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Federal filingsHome›Early Warning reports› Kia

The manufacturer filed it. Here it is, by model.

Early Warning Reporting

Kia: deaths and injuries reported to NHTSA, by model

1,337 incidents on file across 18 Kia models in Kia’s quarterly Early Warning reports (49 CFR 579.21), through 2026 Q1: 162 killed, 1,602 injured, as claimed. Each is an allegation the manufacturer received, not a finding.

Photo: Dmitrii Filatov / Unsplash

By model

Source: manufacturer EWR death and injury reports
ModelIncidentsKilledInjuredModel yearsMost-named system
Sorento225182892003–2025Air Bags
Soul221412382010–2025Air Bags
Optima206272342003–2020Air Bags
Forte160261902010–2024Air Bags
Sportage134131662002–2026Air Bags
Rio8971092001–2023Air Bags
Sedona6418952002–2020Air Bags
Telluride620782020–2025Power Train
Carnival500582022–2026Structure
K5386442021–2025Air Bags
Niro261292017–2024Air Bags
K4152192025–2025Air Bags
Seltos130132021–2026Air Bags
EV6122122022–2025Vehicle Speed Control
Stinger8172018–2023Fire
Cadenza80122014–2017Air Bags
EV95082024–2026Seats
K9001012015–2015Seats

What these reports are, and are not

Source: 49 CFR 579.21

The manufacturer’s own quarterly report

Under NHTSA’s Early Warning Reporting rule, Kia must report every claim or notice it received alleging a death or injury in one of its vehicles: the model and model year, the incident date, the state, how many were killed or injured, and the systems the claimant named. The manufacturer files it; NHTSA publishes it.

An allegation, as received

A row is a lawsuit, a claim letter or a consumer notice that named a death or injury. It is not a finding that the vehicle caused anything, and NHTSA does not verify it. The systems named are the claimant’s, not an engineer’s.

Counts scale with sales

A model that sold two million will have more reports than one that sold fifty thousand. These pages count; they do not rank. Set a figure against the model’s production and its peers before reading anything into it.

Where the complete list is

Every report on a model and system, dated and numbered beside the recalls, investigations, bulletins and owner complaints, is exhibit F of the defect dossier. The same records are free to read here; the dossier is the file you can cite.

Questions about these reports

Source: NHTSA Early Warning Reporting

Where does NHTSA publish Early Warning Reporting data?

On the Early Warning Reporting page under Vehicle Manufacturers at nhtsa.gov, through a search box that asks for the manufacturer, the report type and the quarter. WhichTrim reads the same tables every night and lays them out by model.

Does a report here mean the Kia has a defect?

No. It means the manufacturer received a claim or notice alleging a death or injury and named this model in its quarterly report, as the rule requires. NHTSA reads these reports for patterns; a recall or an investigation is where a finding would appear.

Why is the incident date sometimes blank?

The manufacturer did not report one. The quarter the report was filed in is always shown.

Can I get every incident as a spreadsheet?

The defect dossier for a model and system includes them in its exhibits CSV, each with its date, state, the counts and the systems named.