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.
I was driving no less then than block from my house - when I notice smoke from the driver side fuse panel and next thing you know the whole panel became engulf in flames. I called the fire department and able to put fire out- but unfortunately, the car become total in the damage.
The contact owns a 2002 Kia Sedona. The contact stated that there was a problem with the wiring of the air conditioning and heating units. Additionally, the dash lights would not properly illuminate. The power door locks and power windows would also intermittently fail. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 127,000. The VIN was not available.
The car was parked in front of the house. A neighbor knocked on the door and told us that the Kia was on fire. No one was in the car at that time. The engine compartment was totally burned up. The car gave me no other problems.
I drove 25 minutes from a to B and parked my car. Turned the engine off sat there with the radio on for 1 minute exactly and I hear a. pshhhhh and smoke rising quickly, then a flame from the fuse box by my left foot. I got out opened the door looked for the smoke and flame that were reflecting and waving. I opened the fuse box slider cover with a knife and started to squirt water out from my bottled water quickly. Thank goodness I had water. Flame went out and I saw the inside of the fuse cover burnt, and a fuse looked like it caught on fire because the fuse looked completely melted.I have a video of the aftermath right after the fire went out. Tomorrow ill be calling insurance, Kia, and whoever else that can help me understand what is going on and what I can do to ensure my safety. Please help or approve a recall. Thank goodness I didnt exit my car so quick or alot of the car would have been on fire.
The contact owns a 2002 Kia Sedona. The contact stated that the air conditioning unit failed and was blowing warm air. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and an inspection was performed, which determined that the condenser was leaking. The dealer also found that the vehicle passenger side of the sub frame was corroded with only two inches of metal left supporting the engine. The corrosion also spread to the driver's side. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and denied assistance with the repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 62,000.
- Plainedge , NY, USA
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The contact owns a 2002 Kia Sedona. The contact stated that on an intermittent basis the engine warning light would illuminate on the instrument panel. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer who informed her that there was a loose wire. The vehicle was repaired; however, it currently will not start and she noticed that the heating warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who stated that all of the wires had melted, but they were unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired again. The manufacturer was contacted and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000. The current mileage was approximately 73,000.
The contact owns a 2002 Kia Sedona. The contact heard an unfamiliar noise and the instrument panel caught fire while the vehicle was parked. The cause of the failure was electrical. The insurance company was notified. The vehicle is currently parked in his driveway. The current and failure mileages were 61,000.
Since purchasing a Sedona van in '02 we have had none stop electrical issues. The battery has been replaced at least twice, same for the alternator, and most recently the car caught fire behind the panel nest to the parking brake pedal. My wife drove the car at 1:00pm to the store and then came home, parked in the driveway, and locked the doors. At 10:00pm we were awaken by a neighbor who told us that the car was running, the wipers running, and the interior filling with smoke. I unlocked the doors and used the extinguisher to stop the fire. Thankfully she did not park in the garage or our house would probably have caught fire.
2002 Kia Sedona ABS light illuminated. Mechanic determined that the ABS control module needed to be reprogrammed. Consumer vehicle was not involved in the recall. Mechanic was unable to repair the consumer's vehicle. The mechanic was not able to repair the vehicle, because Kia would not release computer information for the necessary diagnostics. The consumer called several other dealership and they were not very accomdating. The headlights failed twice. The battery and belts had to be replaced and the ac was running low. The consumer believed there may be some type of problem with the alternator.
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.
Consumer belts squeal, slidding door drags, pulley was replaced at 7744 miles. ** answer required*** the pulley and belt have been replaced 10 times. The alternator seized while the vehicle was being driven. The A/C fan made loud noises. The sliding door dragged. The emergency brake would not hold, the dealer adjusted it three times then finally replaced. An internal short in the fuse clock caused the vehicle not to start. The vehicle stalled intermittenlty but the dealer was unable to duplicate the stalling. The power windows would stick and make noise, the dealer lubed it and replaced the regulator. The rear hatch rusted around handle and had to be repaired/refinished twice. The exhaust manifold racked. Oil leaked from oil filter. The front and rear wipers failed. The sliding door handle broke. The dash lights illuminated due to broken bad switch contacts. The rotors warped. The A/C was blowing when it wasn't on and sometimes it blew out warm air. The rear seat arm rest will not stay down. The threshold on the left side is cracked.
The contact stated that this vehicle has experienced several problems. The first incident was in August 2005 when the alternator, alternator belt, and a sensor were replaced. A sensor was replaced twice in October 2005. Then, on October 28, 2005 there a control valve was replaced. The check engine light was on each time before the vehicle was repaired. The check engine light normally remained off for about three days. However, when the last repair was made the check engine light remained off for only about 50 miles. The vehicle has not been back to the dealer since then.
When the electric lock is used on the Kia Sedona it disables the following: Electric windows, dash lights (all) interior dome lights and tail lights license plate light and all parking lights are lost. After setting overnight the systems come back on line so far. However if someone hits the locks and it is at night, all the light that another driver would see from the rear are out. The driver can not see any instruments at all. And any windows that were open will not change position. We took it to Kia they said a relay was missing. However the entire prescribed set of relays were in place, they also said the fuse block was melted, and it had to be ordered, they returned the car to my wife and she drove it home again. They provide a picture of what was ordered. I looked at the car and there wasn't any relay missing and if the fuse / relay was melted it was not apparent from the installed condition. There was not evidence that anything was removed (all bolts and installation hardware was still intact and dirty and no finger prints were present) we are waiting on the part delivery. This car was not safe to drive yet Kia did not give any thought to releasing it to my wife to drive. We have parked it until the part comes in. The failure has happened every time the locks are used over the last week.
2nd request ltr fm richard jorge (fl) re his defective 2002 Kia Sedona. When the vehicle only had 180 miles it overheated and shorted out. Presently, the consumer is experiencing a recurring problem with the battery and alternator.
My Kia sodona van at 63,000 miles began to stall after initial start. Engine has to be revved repeatedly to get it to go. Took it in and was told the alternator needed replacing, 400+ dollars and a whole day of waiting it is still not running right, in fact it is worse than before. Was told to bring it back in, may have a fuel problem. Was the alternator even bad?!! other things continue to break or fall apart on the van. Head supports are broken on two seats, will not stay up. If in a crash would not have the support these are supposed to give! one of the side doors will not close properly. Was told it would be around 100 dollars to change out a ball bearing in the door! these are not covered under the wonderful bogus 100,000 mile warranty.
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.
Remote entry locks often do not work. Dealer said other owners have complained of the same thing but manufacturer is unable to pinpoint the problem and no fix is currently available.
The consumer states that the vehicle stalls. On one occasion the vehicle was moved in the street with traffic flow, and the vehicle shut down. A vehicle had continued moving and slightly scraped the rear of the consumer's vehicle. The engine light had come on. The vehicle was taken to a shop for repairs and after installing a new battery, the alternator doesn't crank.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Saint Louis, MO, USA