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.
While driving 70 mph overdrive and engine check light came on. Vehicle then dropped down to 20 mph. Towed to dealer, and transmission was replaced. This happened again, and transmission was replaced again. Consumer doubted that it was replaced the second time. She never received anything in writing. On 4 June, 2001 this problem happened again. After a few minutes, she was able to resume driving at normal speed. Consumer believed transmission was defective.
Transmission replaced twice, wiring to sensor of transmission repaired and grounding wiring to transmission upgraded, however, transmission still slips, it does not shift properly and hesitates when pulling off from a stop.
- Englewood, NJ, USA
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Transmission slips ( might happen at any time), and speedometer quit working. Both have been replaced by the Kia dealer, but both continue to experiance the same problems. Dealer just says they can't find any cause.
Brakes squeaking when applied. Dealer notified, and rplaced both front brake rotors. Transmission failed twice within two months. The brake failure resulted in accident. Check engine light came on several times but dealer checked and stated okay.
Upon test driving a different Kia Sephia on the evening of our purchase, I noticed the rough shift of the vehicle.I was told by the sales person that it was a very new car and that it shifted hard because it had not been driven.I accepted that explaination and we proceeded to purchase a different Kia Sephia that evening. My wife drove the car to work and noticed that this vehicle shifted very hard also, especially when cold. We called the dealership and mentioned this to the salespreson greg, and he said that the service department would check it out later that week when they repaired a scratch we saw on the spoiler at the time of purchase. They said a 200 mile trip we were planning would help smooth everything out. It didn't. after another week we complained again and were told the car needed 10,000 miles on it before the transmission would smooth out. When we mentioned that seemed strange they then dropped the miliage estimate to between 3000-5000 miles. We feel the design of this car's transmission is faulty and uncomfortable to drive. We were basically told "too bad...we don't think so". they even went as far as to tell us that all new vehicles shift very hard. In addition to the very hard shift, our gas miliage is well below the advertised fuel economy information. We were also told this will improve in 7000-10,000 miles. We are very unhappy with this car and would appreciate any help you can give us.
I have reported this because of the fact that upon failure, due to the fact that the transmission shifts erratically, it caused a near miss at approx 30 miles per hour because the vehicle would move fast enough to get out of the way of an approaching semi-truck.
Brakes overheated badly, and consumer was able to smell them. Also, brake pedal went to the floor. Even when pumping it hard, brake pedal still remained at the floor. In addition, transmission failure. When shifting gears, it caused vehicle to jerk violently. Dealer notified, and was unable to resolve the problems.
Horn failure. Dealer notified, and informed consumer that transmission needs to be replaced. They do not know how long before replacement transmission would arrive. Asking NHTSA to look into this matter, and provide additional information.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Pinon Hills, CA, USA