2023 KIA SPORTAGE HYBRID Vehicle Speed Control Problems

Vehicle flashed with a "check hybrid system. Stop safely" warning and then forced me to slow until my vehicle stopped - I could no longer press the gas pedal. I was on a highway and luckily was able to pull over safely before the vehicle came to a complete stop, but that was not guaranteed. I ended up being towed to a Kia Dealership where they informed me this was an issue under recall, but that recall is not listed on your system nor was I ever informed of the recall by the manufacturer.

February 2024 (27,813 mi): Vehicle lost acceleration while driving, would not transition from EV to engine mode, entered limp mode. Dealer replaced high-pressure fuel pump under warranty after consulting Kia Tech Line (case #[XXX]). September 2025 (58,000 mi): Vehicle will not start without manually resetting 12v battery module integrated in hybrid battery system. Pattern suggests hybrid control system defects, not resolved by previous repair. Car has now been with dealer for 4+ days figuring out this issue. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

After driving for roughly 7 hours upon activating my cruise control, after using the entire drive with no issues, it went up to 110 mph as soon as I hit the button and would not allow me to adjust the speed down. It would turn off upon pressing pause, cruise control, or brakes but would rise to 110 mph everytime. I searched for recalls for this and could find none. But I did find posts of other people with the same issue. The only thing I could find was an emissions campaign that seems like it may be related. This appears to me to be much more of a safety issue especially if the driver is not paying attention. Or for example let's say you're driving behind someone and turn cruise control on you could very easily rearend someone at a high rate of speed. I will be trying to get my car into the dealership to try and resolve the issue, but my main point for filing a report is to see if this rises to the level of a safety recall versus a tsb or emissions campaign. My vehicle is available for inspection if needed. No warning lights came on or anything of the sort. I do have a video of this but does not appear I can upload it. Any assistance is greatly appreciated thank you and have a great day

While driving on the highway at 80 mph, the accelerator suddenly stopped working and was completely unresponsive. The dashboard displayed the message "Check Hybrid system. Stop safely" and a warning ding sounded. The gas engine was still operating and showing RPMs on the dashboard, but all acceleration and/or engagement with the engine was lost. I was able to coast and safely pull over to the side of the road. After pulling over, I turned off the engine and pushed the 12v battery reset button. The car restarted, and I was able to continue driving. The issue repeated about 20 miles later and again on a different drive four days later. Each time, there is no early warning or noticeable issue with the vehicle before the sudden warning and loss of power.

I was driving with cruise control on. I had to slow down for traffic. Upon resuming speed, I reactivated cruise control at which time it jumped to 110 mph. This happen several times. I turned cruise off and back on 110. I canceled and tried to reset, 110. I kept resuming 110 mph and the function was not usable. I have a video but was unable to upload because it was to large

I was going 40 mph and tried to set the cruise control to my current speed. The cruise control set at 110 mph instead. I tapped the brake to stop the cruise control and it stopped. I tried to set the cruise control again multiple times and the same thing happened. I parked, turned the car off then on again and the cruise control worked like normal.

I have had three separate instances over the past year, most recently days ago, where I pressed the cruise control button, then pressed the cruising speed increase button, and the cruise control setting jumped to 110 mph. I could press the cruise control button again to turn off cruise control, but if I pressed cruise control again, it would immediately jump to 110 mph, no matter what my current speed was. Pressing the decrease cruise control speed button didn't lower the cruise control speed. The only workaround is to turn the vehicle off and the turn it back on. There are multiple online forum posts, and several YouTube videos, of other Kia Sportage owners experiencing the same problem.

I've had two issues with my 2023 Kia Sportage cruise control. 1. When I press the 'set' cruise control button, it will set at a speed far grater than I'm driving and escalate to that speed. Example: I'm driving 65 on the highway. I set the cruise control. It sets to 100 mph and quickly gains to that speed. This has happened about 5 times. It doesn't happen every time I try to use cruise control. The last time it happened, I could click the 'set' button to disengage cruise control but it would never set to 60 mph- always 100. So I pressed 'set' at 60 MPH. It went to 100 MPH. Then I pressed Set to disengage. Then pressed 'set'again at 60 MPH and it went to 100 MPH. The only way to get it to actually re set was to pull over and re-start the car. 2. When you actually get it to 'set' to 60 MPH and then press the toggle to speed up, it will often toggle up to 90 MPH instead of to 65MPH. This has happened 3-5 times. This is super dangerous since it speeds up so quickly.

When using cruise control and raising the speed, the cruise control gets maxed out to 110 MPH, and requires the driver to disengage the CC to stop. It keeps reoccurring until the car is restarted. I did not take pictures, but there is are multiple Reddit threads at the below URL's with multiple users having the same issue. Some have reported to Kia who claim it's a known issue with no fix. [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Good morning, I'm writing with a vehicle safety risk that my wife and I experienced on Sunday while driving home in our 2023 Kia Sportage Hybrid SUV that we purchased new in August 2022. On one of the surface streets in Olympia, WA where we live, I turned on the cruise control to set it at the speed limit for that street. Instantaneously, upon turning on the cruise control, it set itself to 110mph and immediately started rapid acceleration. I was able to immediately turn off the cruise control. I tried turning it on again to see if the behavior repeated itself, and again it automatically set itself to 110mph and began acceleration. I tried turning the cruise speed setting to a lower mph, but the set speed would not adjust off 110mph. At that point, I turned it off, and we made it home without any problems. However, upon getting home, I immediately started to search online to see if other people are experiencing this problem. A number of users on Reddit with either Kia's or Hyundai's (same parent company) have dealt with the same exact issue. I'm including some links to Reddit threads and videos below: [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] From what I can see online, this is likely a software issue that Kia/Hyundai aren't making any moves to acknowledge or fix. However, it's an EXTREMELY dangerous issue. It looks like it's also happening to people who are using features like adaptive cruise control as well. It poses immense safety risk to drivers/passengers, as well as others on the road if the car randomly starts accelerating when it should be holding its speed steady in cruise. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I purchased my car in August 2022, and the cruise control issue began in September 2023. It occurs randomly and significantly makes me feel UNSAFE in my vehicle. I have not been able to enjoy full use of my vehicle. Kia has been aware of this issue since at least April 2024 (when they first called me), even though I made my report to the NHTSA in October 2023 (NHTSA ID: 11549711). Today, Kia informed me that the video that I risked my life to take of my car almost killing me and other road drivers was not enough and that they could not replicate the issue. The response time from my case manager has literally been atrocious. These issues have significantly limited my use and enjoyment of the vehicle, making me regret my purchase. I did not expect to rely on rentals without the features that led me to choose this car, especially due to delays in addressing my case.

Second time reporting for the third instance Dealer says nothing is wrong but I have a video when car speeds up and doesn’t stop when removing my foot for acceleration Car keeps moving and it’s hard to stop unless I slam on brake This is occasionally instance but when it happens it’s highly risk for havug accident With kids I don’t feel safe

My car accelerates automatically and doesn’t stop unless slam on break This is happening occasionally Yesterday I was about to hit front car after taking the exit. Even after breaking the car kept moving at full speed. It’s a huge safety concern I was with family and we all got so scared

When on a cruise control it started accelerating on its own to an extremely high speed. Happened a few time to me. Clears only if you restart the vehicle. Scary. I have a video to proof, it won’t let me attach the video. I know that some other people had experience same, I seen comments on Facebook group for Kia sportage hybrid 2023. I filed under lemon law for this vehicle for a different reason in June 2023. But manufacturer still haven’t gave me a comparable vehicle and I have to drive this death trap.

I was driving for approximately 30 minutes, using cruise control as needed. There was a decreased speed area so I toggled down to reduce speed from 65 to 55. My cruise control speed jumped from 65 to 110. NOTHING I did would reduce the speed. I had to turn off the cruise control to get control of my vehicle again. I thought I did something wrong so I turned on cruise control and attempted to set the speed again. Immediately upon using the toggle to set the speed, the speed jumped to 110. This happened several time and I couldn’t get cruise control to work correctly for approximately 30-45 minutes. Finally I found a safe area to pull off the interstate, turn the vehicle off and back on. At which time the speed controls began working correctly again. Very scary and unsafe situation!

When I achieved my desired speed while driving on the highway, I turned on my adaptive cruise control as I usually do. This time, the car began accelerating dramatically, set on 110mph instead of my desire 55mph. It did this twice, even after I turned off the cruise control. I parked on the side of the street and restarted the car before it returned to normal. My life was very much threatened while I was driving as well as the lives of my fellow highway drivers that night. I will be taking this to my dealership but I also need this reported.

While driving, the car came to an abrupt stop. Lights and alarms flashed stating "Do not drive" "hybrid system malfunction". Car could not be driven. Had I been on the highway, which I just exited, I could have been dead with how suddenly the car stopped without prior warning. The warning came when the car was shutting down. It has now been at the dealership for 3 weeks and they are unable to pinpoint the problem. Apparently they are selling hybrids with no one to work on them. Smh

While on a 65 mph enforced highway, cruise control was turned on via the button on the steering wheel. The digital cruise control set itself at 110 mph and the vehicle began to accelerate to match the speed. Aside from turning on the cruise control, no other buttons on the steering wheel were pushed. The car’s cruise control feature had previously been set at 70 mph to match current conditions and was used regularly throughout the length of the trip. While the car continued to accelerate on its own to match the self-set speed, we tried to decrease the speed both by trying to set it at the current speed, and by holding the dial down to decrease the speed manually. The car did not reflect any changes in speed and a message popped up saying “Cruise Control conditions not met” and it tried to disengage cruise control and acceleration. Driver had to manually turn off the cruise control function. Upon additional attempts to use cruise control and set speed to match current driving conditions, the same issue occurred. A recording of the incident was taken to be able to show proof that the car’s digital functions are to blame. Had the cruise control function not been able to be manually disengaged, the car would have continued to accelerate on its own to dangerous speeds. Dealer has been unable to replicate issue and has escalated incident to Kia’s corporate office.

I had a number of systems suddenly cut out on me. The dealership thinks it was a fuse or fuses that went bad. They affected the car's following systems: * Primary Instrument Cluster (Left side) * Forward Collision Avoidance-Assist w/Car, Pedestrian and Cyclist Detection * Advanced Collision Avoidance (Auto-breaking) * Lane Following Assist * Lane Keeping Assist * Driver Attention Warning w/ Leading Vehicle Departure Alert * Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist (In Mirrors) * Door Unlock Warning (I received several warnings that my doors were unlocked even when they were locked) * Entrance/Exit Chime * Blinker Sound * Compass * Internal Navigation (GPS worked but because the compass was broken, the mapping system did not know which way my car was traveling.) * Fuel Efficiency was incorrect. I never got above 31 miles to the gallon