The quietest Sportage in our data and the last of the old body — but engines were still failing at 50,000 miles.

Two absences define the 2022. First, Kia's Product Improvement Campaigns that install KSDS — the Knock Sensor Detection System, software that listens for the vibration of early connecting-rod-bearing wear — cover 2014 to 2018 Sportages, all 2019s, and some 2020s. There is none for 2021 or 2022. Second, Kia's short-block warranty extension for the Sportage — block, crankshaft and bearings, connecting rods and bearings, pistons, raised to 10 years or 120,000 miles regardless of ownership changes — covers 2011 to 2014 model years, and nothing in Kia's Sportage bulletin file extends it further. There is also no rod-bearing safety recall on any Sportage of this era; 17V224 covers 2011 to 2013 cars only. What is left is the factory powertrain warranty, and the 2022 file shows what happens when Kia decides maintenance records do not support a claim. Ask, in writing, what transfers to you and when it expires.

The only open recall on a 2022 Sportage, and it applies to cars fitted with a Kia tow-hitch harness, whether original equipment or purchased as an accessory through a dealership. Debris and moisture accumulating on the harness module's printed circuit board can cause an electrical short, which can result in a fire, parked or driving. Kia advises parking outside and away from buildings until repaired; dealers inspect and, as necessary, replace the fuse and the harness module free. Kia's code is SC249. Owner-notification letters went out in August 2023 — nearly a year after the recall was filed — and 2022 owners describe the gap: "almost 18 months with no remedy. I've taken it to the dealer multiple times and called Kia themselves. I paid almost $700 to get a tow hitch installed at 14k miles and now nearing 40k miles and haven't used it a single time." Confirm the repair shows complete, not merely notified.

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, specifically on cars "which may not be equipped with an immobilizer" — the chip that prevents an engine starting without the correct key. It adds anti-theft ignition logic that arms when the car is locked with the fob. Companion campaigns fit a reinforced ignition-cylinder protector with window decals. Kia describes the software as addressing the social-media theft method, free at authorised dealers. Campaigns, not safety recalls. The 2022 file makes the case for verifying rather than trusting: "My Kia has been stolen twice because it is able to be started with a USB cord." And, in capitals, one owner reports the dealer applied both window decals but did not fit the ignition-cylinder protector — "they even added both decals… but the main reason we brought it in was because we had received a letter… the car was left at the dealer for more than 8 hours, told us it was ready and completed and that was not true." The car was subsequently stolen. Ask for the repair order.

Three separate 2022 filings, and the pattern continues into 2023. "I was driving at 65 mph highway speed when my sunroof exploded… the sunroof glass on my vehicle had shattered in an upward displacement. Literally looked like the glass was pushed up from the inside. Dry pavement, no sign of rocks." That owner had already had a side window shatter after simply closing the door. Another: "the glass between the windshield and sunroof shattered, it looks like it exploded from the inside… no impact point." A third heard "an explosion" and found moon-roof glass in the cabin at 42,000 miles. There is no Kia bulletin and no recall. Comprehensive insurance is the only backstop, so check that your policy covers glass before you buy a Sportage with a panoramic roof.

One 2022 owner filed four times about the same fault: the automatic emergency braking system slamming the brakes at 35 to 40 mph with nothing ahead. "There were no cars in front of me in either direction nor were any cars behind. Nothing obstructing the road… The brakes locked for approximately 3-4 seconds." Kia could not reproduce it across multiple visits and declined a buyback. The same owner also reports two cracked windshields in under two years, both starting in the same place at the bottom of the driver's side. Neither has a bulletin or a recall behind it, and neither is a broad pattern in the data — but if you are test-driving a 2022, take it somewhere with underpasses and parked cars and see whether it stays calm.

Two smaller items. A 2022 owner reports taking the car in repeatedly about the rotors and brakes and being told everything was fine before the parts failed; premature rotor wear becomes a much larger cluster on the redesigned 2023 car, so it is worth having the discs measured rather than eyeballed at a pre-purchase inspection. Separately, Kia runs a voluntary emissions service campaign, SC340, reflashing the engine computer on 2017 to 2022 Sportages with the 2.4-litre Theta II engine because, in Kia's words, certain 2016 to 2022 vehicles with these engines may have engine calibrations that were not optimised for emissions standards and may release pollutants exceeding federal and California limits. It is free, this is the last model year it covers, and Kia's summaries describe no side effect afterwards.