Owners of other Kia, Hyundai and Genesis vehicles such as the Niro, Optima, Soul, Forte, Rio, Stinger, Cadenza, K900, Sorento, Telluride, Sedona, Kona, Santa Fe, Tucson, Elantra, Sonata, Accent, Rondo, Carens, Veloster, Ioniq, Nexo, Palisade, G70, G80 and G90 may also find these DIY instructions to be helpful.

A few compatible replacement sets of new front brake pads with their part numbers include the following: Power Stop Z23-1847, Raybestos MGD1847CH, Bendix CFC1847, Maxim PC1847 and Wagner QC1847.

The tools and other items needed to complete this procedure include a lug nut wrench, a 14mm socket with a 3/8" drive ratchet, a flathead screwdriver, an "F" clamp and a tube of brake caliper grease.

The first few steps are to drive the SUV on to a level surface, turn off the ignition and shift the transmission into "Park".

Engage the emergency / parking brake and place wheel chocks on both sides of the rear tires to prevent the vehicle from moving.

Slightly loosen the five lug nuts on the front wheel by turning them about 1/4 to 1/2 turn in the counterclockwise direction with the tire iron.

Raise the front of the car with the floor jack and securely support it with at least two jack stands.

Please do not solely rely on the floor jack to support the vehicle. I prefer to work on one side of the car at a time to keep three tires on the ground for extra safety.

Carefully remove the front wheel and tire.

Set the wheel aside. Some people like to place the wheel under the frame rail of the car as an extra backup measure just in case the car falls off the floor jack and jack stands.

The front brake caliper is held in place to the bracket by two bolts located on the back side of the caliper. The bolt heads face in towards the engine bay.

Loosen the top caliper bolt by turning it in the clockwise direction (as seen when viewed from the outside of the vehicle) with the 14mm socket and a 3/8" drive ratchet.

Then loosen the bottom caliper bolt by also turning it in the clockwise direction (as seen from the outside of the car) with the 14mm socket and 3/8" drive ratchet.

Try to avoid stressing, kinking, bending or pulling on the rubber brake fluid hose.

Rest the caliper on the rotor or suspend it from the suspension spring with a bungee cord or some twine.

Once the caliper has been removed, the two old brake pads will be exposed.

There are two "U" or "V" shaped metal spring clips attached to holes on the outer edge of the old brake pads.

If you have trouble pulling the old brake pads out of the bracket, you may need to gently bend up the small metal tabs on the upper pad abutment clips.

Use a flathead screwdriver to gently bend up the metal tabs that prevent the old pads from being pulled out of the bracket.

Make a mental note of where the wear indicator bar or "squeal bar" is situated on the old brake pads.

On this 2018 Sportage, the wear indicator bar was situated at the top of the old inner pad.

Clean off the bracket, rotor, lug studs and caliper with brake parts cleaner spray such as CRC Brake Cleaner.

Try to avoid breathing in the brake dust or the cleaner spray fumes as they may be carcinogenic (cancer causing).

Apply a thin layer of brake parts lubricant grease to the bracket and new pad abutment clips where they will come in contact with each other or the new pads.

Pull the slider pins out of their rubber dust boots attached to the bracket.

Apply a thin layer of brake caliper grease to the smooth parts of each pin.

Push the pins back into their dust boots.

In order for the caliper to fit over the thicker new brake pads, the caliper piston needs to be compressed or "retracted" back.

Attach the "F" clamp to the caliper and use the back of an old brake pad to evenly distribute the pressure across the piston.

Move to the right rear area of the engine bay and locate the round black plastic brake fluid reservoir cap. It is situated behind the engine air filter box and to the left of the electrical fuse box.

Removing the reservoir bottle cap will allow the brake fluid to more easily travel back through the lines when you compress the piston.

Slowly turn the "F" clamp handle in the clockwise direction to push back the caliper piston.

Repeatedly check the level in the reservoir tank to make sure the fluid doesn't overflow.

Clean up any spilled brake fluid immediately and flush the area with clean water. Brake fluid can easily damage painted surfaces.

Continue compressing the caliper piston until it is just about flush with the rubber dust boot that surrounds it.

Detach the "F" clamp and discard the old brake pads.

Replace the reservoir cap as soon as possible.

Brake fluid is hygroscopic so it readily absorbs moisture from the air which can lead to reduced braking performance.

Twist on the cap 1/4 turn in the clockwise direction.

To replace the original rotors, remove the two set screws on the outer face of the rotor by turning them counterclockwise with a large Phillips head screwdriver. Then remove the two 17mm bolts on the back side of the bracket and remove the bracket. Then slide off the old rotor. If the old rotor is stuck or rusted in place, loosen it with a rubber mallet. Slide the new rotor into place, replace the bracket and replace the two 17mm bolts.

The bracket bolts specification in the service manual is 57.9 to 72.3 lb-ft of torque.

Install the new inner and outer brake pads into the bracket.

The wear indicator bar should be situated at the top of the new inner brake pad.

Push the two pads together until they are flush against the rotor.

If the caliper won't fit over the new brake pads, you may need to compress the piston back a bit further.

Line up the bolt holes in the caliper with their corresponding holes in the slider pins within the bracket.

Tighten the upper and lower caliper bolts by turning them in the counterclockwise direction (as seen from the outside of the vehicle) with the 14mm socket and a 3/8" drive ratchet to just past hand tight or about 20 to 25 lb-ft of torque.

The service manual specification for the front caliper bolts is 16 to 23 lb-ft of torque.

If the slider pins turn as you are attempting to tighten the caliper bolts, hold them in place with a 17mm wrench.

Try to avoid over tightening the caliper bolts.

Double check that the two bolts are tight before moving on to the next steps.

If your brake pedal has been feeling soft or spongy, you might need to bleed the brake lines in order to remove any air bubbles or moisture.

Check out my Acura MDX Brake Fluid Bleeding Guide for more information on this topic.

The brake fluid bleeder valve is located just below the top caliper bolt. It is covered by a rubber cap.

You'll need a 10mm wrench to open and close the bleeder valve.

Spin on the five lug nuts a few turns in the clockwise direction to prevent them from becoming cross threaded.

Slightly tighten the lug nuts with the tire iron in a criss-cross or star pattern in the clockwise direction.

Continue progressively tightening the five lug nuts in the clockwise direction to about 1/4 turn past hand tight.

It would be best to use a torque wrench to tighten the lug nuts to the owner's manual specification of 79 to 94 lb-ft of torque.

I would also recommend checking your driveway, parking spot and/or garage for fresh drops of brake fluid which might indicate a leak from the bleeder valve or reservoir.

Check the fluid level in the reservoir and if necessary, add more DOT 3 or DOT 4 fluid.

Be sure to record the brake pad change in your SUV's service records.

Please check out all of my 2017-2022 Kia Sportage DIY Repair & Maintenance Guides.