VehicleVerdict

2001 Kia Sportage engine problems

The 2001 Kia Sportage has 56 engine complaints filed with NHTSA — 16% of the year's total, and roughly flat versus the prior model year.

56

Engine complaints

16%

Share of year

2

Crash-involved

0

Related recalls

Engine complaints by year

Sportage engine complaints by model year330 complaints1995: 15 complaints1996: 11 complaints1997: 63 complaints1998: 93 complaints1999: 93 complaints2000: 50 complaints2001: 56 complaints2002: 74 complaints2003: 1 complaints2005: 5 complaints2006: 24 complaints2007: 10 complaints2008: 22 complaints2009: 10 complaints2010: 2 complaints2011: 84 complaints2012: 330 complaints2013: 314 complaints2014: 74 complaints2015: 85 complaints2016: 60 complaints2017: 221 complaints2018: 90 complaints2019: 35 complaints2020: 78 complaints2021: 24 complaints2022: 19 complaints2023: 35 complaints2024: 9 complaints2025: 7 complaints
Sportage engine complaints by model year. Red bars are years to avoid.

What owners report

“WHILE DRIVING CHECK ENGINE LIGHT APPEARED ON THE DASHBOARD. THE VEHICLE STARTED TO DECELERATE. WHEN CONSUMER PULLED INTO A DRIVEWAY VEHICLE CAUGHT ON FIRE. FIRE DEPARTMENT EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE. *AK THE CONSUMER'S ATTORNEY BELIEVED IT WAS A DEFECT IN THE VEHICLE'S STRUCTURE. KIA DENIED ANY…”

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Engine · August 22, 2003 · fire

Common questions

How many engine complaints does the 2001 Kia Sportage have?

NHTSA has 56 complaints about the 2001 Kia Sportage engine — 16% of all complaints filed for that model year.

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.