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.
The contact owned a 2008 Kia Spectra. While at a stop, another vehicle crashed into the driver's side of the contact's vehicle and the air bags failed to deploy. The contact sustained minor bruises that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
The airbag sensor in the passenger seat appears to be failing, similar to other Kia models. The light indicating the airbag is off is illuminated when the vehicle is occupied by an adult.
The sensor light turned on and disabled airbags. We took it to the all star Kia in baton rouge off of siegen lane. They told us it would be 1549. To fix it. I contacted corporate office spoke to [xxx], he told me he would send the case to regional office since I wanted them to pay for it. Three days later [xxx] called me and said they would pay for half of the cost, we declined he said he would then send it to the regional office. I reminded him he had said that three days ago. Finally I reach a [xxx] in regional who was not very pleasant and she said it was no longer under warranty, so they could not pay for it. I told her I would not let this go. Today 4-13-15 she called and left a message on my phone saying that the dealer would pay half of the cost and that I had 30 days to accept. I feel like this should of been a recall since there are so many consumers with this same problem same model car. They recalled 146,000 thousand other cars different models and years for the same thing. Just want them to be honest and do the right thing. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
I have a 2008 Kia Spectra. At 140,000 miles the air bag light came on and has been on since, I am now at 158,000. I have read where the seat needs to be replaced, however I do not have the means to do so...updated 07/21/15 updated 9/23/2015
Airbag sensor in passenger seat has malfunctioned for the second time and passenger side airbag not on light has come on again. According to my mechanic, Kia does not sell just the sensor and the entire passenger seat assembly must be replaced again. Kia has no recall for the defective passenger seat/sensor combination for this particular model although it does for other models of the same year and problem. Kia should have an airbag seat/sensor recall....updated 07/13/16
I own a 2008 Kia Spectra and have had air bag system issues with the passenger side OCS mat. About a year ago, I had the seat replaced due to the fact that you can not change out the mat itself. This cleared up the issue and the air bag system worked fine. For a while. Now the air bag light is on again with an adult male sitting in the seat it says that the air bags are disabled. If you push on the seat towards the front of the seat bottom while sitting in the seat, the light goes off and the system is active. When you stop pushing on the seam the system deactivates. I spoke with Kia dealership parts department and they said that this is a common issue but they will not recall the item. You have to purchase a new seat bottom from them at a cost of $1397.45 parts only. The parts are only covered under a 1 year warranty. If this is a common issue( according to Kia dealership ) why has there not been a recall on this vehicle and all others that have the defective OCS mat" they seem to be making a lot of money for a part that they know and have confirmed as being defective at the cost and safety of the consumer"
The contact owns a 2008 Kia Spectra. The contact stated that the front passengers side air bag light illuminated sporadically even when the passenger seat was occupied. The drivers side air bag light illuminated. The contact stated the vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the passenger air bag sensor needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unavailable. Updated 12/22/14 updated 9/05/2017
The air bag warning light on passenger front seat side has not been working properly. Air bag light does not turn on when occupant in seat. Now no light working at all. Just recently the air bag warning light on driver side came on. I took to Kia dealership and they said my air bags have turned themselves off because the occupant sensor pad is bad in passenger side. They told me it would be over $2000 to repair because they have to replace the entire front seat pad. They said it was not covered under warranty. I am driving a car with no airbags and can't afford to get new seat replaced. I looked at the internet and there are hundreds of complaints of this same problem. Why have they not been recalled?
My vehicle began experiencing intermittent issues with the air bag "off" illuminating with a passenger sitting in the front seat. This has happened on a half dozen occasions that I have noticed and goes off when the passenger adjusts their sitting position. The vehicle surges intermittently when stopped. Additionally brake pedal has stuck on a few occasions when the engine is cool. The vehicle will also cut out on occasion when driving down the road. I put it in neutral to restart, and continue driving. These all happen intermittently with no apparent rhyme or reason to them.
The contact owns a 2008 Kia Spectra. The contact stated that the front passenger side air bag light illuminated when the seat was occupied. The contact mentioned that the passenger side air bag light illuminated intermittently depending on the position the passenger was sitting. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic where it was diagnosed that the seat cushion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 65,000.
My air bag light has been on since I bought the car which was maybe a year ago, I did not know what it meant until I started doing research. I do not feel comfortable knowing my air bags may not work! the car lot failed to tell me anything about this problem. I am very upset and this needs to be fixed by Kia or the car dealership.
The air bag light has illuminated on the dash cluster and the light for the passenger side airbags will some times flash on and off like the exorcist. Even with a 200 pound adult in the passenger seat.
The contact rented a 2008 Kia Spectra. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 mph, she crashed into the rear of another vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy with the impact. The contact sustained contusions to the chest, right arm and left arm. There was also internal bleeding from the lungs and an injury to the right leg. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was to be repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was unavailable.
The air bag light has illuminated on the dash cluster and the light for the passenger side airbags will some times come on and at other times will not, with a 200 pound adult in the passenger seat. I called Kia dealership and was told it would be $100 to check the code. The code indicates B1448 OCS failure - mat sensor. Dealership said there is only a five year 60,000 mile warranty on these parts. Problem is you can not replace just the part, you have to buy the complete seat bottom at a cost of $800 - $2,000 depending on the dealership that you speak with. This is a large cost to replace every 3 - 6 years (depending on age and mileage). Kia and Hyundai have had recalls before for the same air bag systems in other vehicles but refuse to recall the part in the Spectra.
2008 Kia Spectra ex w/ 38,125 miles on it. The air bag light stays on and after reading all the failure to deploy complaints, 1. I will sue the crap out of you rip offs if my bag does not deploy 2. I will never buy another Kia as long as I live.
The contact owns a 2008 Kia Spectra. The contact was driving 40 mph and crashed into a deer. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact sustained neck and shoulder injuries and a police report was filed. The vehicle was not repaired or inspected for the cause of the air bag failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 110,000.
There were no accidents leading up to a failure. The airbag light in my 2008 Kia Spectra ex suddenly came on. After taking it in to a dealer, I was notified that the entire bottom portion of the seat needed to be replaced. The car could not tell if there was a person in the passenger seat. This deactivated the entire airbag system. Several other complaints are here: This does not seem to be an isolated issue, and should be addressed by Kia.
The sensor in the passenger seat was found to be defective during a state inspection. I had to replace the seat, which cost me $2,231.93. I was told by the autoshop, and by 2 different Kia dealerships that this seems to happen alot in Kia. I think that Kia should reimburse me for this but don't know how to go about that. I see that they have recalled other models for airbag malfunctions. This model should be looked into as well.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Cathedral, CA, USA