AutoUtility currently tracks 48 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2018 Kia Sedona. Engine & Cooling issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 19 complaints (39.6% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 1 filing cites a crash, 4 cite a fire, 1 reports one or more injuries.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 48 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Engine & Cooling (19 reports • 39.6% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Electrical System (11), Air Bags & Restraints (7)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 1 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 4 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 1 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2018 Kia Sedona
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Engine & Cooling
Electrical System
NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #19V109000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING
Air Bags & Restraints
NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #22V031000 AIR BAGS
Body & Structure
NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #18V338000 STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR
Wheels & Tires
Symptoms Mentioned in NHTSA Owner Reports for 2018 Kia Sedona
Specific mechanical, electrical, and driver-assist defect symptoms identified via deterministic narrative analysis
AutoUtility uses deterministic phrase matching to identify recurring symptom descriptions within consumer-submitted NHTSA complaint narratives.
Loss of Motive Power While Driving
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2018 Kia Sedona
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"2018 Kia Sedona lx stalled while my wife was driving on the highway. No warning lights were on until the vehicle lost all power. Luckily my wife was able to pull the car safely to the side. The vehicle only has 36960 miles. Brought vehicle to the dealer and they said engine was seized. That Kia..."
"The contact owns a 2018 Kia Sedona. The contact stated that the air bag and the check engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle failed to start and was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with alternator failure; however, the battery was replaced. Additionally, the contact stated..."
"The contact owns a 2018 Kia Sedona. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the message "Check Auto Emergency System" was displayed and the brake warning light illuminated. Additionally, an unknown fluid was leaking near the front passenger’s side wheel. The vehicle was taken..."
"The vehicle is a 2018 Kia Sedona with approximately 122,000 miles that experienced a catastrophic engine failure resulting in complete engine seizure. The failure has been identified by an independent mechanic as a rod bearing issue. The engine remains intact and is available for inspection upon..."
"My [XXX] son pulled the seatbelt so tight it got wrapped around his neck. When I pulled over to unbuckle it, it was stuck. I turned the car off and on again to try and loosen it, but it didn't work. In the emergency, I had to cut the seatbelt with scissors. It's the passenger seatbelt in the second..."
Complaint History for Kia Sedona
Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2021)
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Crash Reports | Safety Recalls | Detailed Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 Kia Sedona | 138 | 2 | 3 | View 2015 Problems → |
| 2016 Kia Sedona | 292 | 10 | 4 | View 2016 Problems → |
| 2017 Kia Sedona | 133 | 2 | 4 | View 2017 Problems → |
| 2018 Kia Sedona Current Page | 48 | 1 | 3 | Current |
| 2019 Kia Sedona | 36 | 2 | 2 | View 2019 Problems → |
| 2020 Kia Sedona | 20 | 0 | 1 | View 2020 Problems → |
| 2021 Kia Sedona | 9 | 2 | 0 | View 2021 Problems → |
Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2018 Kia Sedona
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 23 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Reported Injury Entries | Reported Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AIR BAGS,SEATS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,SEATS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doors, Latches & Locks NHTSA category: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering NHTSA category: STEERING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Tires NHTSA category: TIRES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.