Owners have filed 77 complaints on the Kia Borrego, covering 2009–2009. The system named most often is Electrical System (11 reports). Worst years by volume: 2009; cleanest: 2009. 8 reports describe a crash. On average the car was 6.4 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Kia Borrego
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 77 Borrego complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Electrical System 11 Read
#1 whenever it rains the right headlight goes out and has to be replaced. #2 when the car is driven there is a burning smell inside the car that smells like wires burning. And there is smoke coming from inside the enging compartment and flowing from under the hood. Between the battery compartment and the frame area.…
I had just stopped at a red light when all the lights on my dashboard came on. Ecs, ABS, break, engine, 4 wheel drive and cruise control error, and the speedometer, odometer, and temperature gauge doesn't work. I pulled into the nearest auto parts place and then discovered I couldn't put the vehicle into park. I had…
The electric control arm on the driver seat that lifts and moves the forward and backward comes unhooked causing the seat to drop to lowest position while driving. This can b a safety hazard by causing the driver to press the accelerator while driving if the arm should come unhooked and seat fall to lowest position.…
Power Train 11 Read
When letting car warm up for a couple of minutes. Put into reverse the kia jerks hard so you pull out put into drive rpms go up but but car not moving. The put a rebuilt transmission in but still have problems with the same issue. Kia did an update ,but still doing the same thing. But kia wants me to pay a diagnostic…
This past tuesday, august 23, 2016, the transmission shifting became erratic, in particular, and among other issues, holding on to 3rd gear and refusing to up shift or down shift properly. There were a few times in which when accelerating from a stand-still ' a stop light and/or 4-way-stop intersection, for example '…
The contact owns a 2009 kia borrego. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 30 mph, the accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to accelerate as all of the warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was shifted into the park position and when the contact attempted to shift the vehicle…
Steering 9 Read
The contact owns a 2009 kia borrego. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel became difficult to control. The contact also stated that the brake lights on the passenger's side rear failed intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed…
The steering wheel, since nearly brand new, will not raise or lower at times. This is dangerous, especially for shorter drivers. If the airbag were to be deployed this would result in possibly fatal head/neck injuries. The steering wheel stays in the fully tilted position, even when driving
My mother and I purchased this vehicle 6/27/20 and it was in the afternoon. Well I drove it home and in the way home the engine light came on. And the light for the tires. I didn't realize that first of all that all the tires were different tires. And all different kinds of treads. But then the vehicle kept getting…
Seat Belts 6 Read
My seat belt pops out all the time. The front drivers seat and middle row middle seat seat belt both do it
Drivers seatbelt does not stay latched. Pops open driving down road without touching it. It happens driving straight on highways city streets going straight and turning. It has been an ongoing problem for at least a year now
The driver's side seat belt unfastens while driving and the right rear and center seat belts will not fasten whether driving or sitting still. The vehicle will not propel forward fully when the gas pedal is pressed to increase speed while in motion on a highway
Air Bags 5 Read
The contact owns a 2009 kia borrego. The contact stated that while driving 50 mph, the vehicle hydro-planed and crashed into a concrete pillar. The air bags failed to deploy. The driver sustained a head injury and bruising to the body. The police were called and a report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an…
Air bag - During a bad rain storm a couple years ago I had an accident and hit the center divider after entering the freeway going 50 mph instead of 65 mph and none of my airbags deployed. I let my insurance know as well as the repair shop but it is UNKNOWN if they actually checked. The light on my dash showed my…
The contact owns a 2009 kia borrego. The contact stated someone crashed into the vehicle from the rear, pushing the contact's vehicle into the rear of another vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. The vehicle was destroyed. The driver of the vehicle sustained a face contusion and lacerations to the nose. The…
Exterior Lighting 5 Read
The contact owns a 2009 kia borrego. The contact stated that the brake lights burned out more than five times without warning. The vehicle was taken to nissan of lake charles (337-439-9955, located at 1700 siebarth dr, lake charles, la 70615) where it was diagnosed that the exterior lighting/brake light switch on the…
After recall for brake light switch was performed at dealership on 7-12-2022 brake light switch sticks causing brake lights to be illuminated randomly. Brake lights stay lit after being parked and may also be lit during operation. This may cause a safety issue if following drivers cannot determine when brakes are…
On friday, 14 november 2014 I was driving to the va hospital at great naval base, illinois in my 2009 kia borrego when the ESC light came on. At that time,l I was driving in the I-294 (highway) at the 55 miles speed with the cruise control on, suddenly the vehicle in front of me reduced the speed and when I applied…
Service Brakes 4 Read
The contact owns a 2009 kia motor borrego. While driving at approximately 10 mph, the contact applied the brakes but they did not engage; the failure resulted in a crash. No police report was filed and no injuries were reported. The vehicle was towed to an independent repair shop that works with the authorized…
The contact owns a 2009 Kia Borrego EX. The contact stated that upon purchasing the vehicle, while driving into her driveway, the vehicle inadvertently applied the brakes, bringing it to a sudden stop. As a result, the contact stated that her friend, who had been following her, collided with the rear of the vehicle.…
I was driving in traffic with stop light coming up hit my brakes to slow down because of cars in front of me, I had no brakes/ no warning lights on dash. I pumped my brakes and was able to stop before hitting car in front of me. Local shop said master cylinder so I took it to local shop that repairs my car the last…
Fuel System 4 Read
The contact owns a 2009 kia borrego. The contact stated that when refueling, fuel would splash all over the contact and the surrounding area. The dealer and manufacturer were notified, but denied any assistance with the vehicle. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The failure mileage was 25,000 and the…
Gas overflows every time vehicle is fueled. After about 3 gallons, fuel backs up the fill tube and spills down the side and onto the ground
Purchased new 09 borrego in june 2010. Transmission started slipping at 11,700 miles, would stay at 40mph with foot off of gas pedal, slipped in 3rd and 4th gears. Took in for repairs and they said they needed to replace the transmission and to come pick the borrego up until the transmission could be shipped to them.…
Borrego years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Air Bags | 8 | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 31 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.5 |
| Worst single series | 7 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.4 years |
A model average of 2.5 hides a worst series at 7. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Borrego?
By complaint volume, 2009 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Borrego years are the cleanest?
2009 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Kia Borrego have?
77 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2009–2009. Of those, 8 describe a crash and 0 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.