usan of Mcloud OK (04/18/06)
I bought my 2004 Kia Sedona brand new in April of 2004. We bought it because
of the automotive industry ratings and the price, and not to mention the 10
year 100000 mile warranty!

In September of 2005 my A/C stopped cooling. It was getting cooler where I
lived so I did not bother to take it in right away. So, in March of 2006 I
took it to the dealership I purchased it and was told compressor had to be
replaced, and offered me several options of brake work, filter replacement
etc. I turned it down and they were not too happy about it.

I just wanted my free warranty work done. Later that evening got a phone
call that my van had R12 in it. I had no idea what he was talking about. I
said let me have my husband call you.

He began to tell him the warranty will not cover it because the van was
tainted. Unless getting your oil change can taint it, we did not do it.

I called Kia and was told that they would call the dealership to verify it
and it was my word against theirs.

That was no help either. It is now April with 95 to100 degree weather. I had
to have it fixed, and pay for out of my pocket.

Charlene of Woodbridge VA (04/11/06)
I bought my 2000 Kia Sportage in 2002 I am the second owner and the original
owner only but about 14,000 miles on it. Shortly after I bought it, the 2
rear passenger windows quit working, now I am having some trouble with my
front driver's side window, my check engine line comes on and stays on for
about 2 weeks and nobody can seem to figure out why, my oil light comes on
even when I have enough oil in the car, it overheats constantly, it spins
out on wet pavement even with new tires and barely pressing on the gas and
when the pavement is went and I press on the brakes my back end fish tales,
my air conditioner won't work half the time, there is all this noise coming
from under the hood of my car. The trouble I have had with this car is
simply crazy.

Unfortunately I am still stuck paying on this car because I am a single mom
and can't afford another car I am stuck with this one and can't sell it in
the condition it is in and nobody will take it as a trade in. Not to mention
the money I am out on repairs.

Melissa of Statesboro GA (04/06/06)
My mom bought me a Kia in July of 2001. When we drove the car off the lot it
had 15 miles and a full tank of gas. That's about all that's went right with
the car since I got it. Within the first year I had to get the alternator
replaced. Ever since then I think my car has spent more time sitting down
then driving. Everytime I turn around something is wrong with my car.
Everytime I take it to the Kia dealers they always say that it is something
simple like I need to tighten my gas cap. I may not be the brightest person
when it comes down to cars but I know when something is wrong with my car.
Now my transmission is gone and they refuse to fix it. With the KBB retail
value of the car being at about $2500. It would be better to just get a new
car then spend the time and money to get it fixed.



Michelle of Spokane WA (02/24/06)
My 2003 Kia Sedona caught on fire due to faulty front seat wiring. I am at
the tail end of working with my insurance company, and would like to pursue
this because of the extreme stress this has caused me. I feel as though the
Kia company should also step in and make this claim right.

Carla of Carbon Hill AL (02/23/06)
Bought a 2005 Kia Rio. I have had this car in for many minor repairs over
the pass year that I have owned it, now it drives rough. I paid to have the
tires balanced and rotated by Gardendale Kia, Alabama twice. They said
nothing was out of the ordinary. This didn't fix the problem. I am smart
enough to know that something was wrong with the front end, possible the
tires, so after finding out that the tires were out of warranty at 12000, I
took the car to Expert tire to have the tires and front end inspected. They
said that the was some sort of manafacturer's defect in the front end of the
car that has caused three tires to wear improperly and putting new tires on
my car at this time would only mess up the new tires.

I took the car back to Gardendale Kia to find out the front end problem.
Brad said it was the strut mounts and would be glad to replace those under
warranty but would not replace the tires because they were out of warranty.
I told Brad Hall that it wasn't a defect in the tires it was the defect in
the car that caused the tires to wear improperly and I felt that it was Kias
place to replace the tires. I even had Expert tire speak with Gardendale Kia
and tell them what they found wrong with my tires and front end. They said
take it up with the Kia Customer Assistance.

I called Joshua at the Kia customer service on February 7th and made my
complaint. I spoke back with him on February 10th and he said no they would
not replace the tires and that it was not the strut mounts that caused the
tire problem. I even told him what Expert tire said about my car and he just
said they are not Kia certified machanics.

Michael of Mooresville IN (02/17/06)
We purchased a 2000 Kia Sportage a year ago, with 35,000 miles on it. Now it
has 65,000 miles on it and everything you can think of is going wrong. We
replaced spark plugs in September of 2005 and in January 2006 the service
engine light came on and the hold light was flashing, so we took it to
autozone and they tested codes on the vehicle and said cylinder three
misfiring so we replaced the coils, and the other codes were for the ECM
Engine Control Module and TCM Transmission Control Module.

I called the Kia dealer in Greenwood Indiana and made an appointment. When I
asked them to check the service engine light and told them the hold light
was flashing they called later that day and told me they couldn't check the
service engine light for the codes until we replaced the front brakes and
rear wheel cylinders. So at that time I took it to a friend that is a
mechanic and they said the rear wheel cylinders were not leaking and there
was nothing wrong with the front brakes. The RPM's was going from 2000 to
4000 in 1st and 3rd gear and not shifting right. I am trying to fix the ECM
and TCM myself but cannot find a repair manual for a kia anywhere and the
dealership won't tell me where they go, not to mention occasionally the
doors lock and unlock by themselves, the door chime dings every now and then
when you turn left and the dome light comes on, the heat shield rattles, the
chain in the 4 wheel drive rattles and we have repaired the four wheel drive
twice, the muffler rattles, and there is a grinding noise in the front
drivers wheel and we replaced wheel bearings on both sides on front to fix
the grinding noise and it stopped for about a week but now it is back.

Deinna of Jonesboro GA (02/09/06)
I own a 98 Kia Sportage and have had nothing but problems. I will be driving
and it stalls, the hold light stays on and the transmission has already been
replaced and it is making weird noise again!

Coreen of Rochester NH (02/06/06)
My 4-wheel drive had to be replaced 4 times in 3 years that I owned my Kia
Sportage. All those times it was under warrantly. I was told it would cost
$1200 to have it fixed if it wasn't under warrantly. The warrantly expired
but the part was warranteed for 1 year. It broke on Jan. 25th, 2006. 1 YEAR
AND 1 WEEK AFTER THE PART WAS REPLACED. I called Bournival in Hampton, NH
where I purchased the car and have had all the repairs done. They called the
regional manager from Kia and asked him if he would replace the part at no
charge and he said no because the part was not under warranty any more.
AGAIN 1 WEEK OVER AND BROKEN FOR THE 5TH TIME IN 3 YEARS! I now have a car
with no 4-wheel drive that I've only owed for 3 yrs. & 4 months.



Thomas of Chester VA (01/16/06)
I purchased my 2001 Kia Optima SE in December 0f 2000. The car was presented
as a 170 HP 4 cylinder engine, midsize sedan. First of all the company lied
about the horse power. Settling a Class Action lawsuit admitting the car was
really only 140 HP and blaming it on the engine maker...But since purchasing
the car it has been in the repair shop more than 150 days and counting again
today.

It has been the most unreliable vehicle I have ever owned. I purchased an
extended warranty for an additional $1500, that has thank goodness covered
most of the repairs and rental, which have totalled over $10,000!

Robert of Payson AZ (12/21/05)
I have bought 2 new Kias -- an Ultima and a Sadona in the last 2 years. Both
dealerships have a lot of dishonesty in common. But the one that bothers me
most is lack of desire to honor the Kia 100,000 mile warranty. Both cars had
a similar minor problem. The automatic door locks malfunctioned. Both
dealers have virtually refused to fix the problem.

It is inconvenient. Not much to complain about. But the dealerships want
your business for all required maintenance to keep the warranty in place.
But would they ever really fix something under the warranty?

William of Elmira NY (12/18/05)
Three out of four power windows - drive chain failure - cannot drive car due
to safetly issue - KIA refuses to recognize the defect.

Cannot drive the vehicle because of inabilty to open the windows.

Natalie of White Oak TX (12/16/05)
I bought a used (2001) Kia Sportage in 2001. It had 20000 miles on it when
purchased. It has been into the shop countless times for brakes, electrical,
and now it is stalling. Nothing is covered under warranty and there are no
loaner cars offered. Each time my car has been in the shop (literally every
4 months) I have to plunk down another $100 to $500. The car went down in
value so fast that I only have 6 payments left and I'm still upside down.
Anytime it's cold or humid, my horn honks uncontrollably. The dealer has run
several tests and "never found a problem".

My back seat D.S. window stopped working. The dealer said the motor burned
out and it would cost me $150 to fix (that great extended warranty that I
paid extra for and I still have to pay $150?). I told them to forget about
it. I wouldn't pay to have that fixed, so they tried to charge me for
looking at my car. A week later I had my battery replaced and guess what
starts working again!! So I guess they were hoping to get extra money out of
me as if they haven't already milked me dry.

The brake pads have to be replaced every four months. I’ve never had to do
that with any of my other cars. I had spark plugs changed in Aug of '04 now
my car is stalling agian and they're telling me that I need new spark plugs,
again!! Not to mention the lame construction of cup holders, ashtrays,
cigarette lighters, visors, and consoles which are ALL broken even though
some were never used.

Kristian of PA (12/06/05)
I bought I used Kia Rio a couple of years ago and have had problems. The car
has a habit of losing power. It can be going up a hill or driving down the
road. It gets pretty dangerous. I have had it to the garage with many
repairs and never fixing the problem. This time I have been told it is a
fuel injection problem.

The car is dangerous to drive. I have nearly been in accidents. it has cost
me a lot of money. I still owe money and can barely drive the car.

Samantha of Redford MI (12/06/05)
I purchased my car in February of 2005. I bought a Kia because of it's
reputation for having a great warranty and the car was still under warranty
when I purchased it. On 11/17/2005 I drove my car to work and parked it as I
normally do. About 15 -20 minutes later someone was yelling a car in the
parking lot is on fire! We called the fire department and I found out it was
my 2001 Kia Sephia. The fire was in the engine and the Fire Chief who came
out to view the car said the fire looked electrical in nature based on his
experience with fires.

The car has 56,183 miles on it and according to Kia, the car is still under
warranty. I had never had any problems with the car before this time so I
was completely baffled as to why it would have caught fire. I had the car
towed to the local Kia dealer and I have just been going around in circles
with Kia Motors to have them honor the existing warranty on the car.

In the interim, I am stuck trying to find a way to get back and forth to
work. I have missed more work in the last 3 weeks than I missed the entire
year. The Kia was the only vehicle I had and now I have no way to go get
groceries for my family, pick my children up from school, or pay my bills. I
asked Kia to give me a rental until they could at least resolve the issue
and have the car repaired but they denied me that. I thought I was getting a
good vehicle with a good warranty but it looks like Kia is not willing to
honor their warranty. It appears that they can not provide consumers with
the piece of mind that their advertisers offer.

Shonda of Kent WA (12/04/05)
I brought my 2003 Kia Optima in for service on 9/1/05 at Auburn Valley Kia
in Auburn, WA after the "Air Bag" light came on and stayed on. The
receptionist, without hearing anything more than the air bag light was on,
said that it's an easy fix of a loose wire. She was correct, but a fix that
"takes just a minute" cost $92 to diagnose. This struck me as odd since the
receptionist diagnosed it from her chair behind a desk without even knowing
what kind of Kia I owned. She originally claimed that the problem comes in a
lot, but when asked why Kia doesn't do anything about it if it's so common
and simple that a receptionist could fix it, she realized she said too much
and referred me to the Service Manager.

The Service Manager not only avoided the question, he also refused to show
me where the loose wire was. Perhaps he has a problem with a woman who would
like to understand her car problems. Perhaps he enjoys the profit margin on
this "repair." Or perhaps Kia and Auburn Valley Kia like taking money out of
the pockets of English teachers in our public schools.

I was not happy with their service or support, but I have to have my car to
work, and I was concerned about my safety if the air bags truly were
malfunctioning. I paid their fine and took my car home. Barely three months
later, the air bag light came on again. Having heard the feeble excuse of
"maybe something under the seat knocked it loose," I immediately pulled over
and looked for offending materials. Had I been shown where the connection
was, I could have looked more closely, but the mechanics refused to educate
this Kia owner. In any case, no stray debris was found vandalizing the
underwires of my seats, and I continued home--albeit more carefully--in the
snow.

According to the invoice, the mechanic "reconnect connector and light went
out." I'd love to plug in their faulty cord again, but it seems that I, like
others I've read in researching this issue, are stuck at the mercy of Kia
and their local militia of grease monkey tyrants.

So far the total is $92.48. After another milking, I'll be up to $184.96.
However, I am not alone in this problem, as evidenced by the response at
Auburn Valley and from other consumers, so the real extent of Kia's
disregard for the quality of their wiring is currently beyond measure. I
would hate to think what could happen if someone were to hit me while that
shoddy scrap of wire dangles somewhere under the seats.

Pamela of Cheshire CT (11/04/05)
What happened? What HASN'T? The most recent problem I have been dealing with
for about 6 weeks now taking it back & forth to the dealer is the engine
light continues to come on, it runs rough like the car doesn't want to shift
gears. Continuous efforts bringing it to the dealer, (of course my warranty
just expired weeks before hand!) and they reset it, then I drive off, almost
get home and back on it comes. Take it back, they say I need an emmisions
control module as well as a new alternator. Get the alternator fixed $300...
then the EMC.

Well, drive off come off the exit heading to work, engine light is back on,
running really rough like the engine is going to blow up. Won't shift
automatically and feels like it is stuch, the rpm's race, and the heat level
gauge is on HOT. This is ridiculous! They don't even know what the problem
is!

Mary of St. Louis MO (07/21/05)
This happened in Rocky Mountain National Park. We were involved in an
off-center head on collision with a Toyota car that had crossed over the
center line. The air bags in the Toyota deployed. Ours in the Kia did not. I
was bruised by the seat belt and feel that if the air bags had worked, I
wouldn't have been injured.

I had bruising from all parts of the seat belt across my chest and
stomach,as well as abrasions and bruising on my knees and elbows. I have
stiffness in my neck and upper back. I also have been having head aches on
and off since the accident.

K of Gales Ferry CT (07/19/05)
We bought a 2002 Kia Sedona 4 years ago and have had nothing but problems
since. It started as little things; window motors had to be replaced, rear
door locks had to be replaced, etc. But now it has gotten worse. The check
engine light has been on for almost 6 months now, the a/c has had to be
re-charged twice (still not working), the brakes went out on me the other
day while backing out of my driveway, and the transmission slipped while
driving on the freeway.

I am a mother of 3 young kids and I do not feel safe in this vehicle. We
have been stranded twice now and had to have it towed 3 times. It has been
in the "shop" at least 7 times, to which, everytime, they call to say they
found nothing wrong. My husband has to commute over 30 miles to work, so he
cannot be without his car. This has been a major inconvenience for us and
we're sick of it. Right now, the van is in being "repaired", but, honestly,
I don't want it back. I refuse to drive it. I was amazed at all of the
similar complaints on this website. I truly think it's going to take more
than just one voice for the Kia Headquarters to hear us. We need to take a
stand against them and demand some kind of compensation.

Samantha of Malibu CA (07/18/05)
Where do I begin in describing the horror that is my 200 Kia Sportage? In
the second week of ownership, the CD player stopped working, and that has
turned out to be an omen of all that was to come. I have spent over SIX
THOUSANDS DOLLARS on repair for this vehicle--which, by the way, has been
well maintained with oil changes, tune-ups ,etc.

The windows stopped working at one point, the product of blown fuses, when
the car was only two years old; the steering went out while driving with no
warning, the result of a slipped belt, the mechanic told me later; the car
has had non-stop problems with stalling, weird idle irregularities, and a
"HOLD" light comes on for no reason. trul, my issues with this car are so
numerous I can't list them all, but what I want to say is that this car is a
DANGER and should be seriously investigated.

I have been stranded in busy traffic at least four times, endangering my
life! Because KIA parts are difficlt to come by, I have had to wait weeks
for repairs, costing me thousands in missed work opportunities (I am a
freelance writer) and in car rentals. the stress of driving this thing,
always wondering if it will work, is unmeasurable. Another problem is that I
still owe money on this car, yet it is essentially worthless, so cannot be
sold!

Evelyn of Hacienda Hts CA (07/08/05)
I purchased a kia sportage 2002 BRAND NEW from the lot! The car was ok and
then after 1 year or so i started having stalling problems i was towed
because the car wouldnt start it was embarrassing! I have so many problems
with the car everytime the car rests it wont start i have to attempt to turn
it on at least 3-4 times and this was a brand new car!! The worst problem
was I would drive and all of a sudden the horn would stop working! The
problem was I didnt know the horn wasn't working until a semi was changing
lanes and did not see me -- thank god I got out of the way before he crushed
me!!

Rafael of New Windsor, NY, tells a typical Kia tale:

I traded in my car for a supposedly new '98 Kia Sportage.

a.. The car was given to me with a bad battery.
b.. My newborn son and I were locked in the car because my door handle
broke when I tried to get out.
c.. The tire rack handle for access to the cargo space broke and I was
unable to use it for a week.
d.. The car has been making a strange humming sound.
e.. The extension pipe to the muffler broke off.