2006 Kia Sportage Electrical System
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
The fan for my car worked intermittently. I took the car to the dealership and they said it was the fan. I replaced the fan myself. While replacing the fan, I noticed that one of the connectors was melted. After changing the fan, nothing changed. After that, I decided to remove the bad looking connector. When I did, I realized the damage was much worse than I realized. Some of the casing from the wiring was totally melted off. My radio also started changing stations randomly and my GPS was getting hot when I used it. After I replaced the connector, everything worked perfectly.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 KIA SPORTAGE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE ELECTRIC CONTROL HARNESS FAILED. WHILE DRIVING 60 MPH, THE VEHICLE DECELERATED TO 30 MPH AND THEN ACCELERATED BACK TO NORMAL. IN ADDITION, THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO HERTRICH KIA (6546 OCEAN GATEWAY, EASTON, MD 21601, (410) 200-9784) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE ELECTRIC CONTROL HARNESS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED DUE TO THE REPAIR FEES. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 137,723. *BF*JB
TO CASE 10422342 AND OTHERS HOPING FOR RESOLUTION OF THIS PROBLEM FROM THIS USELESS GOVERNMENT DATABASE ... WE SUBMITTED A COUPLE OF CLAIMS ON THE SAME SITUATION (10358922 BEING THE LATEST). THE SYMPTOMS: CAR WOULD BE RUNNING AND SUDDENLY ALL SHUT OFF, INCLUDING ELECTRICAL. WHEN THE CAR STOPPED MOVING, WE COULD TURN OFF THE KEY AND TURN IT ON AGAIN AND IT CAME BACK WITH NO PROBLEM. AT FIRST IT WAS WHEN TAKING OFF FROM REST, BUT IT FINALLY STARTED TO OCCUR WHILE DRIVING (READ 10358922 FOR STORY). APPARENTLY BECAUSE POWER SHUT OFF THE OBDII COULDN'T STORE ANY CODES. KIA TRIED TO FIX IT (HQ SAID TO WIGGLE WIRES UNTIL IT REPRODUCED THE PROBLEM). I DROVE THE CAR FOR SEVERAL HUNDRED MILES WHILE DATA-LOGGING, HOPING TO CATCH THE PHENOMENON. FINALLY AFTER SHUTTING DOWN AGAIN WITH OUR DAUGHTER, I TOOK IT TO KIA AND DEMANDED THAT THEY DISCUSS WITH HQ, BUT THEY GAVE THE SAME STUPID ANSWERS. I FINALLY TOLD THEM TO KEEP THE CAR (MY DEALER DID GIVE US A LOANER) UNTIL THEY COULD MAKE IT HAPPEN AGAIN, BUT TO DATA-LOG EVERY TIME TO SEE IF THEY COULD CATCH THE PROBLEM. AFTER NEARLY A MONTH, THEY DID RECORD THE EVENT, AND IT WAS THE ECU! IT WAS SHUTTING DOWN ALL ELECTRICAL AFTER A THERMAL OVERLOAD ISSUE. AT LEAST THAT'S WHAT THEY SAID. SIGNALS BECAME ERRATIC AND JUST SHUT DOWN. ECU WAS REPLACED AND HAVEN'T HAD THE PROBLEM REOCCUR YET BUT IT DOESN'T HAPPEN EVERY WEEK SO WE'RE SKEPTICAL. BY THE WAY, REPORTING THESE DATA ON THIS DATABASE DID NOTHING TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEM, EVEN WITH SEVERAL SIMILAR SITUATIONS OCCURRING. *TR
MY 2006 KIA SPORTAGE WILL JUST STALL. MY RADIO AND AC ARE USUALLY ON WHEN THIS HAPPENS, ALSO I HAVE NOTICED I HAVE HAD MY FOOD EASING ON THE BRAKE. THE DEALER CAN'T FIND ANY REASON TO RECREATE OR MAKE THIS INCIDENT HAPPEN AGAIN. MY AC AND RADIO ARE ALSO SHUTTING OFF AND THEN COMING RIGHT BACK ON FOR NO REASON. *TT
THE ELECTRICAL HARNESS IN MY 2006 KIA SPORTAGE HAD AN ELECTRIC MELT DOWN. AT PROX 72,000 MILES. DEALER COULD NOT FIND OR FIX THE PROBLEM- FACTORY REP CAME AND REWIRED THE HARNESS BY REPLACING THE MELTED WIRING. *TR
MY ESC LIGHT KEPT COMING ON AFTER ABOUT A HALF HOUR AND MY CRUISE CONTROL WOULD SHUT OFF BY ITSELF OR NOT COME ON AT ALL. AFTER A COUPLE WEEKS, THE CRUISE WOULD NO LONGER SET AT ALL. THIS BEGAN INTERMITTENTLY AROUND 60,000 MILES OR SO AND BECAME A FULL BLOWN PROBLEM AT AROUND 92,000 MILES. IT TURNED OUT TO BE A DEFECTIVE STOP LAMP SWITCH. THERE IS CURRENTLY A RECALL ON THIS PART, BUT JUST NOT FOR MY 2006 KIA SPORTAGE. I CALLED THE KIA CONSUMER LINE AND WAS BASICALLY TOLD "TOO BAD" BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH THIS IS A KNOWN SPORTAGE ISSUE, MY VEHICLE DIDN'T MAKE THE DATE CUT. THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN UNDER RECALL, BUT ENDED UP COSTING ME $100 FOR THE WARRANTY DEDUCTIBLE! THE ACTUAL BILL WAS $161.00. HOW CAN KIA GET AWAY WITH THIS? *TR
VEHICLE LOSES POWER AND CUTS OFF AS IT IS COMING TO STOP. HAVE TAKEN FOR DIAGNOSIS, BUT TECHNICIANS COULD NOT ISOLATE. THIS IS A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS OCCURENCE, AS IT COULD HAPPEN AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE WHEN HAVING TO SLOW DOWN ON INTERSTATE OR OTHER HEAVY TRAFFIC SITUATIONS. *CN
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 KIA SPORTAGE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED FOR APPROXIMATELY 45 MINUTES WHEN IT SUDDENLY CAUGHT FIRE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A SHOP AND INSPECTED. THE REPAIR SHOP STATED THAT THE FAILURE WAS DUE TO FAULTY WIRING. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THEY WOULD SEND AN INSPECTOR TO EXAMINE THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE CURRENTLY REMAINS AT THE SHOP. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 13,000. UPDATED 01/11/08. *LJ UPDATED *JB
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Quick Summary
The 2006 Kia Sportage has 8 Electrical System complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.