It’s one of the most expensive parts of car ownership, and also, maintenance costs can vary from . Some model years are simply plagued with problems, which is why car buyers should avoid them when buying used. Here’s a look at the three worst Kia model years used car buyers should avoid.
1. 2012 Kia Sportage
The Sportage has been around for decades, and the model year with the most problems is the 2012 version, according to . Users of the site reported a total of 49 problems and the vast majority of them were engine problems. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, had similar findings as this model year of the Kia SUV was simply plagued with engine problems.
. Unfortunately for owners who have experienced both problems, the solution has been the same. Most owners have had to replace their engines and this has averaged a cost of over $5,200.
The owners also agreed that those two engine issues were “pretty awful” to deal with, and both issues seem to occur at roughly the same mileage. The Sportage’s excessive noise issue occurred at approximately 92,000 miles, while the engine failure issue occurred at approximately 88,500 miles.
2. 2013 Kia Sportage
Unfortunately for Kia fans and owners, the South Korean automaker didn’t appear to have fixed the 2012 Sportage’s issues with the 2013 model year. Overall, drivers reported fewer problems, but there were still 34 reports, and this made it one of the SUV’s worst model years.
Both drivers and the NHTSA said the most common problems were engine-related, and there were 23 such reports from users. However, owners also reported seven SUV-related issues, and that was significantly more than the previous model year. Just like with the 2012 version, the most common engine problem was with the engine dying.
That said, owners reported that their engine died at about 100,000 miles, which is about 10,000 more miles than the 2012 version. Again, the primary fix to this engine problem was simply engine replacement. However, CarComplaints did not quote an average price for that repair. Regardless, owners should expect to pay several thousand dollars to replace the Sportage’s engine.
3. 2017 Kia Sportage
The 2017 model year was another terrible year for the Sportage, and in fact it had almost as many problems as the 2012 version had. Owners reported a total of 46 problems with the 2017 version, which is three fewer problems than the those of the 2012 version. Unlike the 2013 model year, however, the South Korean automaker has started the 2017 model year.
Despite the redesign, the Sportage’s most common problem was still related to its engine. The SUV also had a significant number of issues in other areas, such as the windows, transmission, and HVAC system. Engine failure was still a common problem, and just as with older model years, the Sportage’s engine tended to fail at around 90,000 miles.
Again, engine swapping was the most common fix and cost drivers around $5,000. That said, the most common problem was actually the engine’s excessive oil consumption. Owners reported this happening at around 65,000 miles, and unfortunately, a total engine swap was also a common fix.
