MODELYEARINDEX

Kia Cadenza

71 complaints across 3 scored model years and 5 recall campaigns.

Which years to avoid

Ownership label · Kia Cadenza Full report
D
Grade 2014–2017
2014 vs model median 1.5×
Model median3× median
Engine 5
Body & Interior 5
Electrical 3
Avoid

2014

Best

2015 · 2017

Year by year

Severity-weighted complaints filed in each model year’s first 60 months on the road, so every year is measured over an identical window.

Year Complaint volume vs median Reports Grade
2014
1.49× 32 D
2015
0.52× 11 B
2017
1.00× 19 C

What it costs to run

EPA figures for the most recent model year on record.

Combined MPG23
City / Highway20 / 28
Engine3.3L, 6 cyl
DriveFront-Wheel Drive
Annual fuel cost$2,650

Recalls

5 campaigns on record, 2 carrying a Park It or Park Outside warning.

Campaign Component Model years Units affected
23V652000 Park it SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP:CONTROL UNIT/MODULE 2014, 2015 1,730,192
21V137000 Park it SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP:CONTROL UNIT/MODULE 2017 379,931
22V158000 VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD 2014, 2015 30,362
14V289000 WHEELS 2014 3,107
17V190000 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:POWER ASSIST:VACUUM:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS 2017 47

Others in Full-Size Cars

Same body and size class. Each grade describes that model against its own history — these are not ranked against each other.

Model Years to avoid Grade
Acura RLX
none flagged
C
Audi A6
2019
C
Audi A7
2019
C
Audi A8
none flagged
C
BMW 5 Series
20112012
B
BMW 7 Series
2012
B
Buick Lacrosse
20112012
C
Cadillac XTS
2013
C

How this was calculated

Every model year is scored over an identical window: complaints filed with NHTSA during the first 60 months after that model year went on sale. Without this, older cars look worse purely because they have had longer to accumulate reports.

Limitations. Complaints are unverified reports submitted voluntarily by owners; they are allegations, not findings, and reporting rates vary between models. Model years with fewer than 60 months on the road are marked provisional and excluded from verdicts. Cross-model comparison is withheld pending production-volume data.

Full methodology · Sources · Data vintage August 9, 2026

Working 2014 Cadenza
Complaints in window
32
Severity-weighted
57.5
Model median (weighted)
38
vs model median
1.49×
Recall campaigns (weighted)
5
Open investigations
1
Score 46.8 D