Kia UK Reviews 

Kia No More.

Me and my partner have had 4 Kia's now but there will not be a 5th.

Just under 2 years ago the aircon in my Picanto failed. The dealership convinced me it just needed a re-gas and charged me £175 for the pleasure.

2 Weeks later it failed again - this time they did a full investigation and determined the evaporator had failed. This was corrected under the warranty but they charged me for a second re-gas - Another £175

Forward to just after xmas this year it failed again and as it was coming due for a service I decided to get looked at during the service.

Again they said it just needed a re-gas and charged me £175 for it to fail again, and again the evaporator had failed - this time just a few week outside of the warranty period.

This time the dealer would not do anything and Kia customer support refused to cover the now £1000 bill to replace the faulty parts. Only offered a "Good Will Gesture" of £100

Up until now the service I had received from Kia and their dealers was second to none and I was a Kia fan through and through and would never go else where.

I had been looking at purchasing the new EV5 in the next few months to replace my aging Sportage but this latest experience means I will not be looking at a Kia and would never recommend kia to anyone else.

The evaporator should not fail once on a car that only had done 46k miles, let alone twice. And the poor service received from Kia UK and the Dealer is shocking.

I have waited until now to post this review as I had hopped for a fair resolution to this issue

24 plate Kia EV9 was in the garage for over 6 months for a new EV battery. No sense of urgency from Kia and replaced with a Niro - hardly like for like! Our kia repeatedly breaks and Kia Npton never fix the problem first time. Has needed a new battery, multiple visits due to a faulty tail gate, now needs a 4th visit due to the air con breaking in a national heatwave - so we have again not been able to take our car on holiday and had to pay for a hire car because Bells Kia couldn’t care less. Would never ever own another Kia and certainly would avoid Bells like the plague. The 7 year warranty must be because they’re awful cars - unreliable. Kia are a terrible company and just palm you off to the nearest dealership. Awful now going to the motoring ombudsman to return this piece of junk.

Ev9. Very poor vehicle. Full battery replacement, air con failed 4 times, boot lid broken twice that causes the vehicle to be stuck in park. Poor dealer service. Customer service doesn't car. DO NOT BUY KIA THEY ARE AWFUL.

Had a Kia Picanto on a 21 plate bought brand new. Noticed a stutter in 2nd gear on the way home. Reported it and couldn't be seen for 2 weeks so had to deal with it. Started to also judder setting off. It had less than 200 miles on by the time it was seen. The dealer claimed they couldn't replicate the issue so took it away. Was there literally driving off the forecourt. Went back inside to be told they wouldn't be able to look at it again for another 4 weeks. Longer if I needed a courtesy car. Still there took it in and it seemed to have sorted itself. A couple months later its back so I took it in a 3rd time. "Adjusted it" again like the last time and disappeared for a bit longer this time. Came back a month before the service so called them and informed them of this and asked them to check it at the service. They did and "adjusted" it again. At 18 months the clutch started to slip quite noticeably. I informed them of this, took it in and, surprise surprise, they couldn't replicate it but "adjusted it" again. Clutch went a few months later. Just over 10k miles and under 2 years old satisfying both requirements under the warranty, not to mention how many times it had been into their dealer and they'd "adjusted it" I can only assume this is the clutch cable they were adjusting. They refused to cover it under warranty even lying that there was a sensor inside the bell housing which could tell them it was our driving as the clutch plate had got so hot it registered a fault in the ECU. Complete and utter lies I called them out on instantly. No such thing exists. The mechanic confirmed this to be a lie and said he didn't understand where the service adviser got this information from.
No point shouting about your warranty all over the place if you dont honour it!

If I could give zero stars I would.
NEVER BUY A KIA SPOTAGE AGAN.
Handbrake kept releasing its self.
Work with nhs in the community and the car had rolled into a busy road from the drive.
Contacted Kia and asked if there was a recall and they replied yes !!!’
Why wasn’t I contacted I asked ??
Because apparently this isn’t deemed as an emergency!!’
So my car rolling back getting scratched in the process and could have potentially caused an accident or hit someone isn’t deemed important, had I not contacted them I’d of never known .
Also tried to get them to fix the scratches caused by their fault .
Not taking any responsibility.
Had other issues with it and contacted them and surprisingly they don’t want to know!
So this manures Guarantee or 7 or 8 years isn’t worth the paper it’s written on .
DO YOUR SELF A FAVOUR DONT BUY AND GET AN AUDI .
Least there you’ll get customer service and they won’t fob you off.
And it doesn’t surprise me they aren’t on here replying to their customers and offering a resolution .

Well after a lovely morning, the end of the day is a shambles. They do not answer phones, there is no email address so no communication. So no idea how my car repair is going as no update. I looked at purchasing a new or second car! I will not be doing that now. If there is no way of contacting anyone why would you want to buy a car there. The sales man did not even send quotes through for new car.
Honestly what a shambles. So i am without a car. Let’s hope I get my car back tomorrow, and hope i do not have to go back there again. Very bad customer experience.

Reported problem in steering locking on my Kia Niro on rare occasions to PPhilpot CEO Kia Uk on 20 July….NO Response AT ALL.
Probably to busy testing new Kia Model just released with J Westwood MD Westdrive Uk , Kia mail dealer from whom purchased my car in 2019 who I originally reported defect in my letter of 2 July who has also failed to respond. Appalling the CEO of both companies do not have courtesy to even reply to complaint, let alone attempt to resolve problem. Beware of buying from Kia
D Pearson

I've had this car 18mnths have not used it much, worst irritating thing constant silly anoyeing messages keep appearing on screen haven't clue what they mean but trying get of these stupid agree to terms msgs appear on screen, now my app not connected, I will never have kia car again.

N

Had an issue with a service carried out by one of there dealers boxes ticked that work was carried out.
But work was not. emaild KIA to report this radio silence they just dont care back to the dealership. No ownership of the brand

The cars are fine, until they go wrong
At that point, you find out, Kia UK will abandon you, and tell you, the dealer will sort it out (even if the dealer can’t)
Customer service, is such an oxymoron, they even made it obvious, that it was my fault, for buying the car 😂
£80k, 2 years old - a supposed 7yr warranty
I wrote a letter of complaint, when my car broke down - total power failure - I was left over £1k out of pocket, for direct expenses - and they didn’t even have the gumption to reply, not a phone call, not an email, not a letter
They obviously have too many customers, so I suggest voting with your wallet !!

My first experience with Kia has unfortunately been enough to ensure it will also be my last.

I ordered a Kia through an authorised Kia retailer on the Motability Scheme after being advised the vehicle would be ready around 1 June. That date came and went without a single phone call, email or text to let me know the vehicle had been delayed. I had to chase the dealership myself for updates.

I contacted the dealership on three occasions and was repeatedly promised callbacks that never happened. When I eventually received a response, it was by email rather than the promised phone call, and it came across as defensive instead of addressing the legitimate concerns I had raised.

I then submitted a formal complaint to the dealership, which has gone unanswered.

Whilst I appreciate that delivery delays can occur, there is no excuse for failing to keep customers informed or for ignoring a formal complaint. Communication is entirely within the dealership’s control.

This is now my seventh Motability vehicle, and I have never experienced such poor customer service. The experience has significantly damaged my confidence in the Kia brand before I have even taken delivery of the vehicle.

Based on this experience, I will not be ordering another Kia in the future and will certainly be avoiding the JCB Group.

I purchased a 2019 Kia Sportage via bank transfer from Kia Colindale (Alan Day Motor Group) on 10th January 2026. By May, the car developed a severe engine problem. It has now developed catastrophic safety faults: the brakes operate independently and the steering wheel violently veers left and right, making the vehicle a great safety risk and unroadworthy.
Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, if a fault is discovered after the first 30 days of purchase but within the first six months, the dealer is entitled to exactly one opportunity to repair or replace the vehicle.
I sent a formal written rejection of the vehicle to the dealership and requested a full refund alongside an interim complimentary hire car. Despite the severity of these life-threatening safety defects, I have faced a total breakdown in communication. I called the Alan Day dealership and was promised a callback from the Managing Director which never happened. I was then told to write to Head of Sales, at Colindale Kia, which I did. I followed this up with a phone call and was promised a callback the next day. Once again, I was ignored.
In my opinion, because of these life-threatening faults and the dealership’s total disregard for customer safety, I strongly advise drivers to avoid purchasing a used vehicle from this group.
Leaving a customer with a dangerous vehicle and providing zero courtesy support or communication is unacceptable. The dealership has been given a formal deadline of 28th July 2026 to respond to my final rejection letter. If a full refund is not processed, I will immediately escalate this to the Motor Ombudsman, Trading Standards, and initiate Small Claims Court proceedings.

I have a dangerously malfunctioning touch screen. It randomly scrolls through the menu, occasionally dials a random number. It is stuck on Norsk ( Norwegian ) and has zero response to touch screen control. I can't receive a call hands free but can make one. The constant random scrolling is a distraction, especially at night. NOT covered by their alleged 7 or warranty and costs nearly 2 grand to replace ( what's the point? ). First and most certainly, my last Kia. Do yourself a favour and AVOID at all costs!

Chippenham KIA dealership shockingly poor service.
Complete rip off loan car prices, over twice as much as a rental car.
Slow, no communication, if I’m 3rd in line to drop my car off, I expect it to be serviced well before closing time.

My KIA XCeed broke down last week 12 miles from my home so I called KIA road side assistance well after waiting 5 hrs the RAC phoned me to say no one was coming to help me and that was it. I got the car recovered to my home and later that evening I was told the car would be collected at 9.30am but no one turned up until after 12pm. My advise is don't buy a KIA road assistance package it's RUBBISH.

Abysmal.

TWO Kia EV6s, 6 months apart, were stolen off my drive in under a minute by means of a "gameboy device" hack.

The security cameras and police confirmed this. Kia's sister company, Hyundai, even offers a fix (at customers expense) to deal with this issue.

The HEAD of Kia UK told me on both occasions that I was at fault for not storing my keys in a faraday cage (Nothing to do with gameboy hack technology and utterly useless in preventing it) and then denied all knowledge that the problem even existed.

In truth, KIA do not care once the car is sold. They will not even attempt to track your stolen car, or admit liability for the loophole they created. They have the technology to track and immobilise your car. They just choose not to. Pathetic.

Utterly abysmal customer service: The customer is always at fault, even for their substandard security systems.

You get what you pay for. Perhaps consider a real car manufacturer next time.

My 5 year old Cee'd broke down (under warranty). Rang around several local Kia garages and was told there's a 4 to 8 week wait for it to be even looked at. Zero help with getting a courtesy or hire car whilst mine is out of action. Customer services could do with improving

The Kia Niro EV is without a doubt the worst vehicle I have ever owned. The car is three years old with just over 30k. It developed a charging flap fault last October and was by all accounts repaired. Sadly it wasn't and whatever work has been carried out has rendered the car utterly useless, I have had the car back two days since last October and apparently the "master technicians" are still working on it. If you are thinking of buying a Kia avoid it at all cost. Terrible vehicle, terrible service.

Probably the most unhelpful Company in the world! It took me 3 years to get my first charge card working now i’ve changed my car and have to apparently close the contract for the first car and open a new contract. Also Kia Bournemouth should have assisted here and advised prior to the car arriving. The lady I spoke to today at kia Charge could not have been more disinterested in assisting me - shame I’m stuck with them 😡

Just purchased our first new Kia EV 5 ?
On collection from main dealership, NO MATS, NO CHARGING CABLE 🤔 Looking around the vehicle, we had to remove 27 pieces of the clear protection film around the vehicle and had to repair badly fitted trim on the front A pillar joining the roof lining!
After opening the bonnet to see if charging cable was in the front compartment, (NO) we couldn’t close the bonnet, so had to phone dealership, after 30 minutes and adjustments, I got it to lock !
I have been told that was quite a good start for a new Kia ?