Only 48 complaints, but the engine ones are severe and there is no knock-sensor campaign for this year at all.

This is the structural difference between a 2021 and the years before it, and it cuts both ways. Kia ran free Product Improvement Campaigns installing KSDS — the Knock Sensor Detection System, software that listens for the vibration of early connecting-rod-bearing wear — on 2014 to 2018 Sportages, on all 2019s, and on 2020s built between December 2018 and September 2019. There is no equivalent campaign for the 2021 model year in Kia's Sportage bulletin file. One owner discovered this the hard way: "Kia and my dealer have confirmed there are no recalls or warranty campaigns for my VIN, even though this issue is identical to the well-documented engine defect affecting earlier Kia models." The optimistic reading is that Kia believed the engine no longer needed it. The buyer's reading is that a 2021 has no early-warning software watching the bearings, so the dipstick and the oil-change record are your only instrument.

Recall 22V703 covers 2017 to 2022 Sportages fitted with a Kia tow-hitch harness, whether original equipment or bought through a dealer: debris and moisture on the harness module's printed circuit board can cause an electrical short, which can result in a fire. Kia advises parking outside and away from buildings until repaired, and dealers inspect and replace the fuse and/or the harness module free. Kia code SC249. The reason to take it seriously is in the 2021 file. One owner received the notice, was told the part was not available, and later reported: brakes inoperable, warning lights on, motive power lost, smoke from the hood, "the contact grabbed his five-year-old daughter out of the vehicle safely. The contact stated the vehicle was in flames." Confirm the repair shows complete against the VIN, not merely that a letter was mailed.

Recall 21V137 covers 2017 to 2021 Sportages and Cadenzas. The electrical circuit in the Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit — the HECU, the module that runs the anti-lock brakes — can short-circuit and cause a fire in the engine compartment. Kia advises parking outside and away from buildings as a precaution until the repair is complete. Dealers replace certain fuses in the electrical junction box free, and vehicles with an electronic parking brake also get a HECU software update. Kia code SC206. The 2021 is the last model year in this recall's range. It is quick and free; there is no reason to buy a car that still has it open.

Four separate 2021 filings record a fire with no cause established, which is a lot in a 48-complaint file. One is a total loss on a freeway shoulder in which two occupants were later treated for smoke inhalation, at around 70,000 miles. One is a car that caught fire in a workplace parking garage at 19,920 miles, extinguished with the help of sheriff's deputies. One was totalled at 4,300 miles. One began in a drive-through. None is attributed to a specific defect in any Kia bulletin or NHTSA recall, and we are not attributing them either. What follows practically is simple: close out 21V137 and 22V703, and follow Kia's park-outside advice until you have paperwork proving both are done.

Kia's bulletins describe customer-satisfaction campaign CS2302, which upgrades the body-control software on 2017 to 2022 Sportages built between December 2015 and December 2021, on cars "which may not be equipped with an immobilizer" — the chip that stops an engine starting without the right key. The upgrade adds anti-theft ignition logic that arms when the car is locked with the fob. Companion campaigns install a reinforced ignition-cylinder protector with window decals, and update Kia's own remote-start module so it remains compatible. Kia describes the software as addressing the social-media theft method, offered free at authorised dealers. Campaigns, not safety recalls. A 2021 owner describes the method: "a thief was able to break into my car by popping off the driver side lock and then basically hot wiring the car." Have the software applied, fit the protector, and price insurance before you buy.

Two owner-reported patterns with no Kia bulletin behind either. The panoramic roof: "the panoramic sunroof spontaneously exploded on the highway. There were no other vehicles nearby that could have thrown any debris. The edges of the glass are pushed out as if the force came from inside the vehicle." A second owner heard a loud pop in the driveway and found the roof had "exploded outward." This continues into the 2022 and 2023 files. Comprehensive insurance is the backstop; there is no programme. Separately, two owners report the infotainment screen failing optically rather than electrically — "the uv gel adhesive that holds the screen is failing," "the infotainment system has bubbles, and it interferes with touch screen process." Look at the screen from an angle, in daylight, before you buy.

Three one-off but concrete filings from the 2021 file. A driver's-side roof drip molding detached and flew off the car on an interstate — the same failure mode Kia later recalled on the redesigned 2023 car, though the 2021 is not in that recall. The factory jack fractured while a wheel was being changed at 17,614 miles, dropping the car. And one owner reports the lane-keeping assist veering the car into a guard rail at 55 mph, with the lane-assist warning light on, at 700 miles. None is a pattern. All three are worth thirty seconds each: tug the roof trim, look at the jack, and drive the car with lane-keep active before you decide how much you trust it.