Cpsc#I1230221A. 2004 Kia Sedona. Consumer stated he was having difficulty in starting the vehicle due to stalling. The vehicle will shut off while idling and while driving. Loss of power results in difficulty in steering the vehicle. The consumer stated none of the repairs, have fixed the stalling issue.

- Wilmington, DE, USA

Van was making a high-pitched whining sound. Took it in and found that the water pump needed replacement. They tested it and it was still not running properly so they dug a little deeper and found that the coils and wiring needed to be replaced. Got the van back in working condition and less than two days later, the check engine light comes on. Took it back and they said it needed a new catalytic converter. Thanks to laws in the state of California, we cannot replace with an aftermarket ($200); instead we were quoted $1K, and that apparently is on the cheap side. The gov.'t has a warranty program to replace catalytic converters on vehicles 80,000 miles or less. We were just out of that limit. Too bad for us. We're trading it in.

- Camarillo, CA, USA

I own a 2004 Kia Sedona 3.5L that I purchased on 08-31-2010 with 53638 miles on it. On 01-25-2011 as I was driving I heard a rattling from the engine compartment. I stopped to open the hood and confirm that it was coming from the engine, it was. I drove to the nearest auto mechanic and had it diagnosed to be told that I had a blown engine and it would have to be replaced. I had it towed to he local Kia dealership to be looked at further. The engine was opened up to be inspected. I was told that the #6 cylinder was coming apart and that I would have to replace the engine. The van currently ha only 59430 miles on it. It is under the 60000 mile warranty mark but over the 5 year portion. I have been made aware that there was a Kia service bulletin that mentioned that the 2004 Kia Sedona 3.5L engine had scoring on the #6 cylinder from the manufacturing process which also resulted in a gasket defect or malfunction. This clearly should be covered under warranty service. This is not the only case of this specific problem with the #6 cylinder.

- Maize, KS, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Kia Sedona. While stopped, the vehicle stalls. The vehicle can be restarted after the failure. The contact has not taken the vehicle to a dealer; however, a local mechanic could not identify the cause of the failure. The vehicle has stalled four times. The failure mileage was 70,000 and current mileage was 83,000.

- Rosburg, WA, USA

I have repair paperwork from the two past owners. The Kia sadona engine dies for no reason what so ever. This has been an on going issue with this vehicle. Today, it almost got my family killed because it stalled at an intersection they were crossing through.

- Gray, GA, USA

This van has brake problems squeaking and wearing out pads way too fast. I was told nothing is wrong with the brake system but when taking it to a brake shop I was told the calipers are bad, Kia has not fixed them and denies that they're bad. The check engine light came on and I was told that a spark plug had misfired, that was fixed under warranty and then another spark plug misfired and was fixed under warranty. The oil level was getting low but I had no leak and I was told that the oil filter was simply loose so they said they fixed it. I asked if I should bring the van back in a week to have the oil level checked and we were assured there was no leak. Check engine light came on again and the oil light flickered, did not stay illuminated, so we took it to the dealership immediately, as the owners manual and the mechanic had stated. Then we're told that there's sludge in the engine and that it will be 2,000 dollars to take it apart and check the damage that we caused from continuing to drive it. They never told us there was any reason to not drive it nor did they mention sludge previously. The van will be towed back to Kia tomorrow.

- Roswell, GA, USA

Car bucking and shifting problems. Kia has had many problems with the Sedona and fuel problems that they are well aware of but refuse to do anything about them. The car stalls on the free way it buck violently and there are numerous owners that are having the same problems that we are facing.

- Kirkland, WA, USA

My 2004 Kia Sedona has 24,000 miles on it and is in the 3 year 36,000 mile bumper-to-bumper part of the warranty. My check engine light came on and the car was towed to albert Kia. The service manager said the car had a blown engine and that it would be replaced under warranty, however, we needed to bring in all the oil change records for warranty purposes -which we did. That dealership went out of business and the car was never repaired. A rep from Kia usa told me that they were going to tow my car to balise Kia in warwick, ri. Two days later, scott, the service manager at balise, called to tell me that he and the district manager had looked at the car and it was determined that it had 5 liters too much oil in it. I told scott that the service manager at albert Kia had already diagnosed the car and reported a blown engine, never once mentioning anything about too much oil. Within the 72 hours, jeff from Kia usa called and informed me that he had my case. After a brief review, jeff asked me to fax over the service records to him. On January 16th, my case was given to russell stuart. Later in January, the Kia dm and I checked the oil together and noted that it was not over the fill line. The dm removed the oil cap, looked at the underside, and noted that it filled covered with sludge. The dm now stated that the car never had an oil change - voiding the warranty. I asked if the sludge on the back of the cap was the result of a blown head gasket. The dm said no. My son, an ase master technician, found a Kia issued technical service bulletin stating that some 2004 Sedona models with the 3.5 liter engine had a defect that left a score mark at the #6 cylinder on the head, resulting in head gasket failure. My vehicle was built 4 weeks after Kia said they corrected the problem but Kia will not lend any credence to this bulletin regarding my vehicle. I'm stuck with a vehicle that has been out of service for 3 months.

- East Providence, RI, USA

The van will lunge or cut-off while being driven. The dealership has repeated this problem with several employees. No one knows what is causing this or how to repair. So they keep giving it back to us un-repaired.

- Reidville, SC, USA

None.

- Riverview, FL, USA

While driving 50 mph vehicle stalled. Vehicle was still driveable. Dealership informed the consumer that there transmission failed. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. Dealer stated problem was caused by electricl harness. Also having multiple failures with output speed sensor; transmission 3 times; thermostat assembly; power steering leaked; input speed sensor; low ground voltage failed; fuse block problems; cruise control. Consumer was advised that due to the design of the cruise control, the vehicle accelerates often while on an incline at 45 to 55 mph as if vehicle's engine/transmission was racing.

- Easley, SC, USA

When driving the vehicle started to shake and then shut down. The dealer changed the engine and the defect occurred again, the vehicle was placed on the computer and no defects have been found.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA