2012 Kia Sedona Problems

What owners report

Owners of the 2012 Kia Sedona most often describe problems with the power sliding doors, which can fail to latch or open on their own while driving, and with engine oil leaks and oil pressure warnings. Complaints also cover the air bag warning light, fuel smells traced to a cracked fuel rail (the subject of a recall), and occasional stalling or unexpected acceleration. Many of these reports come in between roughly 35,000 and 90,000 miles, though door and fuel-rail reports continue well past that.

1. 1
   Body and structure

   Power sliding doors open on their own or won't latch

   • 27 complaints (25%)
   • median 76,500 mi at 7.1 yrs old (20 state mileage)
   • 1 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2011–2025

   Owners describe the power sliding doors either refusing to open or close, needing force to move manually, or unlatching and sliding open while the van is being driven. Several note the overhead light or door-open warning staying on even when the door looks shut, and some say resetting a fuse works only intermittently. Complaints describe dealers diagnosing latches, actuators or wiring and sometimes replacing the latch, while other reports say the problem returned after repair. Reported from about 35,000 to 154,000 miles, with many mentions in the 60,000-80,000 mile range.

   What to check: Open and close both sliding doors several times, including with the remote and dash button, and check that each door latches flush and the open-door warning goes out. Ask whether the door actuators or latches have been replaced.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Rear driver side sliding door will not always close completely and sometimes opens while driving. My three year old granddaughter sits in that seat and I'm worried that the door is actually going to come open while we're driving the car. I've read of previous years for this same vehicle having this problem. I've paid to have it repaired once, but I feel that Kia should take care of this known issue. Also, there is an issue with the front end of the vehicle. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11057764, filed 2017-12, 80,000 miles

   “The door actuator went out. The door worked fine when we went to the store. On the drive home the sliding door flew open. The door latch is stuck in the locked position and will not unlock. I have my doors bungee corded together.”

   NHTSA complaint #11266010, filed 2019-10, 143,526 miles
2. 2
   Engine

   Engine oil leaks and oil pressure warnings

   • 16 complaints (15%)
   • median 90,000 mi at 5.9 yrs old (14 state mileage)
   • 3 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2013–2024

   Owners report oil spots under the front of the van, a low oil pressure light, and in some cases oil smoke or fumes entering the cabin from leaks at the oil pan gasket, rear main seal or oil pressure switch. Some complaints describe dealers recommending engine replacement after oil-related damage, and one owner reports excessive sludge and white smoke with the dealer citing maintenance. Other reports involve the engine shutting off or stalling with warning lights. Reported from about 40,000 to 150,000 miles, with several mentions around 68,000-90,000 miles.

   1 related service bulletin

   What to check: Check the oil level and look for fresh drips or residue under the front of the engine, and ask for oil change records. Have the van checked if the oil pressure light has come on.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Twice, the vehicle has stalled and come to a complete, unexpected stop with no warning: in october 2019 and january 2020. In both cases, the vehicle was traveling at a speed of approx. 30-40 MPH. The check engine light did not illuminate, nor did any other light. We pulled over to the side of the road and restarted the vehicle. Very dangerous, but fortunately we were able to pull over safely,”

   NHTSA complaint #11302504, filed 2020-01, 120,000 miles

   “While turning onto another street the van stalled. I put on my flashers and stopped, put the van in park and started it again. It started right up and the check engine light was on. It didn't have any power when I hit the gas, so I turned it off and started it again and it ran normal, except for the check engine light being on. On the way home it almost stalled again. This happened on a saturday. We called the dealer right away and they said to bring it in on monday. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10505825, filed 2013-04, 5,534 miles
3. 3
   Engine

   Hesitation, stalling and unintended acceleration

   • 15 complaints (14%)
   • median 23,550 mi at 2.1 yrs old (12 state mileage)
   • 2 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2011–2025

   Complaints describe delayed or no response from the accelerator followed by a sudden surge, or the engine revving on its own while the driver is braking. Other owners report the van stalling at speed with no warning light, then restarting normally. Complaints say dealers could not duplicate the problem or traced it to the throttle, and in several cases the vehicle was not repaired. Reported across a very wide mileage range, from a few hundred miles to over 200,000 miles.

   1 related service bulletin

   What to check: Test-drive at low speed and from a stop, watching for delayed throttle response or sudden surges, and ask whether any throttle body or pedal work has been done.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Let me begin by prefacing that this is our 2nd Sedona, and we purchased both brand new. We have had this vehicle for 4 months, and it only has appx. 6000 miles on the odometer. I was driving down a residential side street I approached the a stop sign, I began depressing the brakes to slow down, and there was a car at the stop sign in front of me, waiting to turn left. As I continued to slow down with my foot still on the brake, the van's engine, out of nowhere, began to rev continuously at full throttle. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10439344, filed 2011-12, 6,150 miles

   “First the check engine light would come on and the van would jerk then I had no control over the gas 6/19/2014 I had to pull over turn the van off wait about five mins then turn it back on a go till it happened again took it to the dealership got it fixed then two days later 6/21/2014 same problem occurred and this time the gas would go down on its own so I took it back on thursday 6/26/2014 they looked at it came out told me it was a throttle issue and he wasn't going to let me drive it they put me in a rental and I got my van back on …”

   NHTSA complaint #10607938, filed 2014-07, 40,605 miles
4. 4
   Fuel system

   Gas smell from cracked fuel rail

   • 7 complaints (6%)
   • median 82,315 mi at 8.6 yrs old (6 state mileage, few)
   • filed 2019–2026

   Complaints describe a strong gasoline smell, sometimes with hesitation or a quickly dropping fuel gauge, traced by dealers to a crack in the fuel rail leaking onto the engine. Owners report paying out of pocket in some cases and, in one case, the dealer confirming the leak and telling the owner to stop driving the van until a remedy was available. Recall 20V101000 covers a fuel rail that may crack from engine-compartment heat and leak fuel. Mostly reported between about 35,000 and 120,000 miles, often noticed while driving or right after refueling.

   Recall 20V101000

   What to check: Ask whether recall 20V101000 was completed on this van, and check for a fuel smell around the engine after a cold start and after refueling.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “On 4/25 we noticed a smell of gasoline when driving the vehicle. We had the issue corrceted on 4/27/2020 at a out of pocket cost of $1090 2nd time submitting claim. Have not received any info on original claim from may 2020”

   NHTSA complaint #11341465, filed 2020-07, 120,000 miles

   “We discovered a fuel leakage after getting gas, but did not discover this leak until after driving home from the gas station. There was a strong smell of gasoline and we noticed that the fuel gauge went down rather quickly. After getting home from the gas station, we noticed the smell of gas was still very strong and that was when we noticed the leak, on our driveway. In the time that we were driving, we had been leaking gasoline the whole time, and could have lost our lives on our way home. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11246469, filed 2019-08, 4 miles
5. 5
   Air bags

   Air bag warning light on

   • 9 complaints (8%)
   • median 65,000 mi at 3.6 yrs old (7 state mileage, few)
   • 3 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2012–2020

   Owners describe the air bag warning light coming on and staying lit, with dealers pointing to a seat weight sensor, the front air bag assembly or an electrical box as the cause. One owner reports being quoted a substantial repair cost for the seat sensor, and others say the light has been on for a long time without the dealer resolving it. Recall 18V363000 concerns the air bag control unit possibly shorting in a crash. Reported from roughly 8,600 to 87,000 miles, sometimes within the first year of ownership.

   Recall 18V363000

   What to check: Turn the ignition on and confirm the air bag light goes out after the self-check, and ask whether recall 18V363000 has been performed.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “This vehicle has 65,000 miles on it and yesterday I did the third break job this van has had. No vehicle should go through breaks as fast as this one does. On top of that, my airbag light has been on since 20,000 miles and all Kia dealers I have brought this van to refuses to look into it. Now that I am no longer under warranty with Kia I plan on bringing it to another shop.”

   NHTSA complaint #10864308, filed 2016-05, 65,000 miles

   “The air bag indicator light is on, and I'm told by Kia that the weight sensor for one seat is not functioning, which means air bags will not deploy. This is a substantial cost to fix of approximately $1,600.00, however, this light has been on for some time and I feel that it is likely a defect in the sensor, electrical components, or air bag that may be impacting other Kia owners.”

   NHTSA complaint #10716134, filed 2015-05, 71,000 miles

Buying note. These are older vans, so condition and service history matter more than the model year's reputation. Before buying, confirm the fuel rail and air bag recalls were completed, operate both sliding doors repeatedly, and check the engine for oil leaks and a lit air bag or oil pressure warning.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 60 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.