CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2012 Kia Sedona received a poor rollover rating from the IIHS.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
84,369 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2012 Kia Sedona engine problems

engine problem

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2012 Kia Sedona Owner Comments

problem #15

Mar 042022

Sedona

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I have replaced my Oil Pressure sensor two times due to oil leaks since I have owned the vehicle at my own expense. I say a recall for the exact problem (19V101) for 2011-2012 KIA Sedona. My engine is leaking again so I call KIA about this and thy said that even though I have a 2012 Sedona that my VIN is not covered. Since I have already replaced this two times I find it hard to believe that my VAN is not having the same issues as the vehicles covered in the recall. If that is the case. That would mean that there are other 2012 Sedona's out there that may have the same problem but never get notified about the recall.

- Bloomington, MN, USA

problem #14

Nov 012019

Sedona

  • 170,000 miles
The contact owned a 2012 Kia Sedona. The contact stated that while driving at 40 mph, he noticed black smoke coming from under the hood. The contact pulled off the road to a parking lot, where flames were seen coming from under the hood. The contact exited, stood a distance away from the vehicle and called the fire department. The entire engine compartment area was burnt and destroyed by the fire. The insurance company did not even look at the vehicle since they said they did not cover fires. There were no injuries sustained and a fire report was filed. The dealer and manufacturer had not been contacted. The failure mileage was 170,000.

- Lakewood Ranch, FL, USA

problem #13

Mar 012019

Sedona

  • 150,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Sedona. While driving 45 mph the engine ceased with several warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to deland Kia 2322 S woodland blvd, deland, fl 32720-2322 (386) 734-7800, where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and informed of the failure. The contact was not offered further assistance. The failure mileage was 150,000.

- Ormond Beach, FL, USA

problem #12

Jan 022020

Sedona

  • 120,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Twice, the vehicle has stalled and come to a complete, unexpected stop with no warning: In October 2019 and January 2020. In both cases, the vehicle was traveling at a speed of approx. 30-40 mph. The check engine light did not illuminate, nor did any other light. We pulled over to the side of the road and restarted the vehicle. Very dangerous, but fortunately we were able to pull over safely,

- Concord, MA, USA

problem #11

Jul 112019

Sedona

  • 74,000 miles
Oil pressure warning light came on while traveling on the highway, took it to my dealer. They are saying the oil pressure sensor is bad at only 74,000 miles. Was quoted a price of $800 not covered under the power train warranty

- Camp Hill, PA, USA

problem #10

Mar 152016

Sedona

  • 120,000 miles
Had purchased a 2012 Kia Sedona. Work out fine for the first few yrs of ownership. Started noticing white smoke at engine start. Didnt know why it was doing it cause we had routine oil changes done to this car regularly..took car to dealer to have it checked out and was told there was a recall on an emissions part and that would take care off the issue. Same issue continued, finally van came to a dead stop without any warning. No check engine light, oil light or any light to give us a warning that something was going on. Was lucky that my wife wasnt in a serious accident when this happened.she was driving hm and on the freeway when the engine decided to quit working. Had it towed to dealer and after 2 months at the dealer and that was only after I called to check why it was taking so long to give me an answer, ....was told I would have to replace the engine at a cost off $7500 to $9500 for a new engine. No luck having dealer cover the cost cuase they said it was owner neglect on my part. Now im stuck with a car that is not drivable and useless. Oh, and worst part is that I was still making a monthly payments on the car.

- Visalia, CA, USA

problem #9

Sep 062018

Sedona

  • 89,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Last September 6th, 2018, Sedona was almost caught fire while driver was with her children. Onwer saw a huge smoke after she looked at dashboard tempature guage that reached overheat, quickly parked, turned it off, and opened the hood. She smelled strong burned. Mechanic took a look at engine and found a lot of motor oil that was leaking through the head gasket and spilling over onto exhaust pipe under engine block. Oil spilling onto exhaust pipe could cause fire. Response of mechanic diagnosis, original alternator was at fault for stopping generate power supply to the radiator fan assembly. Then radiator fan assembly stopped operating, resulting in engine overheat to break the head gasket, leaking a lot of motor oil. Following overheat issue, transmission was also affected. Mechanic noticed that alarm was not built in for coolant fluid level low after half low in radiator found. Why was not a coolant fluid level low alarm built in before first time vehicle was sold? without a coolant fluid level low alarm could lead vehicle into fire.

- Gilbert, AZ, USA

problem #8

Jun 012018

Sedona

  • 91,000 miles
Engine oil sensor leaking oil and engine oil light goes off and on. Any time engine is running.

- Supply, NC, USA

problem #7

Nov 062016

Sedona

  • 56,000 miles
Large plumes of white smoke from excessive engine sludge buildup in motor, towed it to the dealership they claim improper maintenance is the issue. Talked to Kia corporate and despite other known sludge issues on other vehicles the say this vehicle does not have the issue. They've now had my van for 6 months while fighting to get them to cover under warranty. Bought it with 29K miles it now only has 56K miles on the engine, I've owned it for a little more than a year and a half. I'm still making payments on a vehicle that's worthless and unsafe to drive right now. Had regular oil changes done and bought the extended warranty because we planned on having it for a long time. I was told it needs a new engine replacement costing $8200 for a vehicle I paid $13000 for. This S not executable and don't believe their story. I would have bought a new vehicle if I had known I'd be on the hook for another 8 grand in a little over a year of ownership. So angry!!!

- Lawrence, KS, USA

problem #6

Aug 222016

Sedona

  • 154,000 miles
Upon service station oil change engine warning codes P0024, P0014 showed immediatley next morning. Wix filter, mgd mgl 10082, bought by my mechanic from oriellys auto parts had no resemblance to original filter even though advertized as oem replacement. This had perforated metal shell and solid rubber top and bottom when Kia version is fan folded paper all over it damaged engine vvti, cam exhaust manifold warning since this is a oil timed engine. I did not drive it until fixed, oil switch, and pressure sending unit. 100% percent of oil had been forced out top of engine and pooled in the V6. Several technical sites say these filters design have failed including redesign. Now oriellys and Wix are dragging thier feet imn fixing this and reimbursing me for exspense. Not even thier product. I was driving vehicle less than 20 miles

- Racine, WI, USA

problem #5

Aug 182016

Sedona

  • 40,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2012 Kia Sedona. While the vehicle was parked, engine oil leaked underneath the front end of the vehicle and the engine oil warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the oil pressure switch and engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 40,000.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

problem #4

Jul 022016

Sedona

  • 46,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Kia Sedona. When the key was inserted into the ignition and turned to start, the vehicle failed to respond without warning. The failure recurred three times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer on multiple occasions, but was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 46,000.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #3

Feb 272016

Sedona

  • 68,000 miles
My vehicle has approximately 68K miles on it, and began leaking oil within the past month (and displaying the low pressure error light). The leaks themselves varied between small drips to significant amounts left in parking lots. It got to the point where I was unable to even run the heater for extended periods of time due to the fumes entering the cabin from the burning oil. With 3 kids until 12yrs, it was very unsafe. Upon bringing it in for service, I was advised that not only the oil pan gasket needed to be replaced, but the rear main seal as well. This is alarming since the rear main typically does not need to be addressed until the vehicle is over/near 100K miles. Thankfully, my warranty is covering the repairs, as this could have cost me over $1K to replace (due to the transmission needing to be removed to get to the seal).

- Des Plaines, IL, USA

problem #2

May 012015

Sedona

  • 82,000 miles
The timing chain tensioners bleed down pressure after the vehicle has set for a few hours causing chain slap at start up which over time will damage internal engine components up to and including timing issues that could cause engine failure. While there is a tsb from Kia on this known issue Kia claims it is normal to hear the chain slap against the engine walls until the tensioners build pressure over several seconds.

- Cibolo, TX, USA

problem #1

Apr 012013

Sedona 6-cyl

  • 5,534 miles
While turning onto another street the van stalled. I put on my flashers and stopped, put the van in park and started it again. It started right up and the check engine light was on. It didn't have any power when I hit the gas, so I turned it off and started it again and it ran normal, except for the check engine light being on. On the way home it almost stalled again. This happened on a Saturday. We called the dealer right away and they said to bring it in on Monday. A week or so before the van did this I noticed the RPM's going up an down when I would be at a stop just idling. The dealer checked the codes for the throttle body and found an update so they reprogrammed it according to their paperwork. On Friday I was driving down the street going about 25 mph and when I got to the traffic light I lost power. I thought it had stalled again, but it didn't. when I pressed the gas it did not accelerate, and would not go over 10 mph. I got it off the street and shut it off and then restarted it. It would not respond when I stepped on the gas. I turned it off again and let it sit for a couple minutes and then when I re-started it, it responded when I accelerated. Once again the check engine light was on. I immediately contacted the dealer and drove it right to them. According to their paperwork they checked and found an internal fault with the throttle body actuator. They replaced the throttle body assembly and kept it a few days to see if it would lose power again. According to them it did not and I picked it up. This is the first day I have had it back and so far it has run fine. I am driving children around in this van all the time and now I need to be concerned that it is going to stall or go into "limp mode" as the dealer called it when I pull out onto the busy roads where I live. I hope they fixed it.

- Warminster, PA, USA

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