The engine complaints are few but severe
$10,000Theta II is the Hyundai-Kia four-cylinder family; in the 2021 Sportage it is the 2.4-litre GDI — Gasoline Direct Injection, fuel sprayed straight into the cylinder. A minority of the 2021 file is engine complaints, but they are the worst ones. "I have experienced chronic and excessive engine oil consumption in my 2021 Kia Sportage S with the 2.4 L Theta II engine. Since around 80,000 miles, I have had to add oil every 2 weeks. My vehicle now requires a complete engine replacement, estimated at $10,000." Another: "I was told the rod bear[ing]s where grinding away and putting metal in the oil, which is what the 2017-2019 model of the engines had the same problem." Another: "catastrophic engine failure… they found two pieces of the engine block in the cradle cover." And one owner reports the dealer running a consumption test at 41,000 miles and being told the pistons may be bad. Kia's excessive-oil-consumption bulletin, covering its Nu, Gamma, Theta and Kappa engines from 2011 onward, is the diagnostic path for this. Check the dipstick before anything else.
Sources: NHTSA complaints and recalls, 2021 Kia Sportage (pulled 2026-07-30) · NHTSA manufacturer communications, Kia Sportage (excessive oil consumption TSB, PI1802/PI1805/PI1806 knock-sensor campaign scopes, WTY007 short-block extension, CS2302 anti-theft campaign)
No knock-sensor campaign covers a 2021
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.
Sources: NHTSA manufacturer communications, Kia Sportage (excessive oil consumption TSB, PI1802/PI1805/PI1806 knock-sensor campaign scopes, WTY007 short-block extension, CS2302 anti-theft campaign) · NHTSA complaints and recalls, 2021 Kia Sportage (pulled 2026-07-30)
Recall 22V703, and the owner whose car burned while he waited
CoveredRecall 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.
Sources: NHTSA complaints and recalls, 2021 Kia Sportage (pulled 2026-07-30)