I bought my 08 Sportage in 09, brand new, off the lot.

Ive had it for about 3 years now and have not had any large issues at all other than some wear and tear.

One day we had a nice little thunder storm and driving in Quebec there can be a few puddles. I went through one, everything seemed fine. We arrived at my friends place and parked the car. Later that evening I had to step out so my friend and I hopped in the car and started driving, the first 5-10 minutes everything was fine. The next thing you know all the dashboard lights started going off and acting crazy, car just stalled and wouldn't turn over.

I ended up having to get CAA to come tow me, the guy showed up and we boosted the car but as soon as he took the cables off the car would just stall again. Towed it over to the closest KIA dealership and had to let it sit there for 2 days because there not opened on weekends.

So Monday came and they told me they couldn't take my car because they were to busy and they would take a look at it first thing the next morning.

The tuesday I get a call and they tell me they did a diagnostic, my battery/alternator/ rust inhibitor module were all dead. Luckily the alternator was under warranty so I didn't have to pay for it, I skipped the rust module so I could have my purchase dealership take a look at it because I believed that it should be under warranty. All in all had to pay for a new battery and diagnostic. Cost about 240$.

Fast forward to today, 2 weeks later. I stop to get some gas and the car wont turn over. No indication of any issues while I drove up to the gas station. I call the tow truck again. While I was waiting the car turned over so I called the tow company and cancelled the assistance and decided to drive to my purchase dealer. So I'm almost there and all of a sudden all the lights on my dashboard turn on, the speedometer is stuck at 80 and nothing in the car is working but its still driving. BAM , the car kick and dies again. The emergency lights don't work and I'm stuck right near an off ramp. Call tow truck again and they tow me the rest of the way.

This is my first Vehicle, just over 3 years old, not even 100,000KM yet and I'm having issues like this. So disappointing! I've been reading around online and see a lot of similar issues. Ill be having the SUV fixed and will be trading it in.

My GF has had her 2003 honda civic SI for almost 8 years with over 200,000 KM on it and has never had a issue like this. KIA is a joke. I will never buy another vehicle from them or any of there sister companies.

I've had this issue with my sportage for about a year now. At this point, every time I drive through water, the battery light comes on and I lose my power steering capability. Driving in poor weather can be stressful enough without unpredictable vehicle performance. And, here's a shocking note, my local Kia dealership has been absolutely worthless in resolving this issue! Last time that I took my sportage in, I was told that if a diagnosis couldn't be made, my warranty would not cover the charges incurred for inspecting the vehicle. WTF?!?! Based on a few experiences with this dealership, lets just say I'm less than impressed and completely lack confidence in them. All of that said, aside from this very scary problem, I do love my sportage. Now, if someone could just figure out how to correct the '08 sportages dislike of rain & puddles...