Kia · Large Sedan

Kia Cadenza

Every model year 2016–2020: recalls, owner complaints, NHTSA crash ratings and EPA efficiency side by side, each value traced to the file it came from.

5 Model years 2016–2020

7 Recalls NHTSA campaigns, all years

59 Complaints owner reports, all years

A Newest grade 2020 Safety Signal

2020 Best on record cleanest filed year

The 2020 Cadenza →Which years to avoid Compare it

2020 Kia Cadenza

Active NHTSA advisory on 4 model years of the Cadenza — park outside or do not drive. The year rows below carry it.

Every Kia Cadenza model year

Source: NHTSA · EPA · one row per year

Year	Powertrains	Safety	Recalls	Complaints	Crash	Best efficiency
2020	Gas	A	1	0	—	23 mpg
2019	Gas	B	1	5	—	23 mpg	Park outside
2018	Gas	B	1	7	—	23 mpg	Park outside
2017	Gas	C	2	33	—	23 mpg	Park outside
2016	Gas	C	2	14	—	22 mpg	Park outside

Which model year the record favours

Source: recalls and complaints per year on the road

Years to avoid, with the reasons →Best on the record 2020

On the filed record so far, the 2020 is the cleanest Cadenza year we hold, and the 2017 the one to check hardest. The 2017 carries a standing park-outside or do-not-drive advisory, which outranks every other number on this page.

Both figures are divided by the number of years the car has been on sale, because otherwise the oldest year on the page loses every time simply for having been around longer. The current model year and any year under three on the road are left out: their records are not finished.

Year	Safety Signal	Recalls /yr	Complaints /yr
2020	A	0.2	0
2018	B	0.1	1	Advisory
2019	B	0.1	1	Advisory
2016	C	0.2	1	Advisory
2017	C	0.2	4	Advisory

Also on file Beside the Kia Cadenza

Best year on file The 2020 Cadenza Recalls Every Kia recall on file Compare The 2020 Cadenza against anything

What changed year to year

Source: computed from the filed record

2017: best combined mpg 22 → 23

Common questions about the Kia Cadenza

Source: EPA, NHTSA and manufacturer press kits

Which Kia Cadenza year is the best used buy?

On the recall record, the 2020 Cadenza comes out top of the years before the current one: Safety Signal grade A (94/100), 1 recall and 0 owner complaints on file. That ranks paperwork, not condition — a specific car's history and service record still decide it.

What Kia Cadenza years should I avoid?

2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 have the weakest recall records in this range — one carries an active park-outside or do-not-drive advisory. The year pages list every campaign, its severity and whether a repair exists yet. Every Cadenza model year ranked, with the reasons.

How many recalls does the Kia Cadenza have?

Across model years 2016–2020, NHTSA has posted 7 recall campaigns for the Kia Cadenza. They are counted per model year in the table above, because a campaign almost never covers the whole run — it covers a build range.