Good car with a few issues popping up
My 2011 Kia Sportage just turned 10, so I've had it long enough to have some insight into the car.
Problems I've had so far:
Air conditioner compressor replaced at 2 years under warranty
Alternator replaced at 110,000 miles (this year) cost 419 with a new serpentine belt.
Faild an emissions in 2017 due to a defective PRNDL (gear selector) switch. Kia said it would be weeks to get part/fix, and I needed the car. Moving the selector rapidly back and forth a dozen times made the switch start working (thank you YouTube)
That's it. No other mechanical issues (knocking on wood :-)
The good:
I'll stand this AWD up against anything on ice or snow. I grew up running wreckers in Wyoming, so I know ice and snow, and this thing is as sure footed as anything I've seen. Last year in an ice storm I pulled an F-250 out of the median.
Comfort-the car feels good when I'm driving it. It's comfortable to drive. The heat/ac are good, and the controls well laid out with two exceptions.
The not so good.
Build quality is lacking in a few areas. the floor mat/carpet are really cheap, and there are spots on the back of the door handles that didn't get painted at the factory.
Switch placement for the AWD and traction switches is down by your knee and hard to reach.
The speedometer cowl can cause a very annoying reflection on the windshield.
The battery connection was never right. I finally just replaced the positive terminal with a new one-the factory one would not tighten properly.
For some reason when I disconnect/change the battery, this car throws a Mass Air Flow sensor code. Nothing is wrong with it, and I can reset it with a code reader and it stays gone, but it does this every single time.
Will I buy another one? Probably, if nothing else because of the AWD. Although I may go with a Seltos this time.
Recommended
Verified Owner
