2009 Kia Sedona problems & reliability
47 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2009 Kia Sedona, alongside 5 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
3 complaints report injuries (5 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2009 Kia Sedona vehicles were involved in 7 fatal crashes with 3 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical System | 8 | 17% |
| Service Brakes | 8 | 17% |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 7 | 15% |
| Exterior Lighting | 7 | 15% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 7 | 15% |
| Unknown OR Other | 6 | 13% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 5 | 11% |
| Suspension | 4 | 9% |
| Air Bags | 3 | 6% |
| Engine | 3 | 6% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 46,000 miles (middle 50% between 23,800 and 96,000 miles), based on 33 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“The door locks on passenger sliding doors,do not keep doors shut,they remain open on both sides and have to use a screw driver to rotate the mechanism.”
Unknown OR Other · filed Jul 18, 2022
“An L shape plastic part broke off under the brake pedal that is causing the brake lights to remain on, intermittently, when I am not using them. It has drained my battery causing me to be late to work.”
Exterior Lighting · filed May 26, 2021
“Tl* the contact owns a 2009 kia sedona. The contact stated that while driving and coming to a stop, he heard an abnormal sound coming from the front of the vehicle. The contact exited the vehicle and inspected under the hood of the vehicle but found no issue with the vehicle. The contact then drove to a nearby parking…”
Suspension · filed Nov 4, 2020
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Technical service bulletins
41 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2009 Kia Sedona. The 10 most recent:
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: INFORMATION FOR HEADLAMP CONDENSATION AND MOISTURE - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in…
TSB_BOD055_R1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 13, 2021
Tsb_bod051_closed: technical service bulletin closed
TSB_BOD051_CLSD · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 7, 2021
These SKUs are Exhaust Manifolds with Catalytic Converters. The customer communication requested return of unsold inventory due to a loss of CARB certification. These SKUs can no longer be sold as they do not meet CARB…
DOR-M9J4S-07 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 3, 2020
These SKUs are Exhaust Manifolds with Catalytic Converters. The customer communication requested return of unsold inventory due to a loss of CARB certification. These SKUs can no longer be sold as they do not meet CARB…
DOR-M3J3F-07 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 3, 2020
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: - TRANSMISSION FLUID APPLICATION GUIDE - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. This bulletin provides information relating to the correct transmission fluid type…
TSB_TRA046_R1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 24, 2020
PITSTOP - ENGINE COMPONENT RE-USE GUIDELINES - In general, parts and components removed during engine repairs should be considered serviceable, and should be thoroughly cleaned and transferred to the new engine.
PS539 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 2, 2018
TSB: FRONT DOOR GLASS RUN CHANNEL REPLACEMENT - This bulletin provides information on some Sedona (VQ) vehicles, produced from June 15, 2005 through May 06, 2013, which may experience wind noise coming from the front…
TSBBOD107R1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 14, 2017
TSB: MANDATORY REPLACEMENT OF LOCKING/SECURITY HARDWARE - By design, certain fasteners, which are designed to lock into place once fully attached, are utilized in various Kia models and are strictly intended for ?one…
TSB-GEN085R1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 18, 2017
TSB: MANDATORY REPLACEMENT OF LOCKING/SECURITY HARDWARE - By design, certain fasteners utilized in various Kia models are strictly intended for ?one time use?. Though not limited to the following, some examples are…
TSB-GEN085 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 4, 2016
TSB: VOLUNTARY EMISSIONS SERVICE CAMPAIGN: EVAPORATIVE CANISTER INSPECTION AND/OR REPLACEMENT (SC135) - This bulletin provides information to inspect and/or replace the evaporative canister assembly on some Optima (TF)…
TSB-SC135R1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 14, 2016
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2009 Kia Sedona has 5 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2009 Kia Sedona?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 46,000 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.