Last updated: 2026-10-10
2019 Kia Sedona Reliability Report
The 2019 KIA Sedona rates excellent for reliability, but some owners report engines that lose oil with no warning light, and a few fail.
Recalls
2
Complaints
32
Complaint Rate
N/A
Est. Repair Cost
$495
Annual Fuel Cost
$2,850
Detailed Score Breakdown
Component-weighted complaints normalized by sales volume
Independent repair cost ratings
Recall count weighted by severity
Breadth of reported problem categories
The Verdict
Rates excellent and sits mid-pack among Sedona years, with engine oil loss and failing power sliding doors as the main owner complaints.
Top Issues to Watch
- STRUCTURE (6)
- ENGINE (6)
- POWER TRAIN (4)
Should You Buy the 2019 Kia Sedona?
Reliability is excellent for this model year, and it rates well above other 2019 SUVs. Within the Sedona line it sits in the middle of four scored years. The 2018 rates about the same but has more complaints and one more recall. The 2020 rates better, with fewer complaints and a single recall. Federal crash testing gave it 5 of 5 stars, and independent repair-cost data puts yearly repairs well under the class average.
The worst problem is the engine. Owners report oil vanishing between changes with no leak, no code and no warning light, and two say it ran dangerously low before they noticed. Some engines failed outright. In the most serious report, an engine seized at highway speed and caught fire, and the driver went to the hospital. Power sliding doors that will not latch and keep beeping are also common. Two recalls cover air bags and seat belts.
Check the oil level yourself and ask for service records showing oil top-ups or engine work. Test both sliding doors, and confirm both recalls were completed. The 2020 is worth a look.
Compared to the 2020 Kia Sedona, which scored 3 points higher. See also the 2018 Kia Sedona for an earlier comparison.
Pros
- +Strong reliability score
- +$152 cheaper to maintain than avg minivans
- +Infrequent unscheduled repairs
- +Low major repair risk (10%)
- +Low recall count
Cons
- −ENGINE: Oil disappears between changes with no visible leaks, no error codes and no... (6 complaints)
- −1 fire incident reported in owner complaints
Compare 2019 Kia Sedona With
Common Problem Categories
Safety
LOW RISK- 2 manufacturer recalls issued
Other
HIGH RISK- STRUCTURE (6)
- ENGINE (6)
Recall Overview
2
recalls on record
The 2019 Kia Sedona carries 2 recalls — a low count. Authorized dealers repair any open recall free of charge, regardless of warranty status.
NHTSA.gov →Complaint Breakdown
32
complaintsSafety Incidents
2
Crashes
1
Fires
5
Injuries
0
Deaths
NHTSA 5/5 Stars
Data sourced from NHTSA complaint filings and manufacturer recall notices. Complaint narratives are owner-reported.
2019 Kia Sedona Recall Details
2 recalls have been issued for the 2019 Kia Sedona. All recall repairs are performed free of charge at authorized dealerships.
AIR BAGS
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Sedona, Soul, Soul EV, 2017-2018 Forte, and 2017 Forte Koup vehicles. The Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) cover may contact a memory chip on the printed circuit board and damage the electrical circuit. Circuit damage may result in deactivated air bags that will not deploy in a crash.
Consequence
Air bags that do not deploy as intended can increase the risk of injury in a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will inspect the ACU, and either update the software or replace the unit, as necessary. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 21, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC226.
SEAT BELTS
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2019 Sedona vehicles equipped with an 8-passenger seat arrangement. The seat belt buckle for the second-row middle seat may have been improperly installed on the wrong side of the seat, preventing the proper use of the 3-point seat belt. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
Consequence
A seat belt that cannot be properly used increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.
Remedy
Kia has notified owners, and dealers will inspect the seat belt installation, and reinstall the seat belt buckle to the correct side if necessary, free of charge. The recall began April 8, 2019. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia 's number for this recall is SC177.
Buying a used 2019 Kia Sedona? Check its history first
Structure problems lead owner complaints about the 2019 Kia Sedona, and 2 recalls were issued for it. A VIN check shows whether this car's recall work was done, plus accident, title, and odometer history.
- Accidents
- Open Recalls
- Title History
- Odometer Rollback
2019 Kia Sedona NHTSA Safety Ratings
Overall Safety Rating
Crash Test Results by Configuration (expand)
Gas Powertrain
Rollover risk: 13.0%
Safety Technologies
Kia SedonaRepair Costs & Maintenance
Maintenance Rating
4Maintenance rating: 4 out of 5Based on NHTSA complaint patterns, recall severity, and publicly available cost benchmarks.
Est. Annual Maintenance
$495
vs $647 avg for minivans
vs $652 avg for all vehicles
Repair Frequency
0.3
unscheduled repair visits per year
Severe Repair Probability
10%
chance of a major repair
Annual Cost Comparison
Category-level averages derived from publicly available industry reports (AAA, CarMD). Model-level estimates produced by Auto Reliability Index.
MPG & Annual Running Costs
Gas
21 MPG
Running cost: $3,350/yr
Fuel + repair
18 city / 24 hwy MPG
Running cost includes EPA fuel-cost estimate and independent repair-cost data (repair cost estimated at model level). Excludes routine maintenance, depreciation, and insurance. Data as of 2019 EPA label cycle.
Gas trims
| Trim | Drive | Trans. | City | Hwy | Comb | Fuel Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sedona 3.3L 6-cyl | Front-Wheel Drive | Automatic (S8) | 18 | 24 | 21 | $2,850 |
Used Buying Checklist
Key things to inspect or verify before purchasing a 2019 Kia Sedona.
Pull the dipstick and ask how often the owner adds oil between changes; low oil suggests burning.
Open and close each power sliding door several times; confirm it latches fully without beeping or grinding.
Turn off the power door feature and confirm each sliding door opens and closes smoothly by hand.
Accelerate gently from a stop and brake slowly to a stop; feel for jerks, hesitation, or hard downshifts.
After a test drive, smell the cabin for fuel odor and watch for a lit or flashing check engine light.
Have a helper confirm both brake lights work while you press the brake pedal.
Inspect tires for sidewall cracking and cupped wear, and check how old they are.
Drive on a straight, level road with a light grip and note any pull left or wheel shake.
2019 Kia Sedona Common Problems by Component
32 owner complaints grouped by vehicle system.
STRUCTURE
6 complaintsPower sliding doors fail to close and latch, beep as if open, and have to be shut by hand. The fault shows up on both sides, and the driver's side door comes up most often. Some doors grind, stop partway, open too far, or will not open by hand once the power feature is off. Reports include a door opening on its own while parked and motors failing again after the motor and actuator are replaced. Paid diagnostics and sensor replacements often leave the beeping unresolved.
ENGINE
6 complaintsSafety-relatedOil disappears between changes with no visible leaks, no error codes and no warning light. Two reports describe the oil running dangerously low before anyone noticed, and one owner adds three quarts within 2,500 miles. Other symptoms include rattling under acceleration, misfiring, and a leaking oil pressure switch with a red oil light. Some engines fail outright, including one with a hole in the bottom of the engine housing. In the most serious report, the engine seizes at highway speed and catches fire, and the driver goes to the hospital.
POWER TRAIN
4 complaintsUnder acceleration, the van jerks, hesitates or lunges forward, often from very low mileage. Failures are reported at 250, 400 and 5,000 miles. Drivers also describe hard downshifts when braking, sputtering and power loss while passing, and engine speed climbing without the van picking up speed. Dealers often cannot reproduce the problem, or they install software updates that do not fix it, and some owners return many times. Hesitation while passing or merging creates a real collision risk.
UNKNOWN OR OTHER (3 complaints)
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
3 complaintsRear doors bind, stick or fail to shut, and some take heavy force to open. Door cable problems come back after dealer repairs, leaving occupants stuck with a door that will not close. In one injury report, the door sensor fails to detect a hand, and the door closes and latches on it, breaking a finger. These reports overlap with the sliding door failures under Structure. Parents with children in the rear seats describe them as a safety concern.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM (3 complaints)
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
3 complaintsThe driver's side brake light keeps burning out, and owners replace it again and again, one of them about every 3 months. Both of these owners say they often see other Sedonas on the road with the same light out. A separate report ties a failed inhibitor switch to false blind spot warnings, a possible transmission failure message and a shifter stuck in park. That owner had to use the shift lock release to drive the van in for service.
STEERING (2 complaints)
STEERING
2 complaintsA hard pull or a shaking wheel shows up on nearly new vans, within the first few thousand miles. One report describes a strong drift to the left that takes a tight grip to hold straight and nearly causes several accidents. Another describes a wheel that shakes badly on the first drive home. The dealer finds nothing wrong with the tires or suspension, calls the behavior normal and declines warranty work.
AIR BAGS (2 complaints)
AIR BAGS
2 complaintsSafety-relatedIn both reported crashes, the bags stay folded. One involves a high-speed impact on the driver's side, where the side air bag does not deploy and the driver suffers a head injury. The other is a rear-end collision at 20 mph that pushes the van into the car ahead, and neither front air bag deploys. Both complaints involve real crashes with a police report or injury, but two reports are too few to show a broader pattern.
FUEL SYSTEM (2 complaints)
FUEL SYSTEM
2 complaintsA strong fuel smell fills the cabin, along with a check engine light that stays on or flashes. Dealers find fuel leaks and replace parts, including the high-pressure fuel regulator, yet the smell persists in both reports. One case goes a year without a successful repair, and the fumes make the driver and a passenger sick. The other failure appears at 39,000 miles. A lingering gas smell inside the cabin is a direct health and fire concern.
TIRES (2 complaints)
TIRES
2 complaintsThe factory-installed tires wear out early. One set develops dry rot on all four tires before the tread is half gone, in a mild climate, and the tire maker initially denies the warranty claim. Another set develops uneven cupping at 16,000 miles, and the van shakes badly and becomes hard to control at highway speed. Both reports involve the original tires the van came with.
SERVICE BRAKES (1 complaints)
SERVICE BRAKES
1 complaintOn [XXX] at [XXX] the following incident happen with my 2019 KIA Sedona. The ABS and Traction Control Warning lights came ON when I applied the brakes when approaching a 4 way stop sign intersection, I heard a loud grinding sound from the back of the Sedona. The Sedona took longer to come to a stop, a full vehicle length past the stop bar. I was put at risk by the Sedona being in the intersection, instead of stopping at the stop bar. After clearing the intersection, I pulled over the Sedona, turned it off and then restarted it. Both the ABS and Traction Control Lights came back ON. I called the Jackson Kia Dealer in Cocoa Florida and got an answering machine for the service department. I left a message letting them know about the alarm lights and that I had already has at least 2 ABS modules replaced. I asked for an appointment as soon as possible to fix the problem. I had been told previously by KIA that it was safe to drive, but that I would have manual brakes in the rear and to apply breaks earlier, plus get the Sedona in for repair at the next opportunity for an appointment. As of yet the dealership has not seen the Sedona to diagnose the exact problem and cause. This is when these systems first appeared, and I had no other indications of a problem. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Best & Worst Kia Sedona Years
Best Kia Sedona Years to Buy
Based on reliability index score2021
2020
2019
(Current Model)
Kia Sedona Years to Avoid
No Kia Sedona years are statistical outliers in our data.
Scores stay between 78 and 88 across 4 scored model years.
Kia Sedona Reliability Score Trend
Scores 0–100. Higher is better. Current year highlighted.
| Year | Score | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 78/100 | Good |
| 2019 | 80/100 | Excellent |
| 2020 | 83/100 | Excellent |
| 2021 | 88/100 | Excellent |
Kia Sedona Reliability Compared to Other Years
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the 2019 KIA Sedona reliable?
What are the most common problems with the 2019 KIA Sedona?
Does the 2019 KIA Sedona have engine problems?
Does the 2019 KIA Sedona have recalls?
Is the 2019 KIA Sedona better than the 2018 or 2020?
Don’t buy a 2019 Kia Sedona without checking its VIN first — hidden accidents, title issues, and open recalls could cost you thousands.
How we score the 2019 Kia Sedona
Scores weight complaint severity at 35%, repair costs at 30%, recall impact at 20%, and the spread of complaints across systems at 15%, with complaint counts adjusted for US sales. Read the full methodology.
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