1997 Kia Sportage Problems

What owners report

Owners of the 1997 Kia Sportage report a fairly wide spread of problems, with unexpected airbag deployment, stalling, and fuel tank leaks appearing most often in the sampled complaints. Many reports come from vehicles over 50,000 miles and as late as 2018, and several owners describe dealers being unable to reproduce the symptom or declining repair because the vehicle was out of warranty.

1. 1
   Air bags

   Airbag deploys without a crash

   • 39 complaints (22%)
   • median 100,500 mi at 8.3 yrs old (12 state mileage)
   • 25 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 1997–2019

   Owners describe the driver's airbag firing with no impact while parked, backing up, or slowing for a stoplight, sometimes striking the driver in the face or hip. Others report the airbag light staying on, or the bags failing to deploy in a collision; a few say the manufacturer or dealer declined to inspect the vehicle because of its age. One related report notes the clock spring was replaced. Reports cluster from roughly 50,000 to 175,000 miles, with several occurring at low speed or while stationary.

   What to check: Ask whether the airbag warning lamp has ever come on and whether any airbag or clock spring work was done; a scan for stored airbag fault codes is worth having done before purchase.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Engine check light is on, the car is stalling, the air bag lights are on. I am afraid that they will deploy at any given time. Almost killed myself and my daughter on the queenboro bridge, I was going 40 and all of a sudden the car accelerated on it's own, I applied the brakes, but they had turned hard, I had no brakes, put emergency brakes, but nothing, when it was nearing an accident because I had to stop I threw the car in neutral which slowed it down enough for me to safely put it in park in the middle of a bridge. …”

   NHTSA complaint #702537, filed 1999-01

   “When driving northbound on highway 682, up a steep hill and curve a car ran head on into my 1997 Kia Sportage. The car had damage in the front center, front left, and left side of the vehicle. The driver of the car that hit me stated that her car was sliding and she could not control it. 911 was called and the police and ambulance came to the seen of the accident. Both of us went to the hospital and she was given the ticket and found at fault for the accident at the point of impact, the drivers side airbags did not deploy. …”

   NHTSA complaint #711317, filed 2000-04
2. 2
   Engine cooling

   Stalling or cutting out while driving

   • 30 complaints (17%)
   • median 119,000 mi at 6.8 yrs old (1 states mileage, few)
   • 1 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 1997–2014

   Complaints describe the engine quitting without warning at highway speeds, at idle, or in traffic, with dashboard lights coming on and sometimes several minutes before it will restart. Several owners link this to recall 99V325000 for engine wiring and say the repair was not performed or did not resolve the stalling; others report surging and jerking alongside the check engine light. Dealers often said they could not duplicate the problem. Often described at speeds between 15 and 55 mph, and in several reports between about 60,000 and 120,000 miles.

   Recall 99V325000

   What to check: Check whether recall 99V325000 (engine wiring and connectors) was completed, and drive the car at highway speed during a test drive to see whether it stumbles or cuts out.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “While driving down highway when approximately at 55mph engine will stall. Slow down and stop without warning. Most of the time I can turn engine off restart run it thru all of the gears and it will be fine for awhile unless on bumpy road or stop warning bumps in the road. I can not fill gas tank up due to it leaking out under vehicle refrase that pour out. It will also vibrate really bad after being drove for over 2 hours straight. Please help me to resolve these problems before it causes a injury or death.”

   NHTSA complaint #10586244, filed 2014-05

   “Car continually stalls, check engine light continually comes off and on, when continually stalls at idle speed and highway speeds, engine experiences trouble continuously when it surges and jerks. It has been a real hazard to my health and almost put me in accidents many times while stalling in the middle of the street and intersections. Almost killed myself and my family several different times with this piece of garbage vehicle.it has had so many things wrong with it since the day I bought it that it is almost impossible to list all of them. …”

   NHTSA complaint #715354, filed 1999-11
3. 3
   Fuel system

   Fuel smell and leaks from the tank

   Mentioned in 6 of 60 sampled complaints

   Owners report a gasoline smell and drips from the mid-right underside or beneath the tank, sometimes only on startup and sometimes severe enough that the tank cannot be filled. The tank shield is described as trapping sand and debris, and one owner says repeated patching did not stop the leak. Dealers in some reports said no leak could be found or that the vehicle did not qualify for a repair program. Mostly reported above 100,000 miles, though some leaks were noted on lower-mileage vehicles.

   What to check: Inspect the fuel tank and its shield for rust, trapped debris and damp spots, and ask whether the tank has ever been replaced or patched.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “A few years back I started smelling gas. So my father in law and uncle took a look at it and it yep you got a gas leak. So they tried to patch it several times and nothing has seemed to work. So back in february I received a letter from Kia stating a repair benefit notification about my gas tank leaking. So a few weeks ago I called a Kia dealer and made an appointment for them to look at my tank. After a hour drive and a forty minute wait they tell me that my Kia does not meet the requirements for Kia to fix my tank. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10224254, filed 2008-04, 110,000 miles

   “The design of the protective shield for the fuel tank allowed sand and pebbles to accumulate to the extent that I started noticing fuel vapors. The vehicle is housed in a garage, so I raised a window to help dissipate the vapors. In a few days, fuel was dripping from the leaks in the tank. I applied a putty product in june, 2006, which helped for several months. Then it started again. I re-applied putty in august, 2007. Then again in july, 2008, with two different (permanent?) products that have not worked, yet. The tank still leaks.”

   NHTSA complaint #10236584, filed 2008-07, 111,186 miles
4. 4
   Other or unknown

   Doors and hatch that bind or unlatch

   • 5 complaints (3%)
   • median 52,025 mi at 7.6 yrs old (2 state mileage, few)
   • filed 1999–2005

   Owners report doors that will not open from outside, doors that fail to latch, and a door that came open while driving; one dealer attributed this to a rusted-out latch. Others describe the power locks unlocking on their own while driving and doors that will not lock when parked, and a recall addresses the hatch lock microswitch allowing inadvertent unlocking. Reported mostly between 50,000 and 55,000 miles in the sampled complaints.

   Recall 97V234000

   What to check: Open and close every door and the hatch several times, check that each latches firmly, and ask whether the hatch lock recall 97V234000 was completed.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Kia Sportage 4 door. Rear driver side passenger door would not open from outside. Door opened from inside. Door was then shut and did not latch, upon second closing door latched. Drove around two miles and went around curve at about 10 MPH door latch released and door flew open. 16 month old child was in car seat beside the door. Door had to be strapped to other door to keep shut. Car taken to dealer who said latch was rusted out. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10033443, filed 2003-08, 52,550 miles

   “While driving 55 MPH hood latch snapped and the hood flew open. Consumer pulled over the latch the hood down. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. Broken windshield repaired, but damaged hood not repaired to date.”

   NHTSA complaint #10113415, filed 2005-05, 51,500 miles

Buying note. These are older vehicles, so condition and service history matter more than the model itself: confirm the engine wiring and hatch lock recalls were performed, and check for fuel leaks around the tank and a working airbag system. Have any candidate inspected for overheating and stalling symptoms before purchase.

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.