The 2015 Kia Cadenza has 2 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 1,760,554 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 64 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the electrical system. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC23V6520002023-09-251,730,192 affected
Defect
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2010-2019 Borrego, 2014-2016 Cadenza, 2010-2013 Forte, Forte Koup, Sportage, 2015-2018 K900, 2011-2015 Optima, 2011-2013 Optima Hybrid, Soul, 2012-2017 Rio, 2011-2014 Sorento, and 2010-2011 Rondo vehicles. The Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit (HECU) may experience an…
Consequence
An engine compartment fire while parked or driving can increase the risk of injury.
Remedy
Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will replace the HECU fuse, free of charge. Interim notification letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed November 14, 2023. Owner notification letters were mailed March 29, 2024 through June…
VISIBILITY22V1580002022-03-1530,362 affected
Defect
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling all 2014-2016 Cadenza vehicles. During manufacturing, the front windshield may not have been properly bonded to the vehicle, allowing it to detach.
Consequence
A front windshield that detaches from a vehicle can increase the risk of a crash or injury.
Remedy
Dealers will inspect the front windshield glass. If necessary, the windshield will be removed and reinstalled. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 13, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC232.
Complaints by component
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
13
2fires
ENGINE
13
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
9
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
4
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
3
STEERING
3
VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD
3
STRUCTURE:BODY
2
SUSPENSION
2
VISIBILITY
2
Total complaints64
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Vehicle: 2015 kia cadenza issue: open hecu safety recall — fire risk I am the owner of a 2015 kia cadenza with an open hecu recall related to a known fire risk. I have been experiencing a burning smell inside the cabin of the vehicle, consistent with the recall defect. Upon contacting kia…”
“My entire dash went black. I could not see speed, gas level, milage. This is an extreme hazard! I brought the car into "crown kia" in clearwater to run a diagnostic check for 0.5 hour at $150 and they could not find the problem. I had no money to pay for additional time! I did research on this and…”
“My entire dash went black. I could not see speed, gas level, milage. This is an extreme hazard! I brought the car into "crown kia" in clearwater to run a diagnostic check for 0.5 hour at $150 and they could not find the problem. I had no money to pay for additional time! I did research on this and…”
“My entire dash went black. I could not see speed, gas level, milage. This is an extreme hazard! I brought the car into "crown kia" in clearwater to run a diagnostic check for 0.5 hour at $150 and they could not find the problem. I had no money to pay for additional time! I did research on this and…”
“Please open an investigation into hyundai/kia lambda ii class of engines! They are leaving hundreds of families stranded! Nhtsa needs to do better! Stand up to kia make them fix these engines! Its unfair to the little people aka the consumer! Stop protecting the giant companies!”
“There are thousands of vejicles with a variant of the 3.3l v6 lambda ii gdi hyundai/kia class of engines on the road. There are hundreds if not thousands of complaints regarding different variants of this engine throught hyundai/kias line up. All of them with seized engines. There are class action…”
“Engine seized. 3.3l lambda ii gdi. This is the 2nd hyundai/kia product that the engine has seized on me. Both with bearing failure. Neither on the list of recalled engines. You need to do a more thorough investigation into hyundai/kias engines. The brands share the same power trains across the…”
“Engine seized without warning while driving at approx 50mph. This occurred within 6,000 miles of a kia dealership performing a 6,000 dollar maintenance to the vehicle.”
Defect investigations
InvestigationAQ23002 Opened 2023-11-17 · open
Hyundai and Kia ABS Module Fires
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received eight Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) and eight Kia America, Inc. (Kia) Part 573 Recall Reports between 2016 and 2023. The combined 16 safety recalls all involve the antilock braking system (ABS) modules or Hydraulic Electronic Control Units (HECU) manufactured…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2015 Kia Cadenza as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.