VehicleVerdict

2000 Kia Sportage electrical system problems

The 2000 Kia Sportage has 39 electrical system complaints filed with NHTSA — 8% of the year's total, and roughly flat versus the prior model year.

39

Electrical System complaints

8%

Share of year

1

Crash-involved

1

Related recalls

Electrical System complaints by year

Sportage electrical system complaints by model year65 complaints1995: 8 complaints1996: 9 complaints1997: 25 complaints1998: 63 complaints1999: 48 complaints2000: 39 complaints2001: 32 complaints2002: 21 complaints2005: 12 complaints2006: 31 complaints2007: 24 complaints2008: 37 complaints2009: 27 complaints2010: 3 complaints2011: 43 complaints2012: 32 complaints2013: 23 complaints2014: 9 complaints2015: 18 complaints2016: 17 complaints2017: 65 complaints2018: 29 complaints2019: 10 complaints2020: 19 complaints2021: 5 complaints2022: 5 complaints2023: 43 complaints2024: 12 complaints2025: 15 complaints2026: 3 complaints
Sportage electrical system complaints by model year. Red bars are years to avoid.

Related recalls

00V205000Electrical SystemJuly 27, 2000 · 66,482 units

Defect

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: SPORT UTILITY VEHICLE. THESE VEHICLES WERE DISTRIBUTED WITH OWNERS MANUALS WITH AN INCORRECT JUMP START DIAGRAM. THE WRITTEN INSTRUCTIONS FOR JUMP STARTING ARE ACCURATE. HOWEVER, THE DIAGRAM DEPICTS THE JUMPER CABLES ATTACHED TO THE WRONG POLARITY TERMINALS. IF THE DIAGRAM WERE FOLLOWED WITHOUT REFERENCE TO THE INSTRUCTIONS, THE RESULTING IMPROPER CONNECTIONS COULD CAUSE THE BATTERY TO RUPTURE AGGRESSIVELY DUE TO INCREASED INTERNAL PRESSURES.

Consequence

THIS COULD CAUSE POTENTIAL SERIOUS INJURY TO BYSTANDERS.

Remedy

OWNERS WILL BE PROVIDED WITH AN ADHESIVE LABEL WITH THE CORRECT ILLUSTRATION TO PERMANENTLY AFFIX TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS MANUALS.

What owners report

“VEHICLE EXPERIENCED AN ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FAILURE, AND CAUGHT ON FIRE. VEHICLE WAS TOTALED. A RECALL WAS ISSUED, BUT THE VEHICLE NOT INCLUDED DUE TO VIN. *AK THE VEHICLE WAS ENGULFED ON THE PASSENGER SIDE IN FLAMES. THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED THE WHOLE TIME PRIOR TO THE FIRE. THE FIR DEPARTMENT DEEMED…”

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Electrical System · May 22, 2003 · fire

Common questions

How many electrical system complaints does the 2000 Kia Sportage have?

NHTSA has 39 complaints about the 2000 Kia Sportage electrical system — 8% of all complaints filed for that model year.

Are there recalls for the 2000 Kia Sportage electrical system?

Yes — 1 NHTSA recall campaign for this model year is tied to the electrical system: 00V205000.

Related

Based on NHTSA ODI data through June 2026. Complaints are consumer-reported and unverified. Updated July 5, 2026.

Compiled by Sharon Ben-Moshe, Founder.