2016 Kia Sedona problems & reliability
295 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2016 Kia Sedona, alongside 4 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Sep 23, 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 components.
9 complaints report injuries (10 injured, 2 deaths reported).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2016 Kia Sedona vehicles were involved in 20 fatal crashes with 7 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Engine → | 146 | 49% |
| Electrical System → | 46 | 16% |
| Exterior Lighting → | 37 | 13% |
| Unknown / Other | 32 | 11% |
| Structure → | 25 | 8% |
| Air Bags → | 19 | 6% |
| Power Train → | 13 | 4% |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 9 | 3% |
| Seat Belts | 8 | 3% |
| Service Brakes | 7 | 2% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
All 25 reported components →Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Among the 96 complaints that included a usable odometer reading, the median reported incident mileage was 71,000 miles (middle 50% between 40,000 and 100,000 miles).
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“Both Sliding door on left and right side wouldn’t close and stayed open for a short period of time. Now the door can’t be opened because it doesn’t latch.”
Electrical System · filed Sep 8, 2026
“I purchased the minivan as a used car last year and I noticed that the airbag light turned on when a passenger would sit on the front passenger seat. I tried to get a diagnosis ever since but many shops that I brought my minivan to didn’t work with airbags. So I eventually brought my minivan to a Kia dealership…”
Air Bags · filed Sep 3, 2026
“The vehicle radiator exploded while driving on the freeway. Towed to mechanic radiator replaced and housing. Problem persosted. With a simple pressure test the coolant in the reservoir began to boil immediately meaning there's a cracked engine block.”
Engine · filed Aug 20, 2026
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- 3.3L Engine Loss of Motive Power (LOMP)
Defect Petition DP24002 · opened Feb 27, 2024 · closed Mar 5, 2024
Technical service bulletins
112 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2016 Kia Sedona. The 10 most recent:
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: THEFT DETERRENT IGNITION CYLINDER PROTECTOR AND DECAL INSTALLATION (CS2312) - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of…
CS2312_TSB_R2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 8, 2026
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: WARRANTY EXTENSION CAMPAIGN: OIL PRESSURE SWITCH (OPS) REPLACEMENT (WTY026 REVISION 2) - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this…
WTY026_TSB_R2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 18, 2026
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: THEFT DETERRENT IGNITION CYLINDER PROTECTOR AND DECAL INSTALLATION (CS2312) - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of…
TSB_CS2312_R1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 19, 2026
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: THEFT DETERRENT IGNITION CYLINDER PROTECTOR AND DECAL INSTALLATION (CS2312) - This bulletin provides information to install a Theft Deterrent Ignition Cylinder…
TSB_CS2312 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 18, 2025
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: ENGINE SUB ASSEMBLY INSPECTION/REPLACEMENT (WTY039 - REVISION 7) - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a…
WTY039_TSB_R7 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 18, 2025
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION CAMPAIGN: OWNER NOTIFICATION (CS2312) - This document is the owner notification advising that Kia is conducting Customer Satisfaction Campaign. A software upgrade that addresses the social media…
CS2312_OWNR · Other · issued Dec 17, 2025
PITSTOP: TECHNICAL OPERATIONS: EXTERNAL DAMAGE TO ULTRASONIC SENSOR: This Pitstop provides information related to Parking Distance Warning (PDW) alerts and repairs involving ultrasonic sensors. The PDW system alerts the…
PS797 · Other · issued Dec 9, 2025
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: ENGINE SUB ASSEMBLY INSPECTION/REPLACEMENT (WTY039 REVISION 6) - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a…
WTY039_TSB_R6 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 1, 2025
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: WARRANTY EXTENSION CAMPAIGN (WTY039) - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area…
WTY039_TSB_R5 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 4, 2025
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: ENGINE SUB ASSEMBLY: INSPECTION/REPLACEMENT (WTY039) - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in…
WTY039_TSB_R4 · Warranty Program/Extension · issued Oct 8, 2025
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 2016 Kia Sedona has 4 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 2016 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.
- · Among complaints with usable mileage, the median reported incident mileage was 71,000 miles. This does not predict when a particular vehicle will develop a problem.