Has anyone had a problem with sudden acceleration in a Kia Sportage?

Yes, the same accident happened in South Korea yesterday. A pregnant woman was driving, and suddenly involuntary accerleration has happened and the car crashed into a wall. You can take a look the clip recorded the accident .

It appears Kia is not addressing the problem. They have operators handling the call they speak very well and extremely well trained in shutting you up and getting you off the phone. Very sad. But I am afraid for my wife and kids. Perhaps a class action law suit would open some eyes.

There is a clip on the throttle linkage that has a tendency to bend which is what causes the sudden acceleration simply bend the clip until it fits snug and adjust accordingly

I just had a sudden unintended acceleration in my 2012 Kia Sportage yesterday. At a very low parking lot speed, as I pulled into a parking space, the vehicle accelerated over a curb, up a grass embankment (thank goodness no other vehicle was involved), and further, the brake didn't readily respond, going to the floor. I appreciate the throttle linkage tip and will have that checked, as well as having the diagnostics run to be kept on file. Very scary.

Thank you, Has anyone had this problem with a 2015 sportage? Mike

We have experienced sudden unexplained acceleration and spent a lot of money on diagnosis and replacement of parts in a 2008 Sportage. Turns out, it is a problem linked to the cruise control module. Once the module was disconnected, no further problems over 25,000km. It may appear that when the module is faulty, it randomly invokes cruise control and attempts to reach a previously set speed, hence the surge of engine revs.

  The gas pedal is no longer connected to the engine on Any car made by Anybody.  Now the gas pedal talks to the computer and the computer talks to the engine.  Kia (and many others) have programed their computers to change the speed of the engine whenever they want - Without the drivers Permission.   It is not a problem with any component of the car (therefore waste of time & money replacing any parts), it is the Design Flaw [of the computer taking over control of the engine] combined with an Assembly Flaw, that can cause 'computer confusion' under rare varying environmental conditions (and therefore impossible to replicate or diagnose).  Over a period of time Temperature & Humidity may cause condensation to form inside Certain electrical connections Intermittently shorting out a Combination of signals to the computer - if this causes the computer to Think it needs to prevent a stall, it doesn't care if there is even a driver in the car - the computer Takes Control of the engine.  

It hashappened to me yesterday. $7000 damage. I refuse to drive it, car only 6mnths 0ld, can you enlghten me to what did Kia do to fix it? By the way , mine is a Kia Cerato, model 2016.

This is definitely a faulty cruise control module. Please let me explain. When you use cruise control, you have a speed set. If you then turn on cruise control it will resume the previously set speed. There is a fault in the module whereby the cruise control kicks in again, trying hard to accelerate back up to the previously set speed. It's as simple as that. I am going to ask authorities in Australia to check the faulty module to see if it is a design fault. This was recommended by a vehicle engineer.

If anyone doubts what I'm suggesting, we disconnected the faulty module and the vehicle has travelled over 60,000km now without fault. My mother is too scared to use cruise control on that car again, so she doesn't want it fixed. Sadly, as an older driver, my siblings and I were blaming our mother, believing she was mistaking the pedals or pushing both at once. I want the ACCC in Australia to investigate and possibly recall the vehicle, and I will replace it for her this year.

Thank you for your help, my car a2016 Kia Cerato, only 4500 miles on speedo.I refuse to drive this car again.I simply do not trust it

I intend to go on with this is Kia do not satisy me when car is inspected on Tuesday. Does anyone else have the same inclination?

Kia did not satisfy me,simply fobbed my husband off.This is a dangerous car & I cannot trust it anymore. Does anyone know what I can do to get some satisfaction from Kia?

This is very common on the Kia Amanti, no throttle clip like on the KIA Sportage, and disconnecting the cruse control does NOT solve the problem.

Are you in Australia? We have been recommended to have the ACCC inspect the faulty part with a view to recalling the affected vehicles with that cruise control system.

Maybe we should all get rid of our Kia's, and go buy one of those cars that drive themselves!

It is NOT the Cruise Control and it is not limited to KIA cars . . . suddenacceleration.com

Yes I am in Australia & certainly interested in going to the TCCC. Please advise me on how to proceed.

I am in SA and have a Kia Sportage 2007. On Saturday my wife experienced a sudden involuntary acceleration on approaching a traffic light. Luckily there was not a vehicle in front and she managed to stop the vehicle. I googled and found your article of the similar problem, so I also disconnected the speed control unit. As my wife was too scared to use the vehicle, I took the vehicle to work. Later driving the vehicle I experienced the same involuntary acceleration. I changed to neutral and stopped the vehicle with the engine racing. I switched off the ignition and then turned it back on. The engine immediately started racing. I switched it off again and this time pumped the accelerator pedal. It then started normally. This sequence let me suspect a sticking butterfly valve. On further inspection, I found the problem. The mass air flow sensor (MAF sensor) is found between the air cleaner and the air intake unit (To give it a name I would call it he carburetor). A plastic sieve had broken off the outlet side of the MAF sensor and was sucked down the air pipe and lodged into the butterfly valve of the carburetor. This piece of sieve was too large to pass through the butterfly valve, and this caused the malfunction. I was so happy to find the problem. In my case it was not an elusive electrical problem, not the speed control unit and not the computer! As this missing sieve has no effect on the workings of the MAF sensor, I have decided to drive the vehicle as is and not replace the MAF sensor. Also this sensor is very expensive. I hope this helps.

I refused to trust the car again & sold it after Kia refused to acknowledge the problem!!! Only 4mnths old

I live in the U.S. and have a 2017 Kia Sportage. This happens at least once a week. It's usually when I'm on the freeway. It's troubling to see that Kia is STILL having this problem years later.

We have a 2017 Kia Sportage. It’s at Kia right now trying to find the problem. Looks like I may need to get a lawyer!!!! I have kids. THIS IS NOT SAFE

The reason Kia didn't respond is because all of you were stepping on the accelerator, not the break. Every time instances of this have been reported in decades prior (Saab, Toyota) the resulting investigations show that the car is not at fault. Simple way to verify this. Go to a big, empty parking lot and give yourself some straight away room. Put the car in park and hold your left foot down on the break. Accelerate with your right foot. Let me know if the car moves. It won't.

I'm sorry Jeff, but I think you are perhaps wearing blinders. Have any other makes/models of cars had the same problem? I would think that just as many elderly, female, male, younger, middle age and other persons drive, say, Ford, Chevy, Honda, Subaru and other makes/models - and I haven't heard about those cars having unintended acceleration problems. It especially seems unlikely that a person who is in the process of braking (that is, foot on the brake and slowing down) into a parking spot suddenly moves his/her foot to the gas pedal. Sorry, but I wonder if perhaps you have a hidden agenda in dismissing this issue in such a pejorative manner.

I realize that may happen if someone is using both feet while driving, i.e. one foot for the brake and one for the accelerator, not to be confused with using a standard transmission. I learned to drive using an automatic transmission and have always driven cars with automatic transmissions. I have never used both feet for operating the brake pedal and accelerator, and my foot was NOT on the accelerator at the time of my sudden unintended acceleration incident.

Anyone who thinks that this problem is driver error is a complete wanker. I am a professional driver. I had believed this problem of sudden unexplained accelleration was the faul of my aging mother. I took her car for a week and then had the problem replicate itself on me. I have found the cause of this problem to be FAULTY CRUISE CONTROL MODULE. I will explain this. A driver sets the cruise control to a speed. The drive along, hit the brake pedal and the cruise turns off. When the module is faulty, it may randomly turn cruise control on, and try to accellerate the vehicle to the last stored speed, hence rapid accelleration. I deserve a Nobel prize for this. I have experienced, diagnosed and repaired this issue now, and the problem has never reoccurred.

i have a 2018 (May) model which is getting worse by the day, i have spoken to KIA Liverpool who have advised earliest they can book it in is October which is not good enough as this is a very dangerous issue, i am again trying to get something sorted as i drive around 2,000+ miles per month with my job.

We took our car to Kia yesterday for it's 15000km service - we have less than 11,000km on a 12 month old vehicle. We have been experiencing the same issue. The car seemed to surge or accelerate as we are driving it. Definitely only using one foot for the pedals. At first I blamed my learner driver daughter however both my husband and I have also experienced it. Kia yesterday reset the computer/transmission and said this should fix it. According to Kia, apparently the computer/transmission recognises the way one driver drives the vehicle and then when the next person drives, it computer/transmission tries to make the next driver drive the vehicle the same way and so on. I'm not sure if this has fixed it yet as I'm yet to drive the car for longer than a few minutes. Hopefully they have as it's a scary prospect for all when you suddenly rev and accelerate when you weren't intending to.

Category: unintended-acceleration-kia | Safety Research & Strategies ... www.safetyresearch.net/blog/articles/category/unintended-acceleration-kia Apr 4, 2013 - McDaniels v Kia Motors America went to trial in October. Over two weeks of testimony, the Murrray legal team was able to show that Kia's “American engineers were aware of unintended acceleration or surging events not ascribed to driver error,” O'Neill says. “They surmised it could be electronic.”

Yesterday I pulled into parking space car excellerated on its own jumped the curb and I hit a tree 2017 Kia Sportage and Kia tells me they find no issues That’s bull I don’t feel safe driving this car anymore

Just managed to have a car accident whilst pulling into a parking space at very low speed in my 2016 2L automatic. Manoeuvring into a space with plenty of room either side straight on. I know it’s probably going to raise the lady driver eyebrows but the engine suddenly made a high acceleration noise and shot off into the wall in front. It was at such high revs the wall was the only thing that stopped it. Having driven autos for years I have never experienced this before and I’m 99% convinced My foot was nowhere near the accelerator peddle at the time as I had braked whilst pulling into the space. I’m mystified and wondered if this has happened to anyone else? I had no control over it. The impact was not enough to set the air bag off I assume because I was going slowly but it’s actually moved the wall 3 inches forward. I have googled sudden acceleration and this has appeared as a problem for other people on this model.

Guys if this issue happens at low speeds check your engine rpms at idle speed, if it's high than normal, there could be a intake manifold leak of some sort, injectors or ecm issues especially if this issue happens when you're decelerating close to idle speeds where the ecm suddenly ramps up the rpm to keep the engine from stalling instead of shutting down the injectors when hard breaking at higher rpms to slow the vehicle down and save fuel. Its unlikely to be anywhere else in the engine control system because modern vehicles with drive-by-wire have at least two accelerator pedal position sensors and two throttle position sensors that tell the ecm what to do and its unlikely that they would all go bad at once. It could also be combined with a transmission or tcm issues which keeps the torque converter clutch locked - when it's supposed to disengage it as you approach idle speeds- sending the engine torque directly to the wheels when it shouldn't. This is just an educated guess on where to start from if you haven't found the issue / issues already.. if this issue happens at higher speeds it could be a cruise control issue .. I hope this helps.. be safe please ..

Thanks for the information Omar_Alkhatib . Kia have run diagnostics apparently and said nothing found but I will follow this up. Not even sat in the car since and certainly won’t drive it.

I have just had a serious car accident after my 2015 Kia Sportage 2 suddenly accelerated without any cause and would not stop going faster until we crossed a roundabout hit a lamppost and rolled at least twice over. We are lucky to be alive. The key is when the car came to rest back on its wheels out of gear the engine was screaming at maximum revs, until the ignition was turned off. Any ideas what caused it.

GURUK4S8N, please think logically about this. Consider the operation of a vehicle and what might cause a vehicle to accelerate on its own. Vehicles are equipped with cruise control. When cruise control is set, your vehicle will increase acceleration in order to maintain a desired speed. If the cruise control module is faulty, whether or not you have cruise control set to ON this module could cause your engine revs to surge high. I know this was the case in our Sudden Unexplained Acceleration matter. An overseas trained auto electrician in Sydney told me that he was so familiar with this situation and he said that dealerships would absolutely be aware of this also, but would fear mass recalls. Our auto electrician disconnected cruise control on our Kia and the problem never reoccurred.

Yes I agree with your reply however the key to my cars behaviour of failure is in the fact that when the car finished rolling and stopped on on its wheels out of gear the engine was screaming at max revs until I turned it off. That fact must lead a car forensics engineer to the source of the problem. However Kia has just told me they can not find any fault with the car (suprize suprlze)

my 2017 sportage is in the service section of Bolton Kia because of the same issue - accelerating on its own with no explanation. This is my 3rd sportage and I have never experienced this with the other 2! Hope they sort it as i don't want to change as i love the sportage....but i do not feel safe

My Answer is Kia engineers state nothing wrong with car, however as I was driving and have total recall I can tell you that the car increased speed exponentially without reason and what not slow down or stop. The real key to the cars failure is engine at maximum revs after the car stopped rolling and was stationary out of gear . This was also witnessed by a car driver who was following me and commented on in his statement to the police and is now a matter of record in law.

I had 2 incidents with my kia 2017 sportage the first time 4 month prior @a traffic light the care suddley accelerated and hit the car in front of me fortunely it tured out to be a fender bender the 2nd time happen 3/8/2020 backing out of my drive way and the car suddenly accelerated and didn't stop until i hit the fire hydrent across from my drive way caused a fair amount of damage

So sorry to hear about that good no one hurt if only Kia would admit to the fault and offer some reasons why it happens.

I'm planning on taking it to the dealer 2morrow and see what they tell me hope i can get some answers from what I've read so far it's not going to be what i want 2 hear

Honestly you guys have not listened to the real cause of this issue. I have had a mechanical engineer also confirm the likely cause of SUA. All of these SUAs involve acceleration. There are limited ways in a vehicle for acceleration in this way to occur and they involve an increase of engine revs. This problem is linked to a faulty cruise control module in Kia vehicles. I finally found an auto electrician who informed me that he had seen this exact issue many times in Kia and Hyundai vehicles. Upon disconnecting cruise control the problem never returned. We did replace that module two years later and the problem has never returned. Some morons have blamed the SUA on driver error. I am a licenced road train driver and have clocked up millions, YES millions of accident free driving, in many vehicles. It has only ever occurred in the one Kia vehicle for me. It was suggested that I notify authorities such as ACCC and force a recall on the affected cars. Kia ended up paying for the cruise control module out of warranty, which says it all really. Kia knows they are at fault.

What is the ACCC

Oct. 3rd.2020 - My 2017 Kia Sportage - We were in a PARKING STALL - “STOPPED” - as one is in a parking stall. My husband reached to place in “Park”.. All of a sudden we heard our engine loudly accelerated - in a matter of a second - the car slammed into a concrete wall in front of us - Glad to report-No one walking on the sidewalk & the restaurant has video for our insurance company- We reported this to Kia - They informed us - “THEY HAVEN'T RECEIVED ANY COMPLAINTS OF THEIR SPORTAGE’S SUDDENLY SELF ACCELERATING”.. We are reporting this to our Insurance company.

Today is Oct. 5th..2020 - my Sister just bought a Sportage on Sunday - I informed her of our situation - SHE TOLD ME, HER NEIGHBOR HAS a 2017 SPORTAGE - the same “ACCELERATION” issue happened to them a few months ago - with all of the above comments - It is CLEARLY OBVIOUS KIA SPORTAGES HAVE AN ISSUE. My sister is informing her neighbor-KIA NEEDS TO BE HEALD Responsible

There is a proposed class action suit going on w/Kia & Hyundai. Goto wwe.kiaenginesettlement.com Or call 1.855.951.0807 for more details.

Kia Sportage 2019: On November 28, 2020, I was backing out of my driveway and hit a car going by my driveway that I didn't see. After hitting the car, I put my foot on the brake to stop, but my Kia Sportage suddenly accelerated backwards, and despite my pumping the brakes to stop the acceleration - to no avail - my car finally stopped when I hit a second car behind me. Due to the back end damage to my Kia from hitting the second car, my car ended up being totaled even though it was only 2 years old. I absolutely was NOT pushing the accelerator, only the brake, but nothing stopped the propulsion of my car backwards until hitting the second car. I have called the number above about the class action suit, but it only involves engine fires which I did not have since the back end of my car was hit. I don't know what to do with this information other than report it to Kia, but I do find it interesting that other Kias have had a similar problem as reported on this website. Are there any suggestions as to what to do from here?

I am living in Armenia. I have had the same while I was in the parking, so means I was deciding where to place my car and I turned slowly the go to the parking place when suddenly the csr kia sportage 2011 out of control, not possible to stop the car, finally crashed between two borders in the air and hurting mýself. I managed to get out of car, and then understand and reproduce the situation. The car gets out of control and it may be very dangerous. I should address to Kia officially. Be carefull guys...

I Have Been Having The Same Issue With My 2007 Kia Sportage When I'm Driving The Car Takes Over The Gas Pedal But Thankfully Let's Go Right Away I Had The Car in The Shop 1st Was Told It Was The Transmission Output Speed Sensor Then Was Told It Was The ABS Wheel Speed Sensor None Of That Helped Thankful I Ran Across This Site So I Need To Have Someone Disconnect The Cruise Control Mogul ... Thanks

Our 2017 Sportage will accelerate to about 5000 rpm even with no in the car. This happened about 6 times. I looked at the tack and it read only 1000 rpm. The oil pan was leaking oil so badly that it was 4 liters low half way between changes. When I removed the oil pan I descoved the crack was along a sharp bend made when it was manufactured. The oil bung was placed about 1 inch above the bottom of the pan, meaning every time the oil was changed a liter of old oil was always left in the pan - very poorly engineered. I cut out the cracked area, welded in a plate and installed a bung at the very bottom so the oil can be totally drain. I filled it with new oil, drove it about 20 miles and drained it out. It was completely black. Those idiot at Kia and Hyundai don't a clue what they are doing. We took the car back to dealer shortly after new because there was no heat. They say there was nothing wrong, just have let car warm up before driving it. I asked what the coolant temperature was. They say they don't know! I have driven they car about 60 miles before it start to blow some heat. I had to cover the front and bottom of the car completely before I could get some heat. Even in the summer, it takes about 5 miles to get up to operating temperature. What a peace of shit. The headlight will only illuminate about 30 feet in front. Instead of using dual filament bulbs they use single filament bulbs and use a flap that covers all light getting past the top half I had to cut an opening in the headlight assembly and shim the solenoid pulling the flap to limit how much the flap moves when in low beam. Another engineering disaster. It has to have the roughest ride I have ever had. It also has bad blind spots. Yesterday the engine ceased up. For a new car only 4 years old, it sure is a lemon.

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I have had sudden acceleration problems four times. My car is a 2017 Kia Sportage with 18,000 miles. I researched on the internet after a mechanic at the body shop said his wife had a similar problem with her Kia. The first was a case where I was in line at a drive up window. I put it in reverse to maneuver closer to the window. It screamed to full power and jumped a curb and ran into another car. I paid my deductible and got my bumper repaired. The second case was when I was in line at a fast food restaurant was stopped and began to ease forward. The engine revved and charged forward at full power out of line and across a street and into a vacant lot. When I restarted the engine it ran normally. The third case was when I was stopped in a turn lane. The engine revved to full power. I was able to put the car in neutral and shut off the engine. Fortunately a fire truck was in the next lane and he shut down the intersection with his red lights, The car again ran normally and I made my turn. The fourth time, I had just parked at my dermatologist but before I turned off my engine, the car went forward at full power. I was finally stopped by a bollard. The bollard held but my car was totaled. I am 79 and my daughter thinks it is a case an old man loosing control of his car. My driving record is clean and I just renewed my driving license. However, i am thankful this thanksgiving that no one was killed. The descriptions in the other articles suggest to me that there is an intermittent problem with the cruse control or some other electronic control. How hard would it be to run a reliability test by electronic signals rather than driving around waiting for the problem to occur. In any case this occurrence is as scary as hell. A road test is not the solution and Kia should seriously address the problem.

Our 2008 Kia sportage did the same thing that Guru9H3CCN described. After our March 2012 incident and a service checkup at the Kia dealership it ran without any further unintended acceleration episodes until 11-10-2021. I was also in line, waiting to turn out of a parking lot, so moving a little while braking a little. I could feel the engine revving and the rpms shot up so I immediately put it in park and shut it off. The engine stopped, I was able to restart it normally and drive normally. Again, fortunately no damage to any other vehicles, persons or property. I wouldn't have known to stop it that way without the exact same previous experience. Trying to stop it by braking when the engine is accelerating in this manner DOESN'T WORK. I doubt that Kia will ever address this issue.

had a KIA sudden acceleration into a group of school kids in a public courtyard. short distance, maximum impact, 3 kids in hospital, it destroyed a bench and a massive boardwalk, driver walked away.

This is typically what The KIA Sorento apparently does. Accelerates and tries to kill you. 15:00-30+ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldIm9tifCvM

That is exactly what has happened to me..I was looking a parking spot and suddenly acceleration when I tried o turn and place my car. I didn't realized because it was done in a second and crush between two borders the car in the air...as a described above..since then we repaired the car and no case happened during two years..but I am always careful with this car...it was like ya "The car trying to kill you" - That is the feeling that I have had at the moment...someone just accelerated instead of me...that should be system problem..

My vehicle, the Kia Carens D1.5 6MT 2023 model, experiences sudden, unintended acceleration without pressure on the accelerator pedal. This problem occurs frequently within a single drive, posing a severe safety risk to me as the driver, my passengers, and fellow road users. I have taken the car to the dealer for investigation, but they could not find the root cause. Could you let me know the root cause?