Problems · NHTSA complaints

2010 Kia Borrego problems

Owners filed 2 complaints about the 2010 Kia Borrego with NHTSA between Sep 2010 and Nov 2017. The most-cited component is power train (2).

Complaints
2
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Power train2
  2. Electrical system1
  3. Equipment1

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Oct 28, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
20101
20110
20120
20130
20140
20150
20160
20171

Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Power train

2 reports
“I NOW FIND MYSELF DEALING WITH AN ISSUE THAT I NOW KNOW IS A WELL-KNOWN AND DOCUMENTED PROBLEM WITH THE ZF 6-SPEED TRANSMISSION USED IN THIS PARTICULAR V8 MODEL. THIS PAST WEEK, 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 VEHICLE WOULD NOT SHIFT UP FROM 1ST GEAR OR WOULD START ON 3RD GEAR AND WOULD NOT DOWN SHIFT DOWN TO 2ND NOR UP SHIFT TO 4TH. BIZARRE AND DANGEROUS TO SAY THE LEAST, AS IT WAS A STOP-AND-GO TRAFFIC SITUATION. ON TWO OTHER OCCASIONS, WHILE DRIVING AT OVER 35 MPH OR SO, THE ENGINE WOULD SHIFT VERY ABRUPTLY FROM 3RD TO 4TH GEAR, AND THEN WOULD DOWN SHIFT BACK TO 3RD GEAR. THE SECOND TIME THIS HAPPENED I PULLED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD TO SHUT DOWN THE CAR. I DID NOT KNOW WHAT TO SO AFTER FIVE MINUTES OR SO I RESTARTED THE VEHICLE AND HEADED HOME. UPON EXTENSIVE RESEARCH, I HAVE FOUND THAT THIS IS A WELL-KNOWN ISSUE, DOCUMENTED BY MANY KIA MOHAVE V8 OWNERS, AND ONE THAT HAS NOT BEEN CLASSIFIED AS A RECALL,…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 11, 2017Power trainODI 11045276

Electrical system

1 report
“OUR 2009 KIA BORREGO HAS HAD SEVERAL ISSUES. WORST ARE 1) WE PUT VEHICLE IN REVERSE AND BACKED OUT OF GARAGE, WENT TO PUT IN DRIVE AND STARTED DOWN DRIVEWAY. WE FORGOT SOMETHING SO STOPPED AND BACKED UP, UPON PUTTING BACK TO DRIVE WE GOT LOCKED IN NEUTRAL. WE COULD NOT GET CAR INTO REVERSE OR PARK. WE PUSHED THE ENGINE OFF BUTTON WHICH SHUT CAR OFF, BUT STILL WERE STUCK IN NEUTRAL. CAR WOULD NOT START BACK UP. WE HAD TO PRESS BRAKE HARD AND GOT CAR STARTED THEN IT WAS OK. 2) THEN A FEW DAYS LATER THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. THE CAR WAS GOING TO BE DRIVEN TO ANOTHER CITY FOR WORK SO WE TOOK BY KIA. THEY SAID WE COULD DRIVE IT, BUT IT COULD STALL OUT WHILE DRIVING. AT ANY SPEED! WE LEFT AT KIA FOR SERVICE. UNDER WARRANTY, SO NOT EXACTLY WHAT CAUSED IT. BUT DO KNOW MY CAR BATTERY IS NOW DYING AND WE'VE HAD FOR 6 MONTHS. NOW WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH THAT. *TR”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 8, 2010Power train, Electrical system, EquipmentODI 10354394

Equipment

1 report
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Oct 28, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.