Kia maintenance schedule for every model
Every Kia owner's manual has a normal schedule and a severe-usage schedule: "If any of the following conditions apply, follow the Maintenance Under Severe Usage Conditions." On recent Kias with naturally aspirated engines the normal oil change falls every 8,000 miles or 12 months, and the severe one every 5,000 miles or 6 months. Kia also says: "After 10 years or 100,000 miles (150,000 km), we recommend to use severe maintenance schedule."
That last rule is easy to miss and applies to every high-mileage Kia, whatever the driving. The rest of the schedule depends on the engine: turbo engines get shorter oil and spark plug intervals, and older generations ran on different numbers. The table puts the Kia models we cover side by side.
Kia models compared
| Model | Years covered | Oil grade | Oil capacity | Oil change | Spark plugs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kia Sorento | 2021-2026 | 0W‑20 / 0W‑30 | 6.13 qt | Varies, see the schedule | Varies, see the schedule |
| Kia Sportage | 2023-2026 | 0W‑20 | 6.13 qt | 8,000 mi / 12 mo | 96,000 mi (2.5L) |
| Kia Telluride | 2020-2025 | 5W‑30 | 6.87–7.08 qt (varies) | 8,000 mi / 12 mo (2022-2025); 7,500 mi / 12 mo (2020-2021) | 96,000 mi (2022-2025); 97,500 mi (2020-2021) |
| Kia Forte | 2019-2026 | 5W‑20 / 5W‑30 | 4.2 qt | 8,000 mi / 12 mo (2.0L; 1.6L turbo: 6,000 mi) | 96,000 mi (2.0L) / 42,000 mi (1.6L turbo) |
| Kia Seltos | 2021-2026 | 0W‑20 / 5W‑30 | 4.23 qt | 8,000 mi / 12 mo (1.6L turbo in the 2023 manual: 6,000 mi) | 96,000 mi (2.0L) / 48,000 mi (1.6L turbo; 42,000 mi in 2023) |
Capacities are Kia's "drain and refill" figures. Where a model has more than one engine, the table shows the range and the model page says which engine gets which number.
Normal or severe: which Kia schedule applies
Kia's wording leaves little room: follow the normal schedule only "if the vehicle is usually operated where none of the following conditions apply." The 2023 Sportage list includes:
- Repeated driving short distance of less than 5 miles in normal temperature or less than 10 miles in freezing temperature
- Extensive engine idling or low speed driving for long distances
- Driving on rough, dusty, muddy, unpaved, graveled or salt-spread roads
- Using for towing or camping and driving with loading on the roof
- Frequently driving in stop-and-go condition
Commuters in dense traffic and owners whose trips are mostly under 5 miles are on the severe schedule by Kia's own definition. For them the oil change is every 5,000 miles or 6 months, not 8,000.
| Normal schedule | Severe-usage schedule | |
|---|---|---|
| Oil and filter (2023 Sportage 2.5L, 2023 Seltos 2.0L, 2022 Forte 2.0L) | Every 8,000 miles or 12 months | Every 5,000 miles or 6 months |
| Any Kia after 10 years or 100,000 miles | Kia recommends the severe schedule |
Kia's oil life system
A Kia may add a monitor on top of the fixed schedule. The 2023 Sportage manual: "The vehicle may be equipped with the Oil Life Management System that predicts engine oil life based on the driver's driving history and alerts the driver to change engine oil." The alert can come before the normal interval when driving is hard on the oil. Kia notes the system assumes the recommended engine oil; with any other oil, the manual says to follow the severe schedule, and to reset the remaining oil life at every oil change.
What differs across Kia models
These differences are computed from the same data as the table, across every Kia we cover, including the Telluride and Sorento pages that publish on November 2 and 3:
- Oil change interval. 8,000 miles or 12 months on the Sportage 2.5L, the Seltos and Forte 2.0L, the 2022-2025 Telluride and the 2022-2026 Sorento. The 1.6L turbo in the Forte and Seltos runs on a 6,000-mile normal schedule. Earlier model years ran on 7,500 miles (2020-2021 Telluride, 2021 Sorento 2.5L).
- Oil grade. 0W-20 full synthetic on the Sportage 2.5L, the Seltos 2.0L and the Sorento 2.5L; 5W-20 full synthetic on the Forte 2.0L (2022 manual); 5W-30 on the 1.6L turbos and the Telluride V6; 0W-30 on the Sorento 2.5L turbo.
- Spark plugs. 96,000 miles on the naturally aspirated engines (Sportage 2.5L, Seltos and Forte 2.0L, 2022-2025 Telluride, 2022-2026 Sorento 2.5L). 42,000 miles on the Forte and Seltos 1.6L turbo and 48,000 on the Sorento 2.5L turbo.
- Oil capacity. 4.2 qt (Forte) to about 7 qt (Telluride), drain and refill.
A turbo Kia needs spark plugs at less than half the mileage of the naturally aspirated version: 42,000 against 96,000 miles on the Seltos. Budget for it if you are choosing between the two engines.
Find your Kia's next service
- Find your model and engine in the table above. The 1.6L turbo has its own oil grade, oil interval and spark plug interval.
- Go through the severe-usage list, and check the 10-year or 100,000-mile line. If either applies, use the severe schedule.
- Open your model's page for the full list at your mileage.
Model pages
Each Kia page has the full interval list, severe-use changes, costs and recalls: Sportage, Forte and Seltos. Hyundai uses the same normal-or-severe structure and the same 8,000-mile and 5,000-mile oil intervals on its recent models: see the Hyundai maintenance schedule. For mileage milestones that apply to any car, see the car maintenance schedule.
Frequently Asked Questions
Vlad Kuzin
Developer of Pinion. Writes about car maintenance to help people save money and stay safe on the road.
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