This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
This is the 2nd alternator and battery to be replaced. First one was at 40K miles, and was covered under warranty. They tried to get me to pay for the new battery, but I insisted that since their faulty part caused the battery to die, they should replace at no cost. I bought the car to the dealer thinking the alternator would still be covered, it is not. I refused for them to replace, since there is an obvious problem with their alternators. The service rep. Agreed that the 2nd alternator should have lasted for the life of the car. I bought the car to another mechanic who has now informed that the wire to the alternator was fried/rotted/burnt/ off. This is due to the way the van is designed. It is apparently too close to the exhaust and has caused the wire to burn off. This is now a major job, and his experience tells him that this will happen again. Also, he has advised that he has seen a lot of problems with the brakes on these vans. I thought it was just ours that needed 3 sets of new brakes for less than 75K mile on the car. The average life of brakes on this vehicle is less than 25K. More importantly, the alternator wiring is defective and will undoubtedly can be a cause for a fire.
In 11/04 my ABS lights went on in my 02 Kia Sedona. I took the van to get new brakes and was told that I needed to take it to the dealership because the ABS sensor was broken in pieces on the driver side wheels. In 8/05 my air bag light came on in the dash and stayed on. Before I could get my car in to dealership, I was driving home from work in early 9/05 going ove an overpass when my car just died and lost all power. I was told that my master flow sensor went bad and needed a new one (warranty). They also replaced the seat belt sensor in the drivers side to take care of the air bag light.2 days later my airbag light came back on. In 12/05 my ABS light came on again along with the warning beep. I called my dealership and got appt. Following Tuesday. I was told it should be safe to drive until then. Both headlights also went out. Now when applying brake my brake goes down grinds, adjust then goes all the way down. Got car to dealership tues am. In the afternoon received call 1 yr old battery is leaking acid due to faulty alternator (sending too much power out. Was told must replace battery so that dealership may complete diagnosis. Was told by dealership Kia only warranties main issue not any additional items damaged by main issue. Received call a little while ago, told bad altinator needs battery faulty seat belt sensor now in passenger seat belt (3 months ago was drivers side also my headlights are both blown - yes faulty altenator most likely caused this. I was also told that my new brakes (replaced in Aug 05 at less than 3000 mi ago) are wore thin and need relacement along with rotors which now have grooves in them and they are also to thin. I have now replaced the brakes 4 times on a vehicle that is 4 yrs old and being told must replace once again.
I really need help and don"T know what to do. Also with my car my engine light was constantly on and to this day the light is probably still on and Kia have not contacted me yet and even though I have a rental from enterprise through Kia paying that is not the issue I want my car so that can sell it so that I don?T lose my home because I am unemployed due to this bucket of bolts. And also the Kia repair man steve johnson at kirkland Kia stated to me that my odometer reading was incorrect and the Kia manufacturer took my car to another dealer because I wad being seen at their auto shop too much and is bizarre or what" I spoke to a paul stapleton at Kia motors America because they have had my vehicle for 30 days straight. On Oct 8 I picked my car up and 20 min later my engine light was back on. The day before I was offered $1000 for a good will gesture from Kia. When the engine light came back on the next day Mr. Stapleton offered to buy my vehicle back for 11,300 and that was without the $1000 good will. Today is Oct 12th and by this afternoon I will be hearing from this company. This is not satisfying to me because I still had a full warranty on my car and for 11,300 I will have to purchase used and no warranty because I had a 2002 that was paid in full and a full warranty.
Our Kia sadona is a 2002 model and has about 52,000 miles on it. It has had problems with the transmission, brakes and the windshield has been replaced three times etc. Today however, my husband was driving the vehicle when the front drivers side seat in the vehicle broke. The seat broke completely out of it's chamber. Thank god this did not happen during an accident. The dealership said they would be replacing the part that broke under the warranty however it will be awhile before they get the part in. They refused to provide us with a safe vehicle to drive during the time it takes to get it fixed and Kia corporate also refused saying they do not provide rentals even if the part is a defect from the manufacturer. They pride themselves on the warranty of the car parts but who cares how much you have to spend on rental cars while yours is in the shop so many times.
On July 4, 2002 we purchased a 2002 Kia Sedona minivan. Immediately after driving out of the dealership we parked at a store, when we returned to the vehicle it would not start. We called the dealership and they sent out a tow truck. The van was towed to the dealership and the service adviser indicated that they had numerous complaints regarding a driver seat relay that was causing the batteries to go out on this year, make and model of vehicle. He indicated that they were changing all relays. They replaced with new battery and new relay on the van. The van continued to give us problems, the whole electrical system (stereo, windows, door locks) would go off and on as we were driving. If we would stop vehicle, the vehicle would not start. We had numerous jump starts. We took the vehicle in approx. 4 or 5 times to the dealership with complaints regarding problems, there was black smoke coming out of the exhaust when we would start the vehicle. Brakes would squeal when applied. Van was terribly hot under the car and it would blow out the heat and almost burn us. I asked the service adviser if they could exchange the van for another one and he indicated that they had to have a continuous report of repairs in order to turn it in as a "lemon". we were traveling in Mexico for business and pleasure when our van started on fire on the highway and other autos noticed and waved us down to stop. We noticed, pulled off the road safely and all 6 adult passengers were able to get out safely and run away from the vehicle as it started exploding. The fire came from all underneath of the van. The mexican federal highway police came to where the van was and took a report of the incident. The van burnt down to a skeleton. I reported the incident to the Kia customer service, they denied our claim without no explanation. No one ever called to find out the facts or gather information. Obviously, they did not even look at their own service repair tickets.
- Phoenix, AZ, USA
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Fallas sistema aire acondicionado desde 8-28-2002, todavia sigue dandio problemas en estos momentos SE encuentra en taller de Kia para reparacion. Frenos reparados en 2 ocasiones los rotores Y pads. Cristal delantero SE quebro sin razon. Radio dejo de funcionar.
Our Sedona has been pulling since we first bought it. First to the left, then to the right, then nothing, no pull. Been aligned twice. Also been told I take my hands off unevenly which causes to pull, also that I don't know how to keep correct tire pressure in. The car pulls heavily. One way or the other. Scared to drive. Also brakes vibrate car badly when braking from high to low speed especially on a downhill. Have contacted the BBB auto line. I believe the car is extremely unsafe and I can not stand driving this thing. It is a two hour drive to my Kia dealer and I have been there a lot. **dimsii IVOQ entry posted after 12/12/02 cut over to artemis**768313
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- Pompton Lakes, NJ, USA