned that my hood release cable had disconnected not only from the interior latch but from my main hood latch as well so while under my car trying to figure out how i could fix this i could see the oil that had been leaking and was coming from pan and filter. I cant check the level due to the cable malfunction and learning about these recalls im scared to drive my vehicle .

Filed Jul 23, 2013 · Electrical · 12,500 miles · NE · fire

The car was not running and smoke started to come out from under the dash on the drivers side. I popped the hood and there was no smoke present underneath. The car then started itself with no key in the ignition. The back rear lights came on and the rear window wiper started going. After about five minutes the car shut itself off. The smoke was getting worse. The radio was turned on and again there was no key in the ignition. I had to call the fire department and they disconnected my car battery along with spraying water on the fuse panel to get it to stop smoking. At that time I was told there was a short in the fuse panel which started the incident. I was told by the tow company that my vehicle was the fourth kia sportage that they had to tow for the exact same reason, a short in the fuse panel.

Filed Jun 27, 2013 · Airbags, Visibility · 179,000 miles · WA · crash · 1 injury

On april 12, 2013 I got into my 2000 kia sportage to go to work. As soon as I got into the car I hit the windshield wipers to get the dew off of the windshield and instead of just going once they went off extremely fast with out stopping for about 45 seconds. Once I got them turned off I went up the road and turned to head to work via the back roads. I drove about 1 miles when out of the blue my windshield wipers started going off again then a second later I heard a loud bang and 2 of my airbags had deployed and I felt a throbbing pain in my right shin. The passenger airbag and the lower airbag on the driver side deployed. My car was the only car involved and has a clear carfax. The road I was driving on was smooth and I did not hit anything. The car had to be towed back to my house where it sits.

Filed Apr 29, 2010 · Visibility · 12,000 miles · MA

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 kia sportage. While driving at speeds of 20 MPH in a snow storm, the windshield wipers became stuck to the snow that fell and built up on the side of the windshield. This caused the windshield wiper motor to fail. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the windshield motor was replaced. The following year, the passenger side wiper failed due to a failed motor and the dealer tightened the wiper. The failure recurred the next year while operating through another snow storm. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The failure mileage was 12,000 and the current mileage was 52,000. Updated 07/01/10 *bf the consumer stated the second time the incident happened, the dealer tightened a bolt. The windshield wipers stopped working again for a third time. Updated 07/01/10.*jb updated 07/09/10.

Filed Nov 10, 2008 · Electrical, Engine · 86,000 miles · FL

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 kia sportage. Since purchasing the vehicle, the contact has paid for numerous repairs. Before driving the vehicle off the lot, she noticed a large puddle of oil underneath the vehicle. The dealer repaired the failure. The following week, while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle began to shake severely. The dealer rotated the tires, but the shaking persisted. Thirdly, a tire blew out and had to be changed. In addition, the vehicle began leaking transmission fluid and a new transmission line was installed. Lastly, the windshield wiper motor stopped working and the entire driver's side glass caved in on the contact, but did not break. There were no injuries. Currently, the glass will not roll up or down. The failure mileage was 86,000. Updated 1/5/09 *cn the gas tank was falling apart. A shield was needed to rectify the problem. The drivers window was inoperative. The radiator was leaking. The vehicle was out of alignment. The vehicle would not start. The consumer discovered the cable had melted. Updated 01/09/09

Related recalls

No recalls on record for this model year.

Questions about the Kia Sportage wipers

Which Kia Sportage years have windshield wiper failure problems?

The model years with the most reports are 1999 (15 complaints), 2000 (7 complaints) and 1998 (4 complaints).

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