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KLUNK

2016 Kia Sedona

The Verdict

45 Proceed with Caution

The 2016 Kia Sedona has 287 owner complaints filed with NHTSA. The most reported issues are engine (150 complaints) and electrical (80 complaints). With a Klunk Score of 45/100, it earns a "Proceed with Caution" rating. If you're shopping for a Kia Sedona, consider the 2021 model year which has 97% fewer complaints.

Safe Bet

The 2021 has 97% fewer complaints

View the 2021 Kia Sedona dashboard →

45

Klunk Score: Proceed with Caution

About average for complaint volume. Research the specific issues before buying.

How is this calculated?

The Klunk Score ranks this vehicle year against all others in our database based on total owner complaints filed with NHTSA. 100 = fewest complaints (top tier), 0 = most complained-about. Scores above 60 are better than average; below 40 means more problems than most.

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Under the Hood

Each number is a complaint. Darker = bigger problem.

YearBodyBrakesElectricalEngineTransmission
200210128644615
2003692758424
20041043232386
2005527425304
2006154391354116
2007721840206
2008731943193
20091881191
2010117743
201121311273
201232831296
20141511291
201531546512
2016473801507
201731335611
201811213201
20191632122
2020101261
202150210

By Category

Engine
150
Electrical
80
Body
47
Transmission
7
Brakes
3

By Severity

1
139
2
121
3
4
4
22
5
1

Worst Problems

Complaints

Body 1

The Styrofoam is cracked in half on two sides and it's losing pieces when I contacted the manufacturer. They said they were sending me tape and I don't feel that's very safe. That is the only solution they are offering me. This has had a recall previously. They said this is what you've approved as a fix to the recall. I just wanted to check on this because I don't feel it's very safe for me to tape my child car seat back together especially since there's pieces missing chunks and the Styrofoam is completely cracked in half. I could separate the two pieces and they're telling me to tape it back together.

11d ago
Engine 1

Engine failure due to loud knocking as a result if high oil consumption. No warning lights ever. Needs replacement. Regular maintenance records available. Original owner with only 63900 miles in less than 10 years. Vehicle supposed to be under powertrain warranty (10 years/ 100000 miles). Kia and dealership keep denying warranty claim despite providing all records to prove regular maintenance.

23d ago
Engine 4

While driving car gas tank blew a hole and started on fire. Car then lost power while on fire while I was in traffic, luckily I was able to cut into a parking lot and people that were in traffic with me call 911. Fire department confirmed there was a hole in gas tank which sits right underneath driver side. Fire was only contained to where the gas tank and lines are. I have pictures.

2mo ago
Engine 1

Oil was changed and within a month was completely dried with no visible leak and without any warning or lights the engine shut off while driving and seized Turner Kia performed a thorough diagnostic and determined that will cost $13,508.90 to replace the engine.

2mo ago
Electrical 1

This concerns an unresolved airbag safety issue that went undetected due to a negligent recall inspection at a Kia dealership. On March 16, 2026, I brought my vehicle to Ed Voyles Kia of Chamblee, GA for a recall inspection to determine whether damaged wiring under the passenger seat was causing my airbag warning light to remain on. I dealt with the service advisor throughout the process. After the appointment, I was told the inspection was complete and no wiring damage was found. Upon leaving the dealership, I immediately noticed that my exterior and interior lights, radio, seatbelt indicators, and numerous other systems had stopped working, none of which were issues before my appointment. I contacted the dealership the same day and returned on March 17, 2026. The service advisor relayed the technician's position that these failures were pre-existing and unrelated to the service. After I pushed back, the manager became involved and pointed to a separate BCM recall to explain the replacement, rather than acknowledging that the BCM had failed immediately after their service. My BCM had been functioning normally before the appointment. The service advisor and manager continued to deny any wiring damage. On April 20, 2026, I personally inspected the area under the passenger seat while cleaning my vehicle I immediately found visibly damaged wires, the exact area the technician had examined during the recall. I found this damage within minutes. The damaged wiring under the passenger seat is the very issue this recall was designed to identify. The technician failed to find it, leaving a known safety hazard unresolved. My airbag warning light has been on since before the appointment and remains on today. I have been driving my family in this vehicle with a compromised airbag system. I have photo evidence of the damaged wires and request that NHTSA log this as a formal safety complaint and investigate if this reflects a broader pattern of incomplete recall inspections

2mo ago
Engine 2

Engine has multiple engine miss fires. Loss of coolant into exhaust. Engine knocking.

2mo ago
Engine 2

Since the day a bought the car I have had to constantly deal with oil leaks and burning up oil. We had to check the vehicle every Sunday for oil replacement. The vehicle on one day just stopped in the middle of the street. It had a complete engine failure. I had to pay thousands of dollars. I contacted Kia with out help. They claim my vehicle was not part of their class action settlement of engine failure. And I can’t sell the car because all mechanics know the engine is trash and the vehicle is worth nothing. And Kia won’t help at all.

3mo ago
Engine 2

I am the original owner of a 2016 Kia Sedona, purchased new from the DeMontrond Kia dealership in Houston, Texas, in August 2016. The vehicle currently has 63,400 miles and has been maintained according to standard schedules. Two weeks ago, I noticed a slight knocking sound and took the car to the dealership for an inspection. I was informed that there is sludge buildup in the engine and was told the repair would not be covered under warranty due to alleged owner neglect. The dealership quoted $10,000 for an engine replacement. Prior to this, there were no warning lights or indicators of any issues, and there have been no oil leaks. I have retained most of the records and receipts for the oil changes performed on the vehicle.

3mo ago
Engine 2

Engine started knocking loosing power just like our 4cylinder GDI engine. These engines are also not safe to be operating

3mo ago
Engine 2

Engine Failure due to rod and bearing failure

3mo ago
Engine 1

Oil leak caused engine to fail.

4mo ago
Electrical 2

Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2016 Kia Sedona. The contact discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy after the purchase. The vehicle was a private sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 107,000. It was later discovered upon checking a Carfax Report that the mileage was 187,000.

4mo ago
Engine 2

I was driving my car, all of a sudden there was a loud knocking sound. The car suddenly wouldn’t accelerate. I was in the middle of a busy intersection with kids! I am 95 pounds, I can’t push the van! After being hit. I managed to get it moved with help. My van only had 108,000 miles on it! Took it to a mechanic, said needed an engine as there was no oil in it. How is that possible? We just changed it a month prior. It’s out of warranty by 8000 miles so Kia will not do anything! I’m sorry, but there are numerous complaints about this, yet nothing is being done! Now I’m having to pay 5000+ to replace an engine because Kia is just terrible!

5mo ago
Engine 1

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.

5mo ago
Engine 2

Motor Blew

6mo ago
Electrical 4

The contact owned a 2016 Kia Sedona. The contact stated that while her nephew was driving, the nephew made a left-hand turn, and the vehicle was hit on the front right quarter panel. The contact stated that her nephew had turned on the left-hand signal and was halfway through making the left turn when the accident occurred. The other vehicle drove on the opposite side and stated that the left-hand turn signal was not on. The contact's nephew was unsure if any warning lights were illuminated. The driver-side and passenger-side air bags were deployed. The contact's nephew had minor injuries and had a bruise on the right arm and chest that did not require medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a towing yard. The contact then had the vehicle towed to the residence and no longer driven. The insurance company was contacted, and the results are pending. Upon further investigation, the contact discovered that the vehicle had an open recall pending: NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V725000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM). The contact stated that there was a passenger in the vehicle. The passenger was sitting on the front passenger seat and was not injured. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 96,000.

6mo ago
Body 2

The front passenger seat, occupant detection system wiring harness was never repaired by the dealer I had taken the vehicle to the dealer several years ago and he gave me a $8000 estimate to replace the electrical system!

6mo ago
Engine 2

Kia service dealer diagnosed high oil consumption on my car with heavy sounds. They recommend to replace whole engine but it's out of warranty. It has only 106k miles on it. I am afraid the car is posing safety issue as well and it has less miles on it. I filed complain with kia consumer corporate a case has been generated on their system [XXX] but no one had contacted me yet. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

6mo ago
Engine 1

2016 KIA Sedona. I was driving on the highway when the Engine started knocking and smoking. I had to cut cars off on the highway to get to the shoulder. The car was towed to a local mechanic who told us there were holes blown through the engine and it would need replaced. This was after a year and a half of driving it so we still had a loan on the car that we couldn't afford to just scrap the car. We had to get a new engine put in the car. Insurance would not help since we did not hit anything and it was a manufacturer defect. Mechanic checked oil level and viscosity and did not see any issues with it. No warning lamps indicated there was anything wrong with the vehicle before the engine ripped itself apart. Thankfully none of our 3 kids were in the vehicle at the time. This was 2 months that we did not have our family van during the winter holidays and it was a very difficult time for the family.

7mo ago
Engine 2

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.

7mo ago

287 total

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