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Kia

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Common Kia Problems • Brakes • Stalling • Sudden acceleration • Transmission • Collision Damage • Just everything! --- News • Kia.com Rated Best Web Site for New-Vehicle Shopping • Kia Owners Awarded $6 Million in Class Action • Hyundai Offers $85 Million to Settle Horsepower Suit • Kia Aces J.D. Powers Survey • Horsepower Overstated

Kia's parent company, Hyundai, admits it overstated the horsepower on certain Kia and Hyundai models. Oh, but don't worry, the CEO said, people don't buy these cars for their power anyway. that's an understatement.

In fact, there are so many problems with Kias it's hard to know where to start. Most cars have one or two problems that tend to be dominant -- Ford's 3.8l V-6 engine, to pick an infamous example. But with Kia, pretty much everything seems to go wrong.

More recently, Hyundai and Kia raised eyebrows when they finished unexpectedly high in the J.D. Powers Initial Quality Survey. The Powers Survey is highly regarded but perhaps "initial" quality isn't the problem? Check the complaints listed to the right and judge for yourself.

Kimberly of Hendersonville , NC September 25, 2009

My husband bought a 2003 Kia Sorento in January of 2007 from the Asheville Dodge dealership, which has now closed down. Since then we have had the overflow tank cracked and had to be replaced, when it overheated it cracked 2 hoses that had to be repalced as well, the dome light inside the car does not work, we have ahd to replace the headlight bulbs at least 5 times, the paint is chipping off the front bumper, and the headlight bracket that holds the headlights on are craked and do not hold the headlights in place well.

This month, harmonic balancer bolt broke off causing the car to stall, loss of power steering and very difficult to get off the road. after all the above problems and then this happening, we decided to call Kia to see if there was a recall on this particular problem. Come to find out there was. SO great, we had the car towed to a Kia dealership to be repaired.

WIthin the next 2 days they call us back and tell us that they will not pay to fix this problem because the recall is several years old and we did not get it in to them in a timely matter, and that is is out responsibility to call Kia anytime you buy a used car to see if there are any recalls. The recall was before we bought the car and we were not told about it at purchase and had no idea about it and never recieved any type of notice after the fact letting us know that there was a recall. Not only that they are telling us it will cost 2900 to fix something that is Kia's problem, it's a recall that we knew nothing about so we should not have to pay for it.

They assigned us a case worker named Michael that was supposed to do what he could to get Kia to pay for this and came back and said there was nothing else he could do, we would just have to pay for it. I have 2 children that I need this vehicle for daily transportation, and this is a very big safety issue. What if I had of been going down the interstate at 65 when this bolt decided to brake, for a promblem that I should have known about in the beggining.

I'm not asking for a new Kia or monetary offset all I want is for Kia to pay to fix a Kia reacll. We by no means have 2900 to pay to have a var fixed which at this point I don't trust anymore anyway. Like I said before we need this car for daily transportation.

susan of alabaster, AL September 25, 2009

I was mailed a contest form by Kia automoble with a scratch off to see if I won a tv, vacation, or car. I went in to scan my contest form to see if I won anything. The salesperson told me I won a vacation and I asked him if I had to do anything, or was it a timeshare or if there was a catch and he replied no. I was so excited to win a vacation.

I came home to immeditately log onto my computer to look up the hotel in which city I was going to choose for my free trip. I entered Ramada Resort Plaza and relized that there were many posts by consumers who said this was a scam. I am so angry. I thought since it was Kia and Ramada it was a ligitament trip because of the reputation of these businesses.

This is fraud in its truest form. I want to sue Kia for sending out a scam contest and promising one thing and it is definitely what it represents. This scam company now has my name, address, and telephone number since I had to provide my driver's license to the automobile Kia. I am disabled with fibromyalgia and any stress causes my disease to flare up and makes me extremely ill. I also feel violated and embarressed to be scamed.

Craig of Arlington, TX September 23, 2009

On September 7, 2009 our 2004 Kia Sorento (90,000 miles) started making a noise from the engine. Sounded like something had come loose inside the engine. We immediately had the vehicle towed to the dealer. After some investigation the service department found that the Induction Relief Valve had dislodged and was sucked into the engine through the intake. Apparently this was an active recall item that Kia had issued in June 2009. This recall notice was never received. Only one recall notice (crankshaft pulley bolt) had been received since purchasing the Sorento new in 2004. Kia agreed to repair the engine, which included removing the heads and sending out to be machined. After the engine was rebuilt and started up, it still made a noise similar to the noise when taken to the dealer. After removing the heads again, it was discovered that the pistons were flaking apart. In order for Kia to perform any further repairs, they asked that I provide service and maintenance records for the past 5 1/2 years, so they could decide whether to rebuild the engine again or just replace it with a new short block. I provided very detailed records, and then was informed that Kia will not replace the engine and wants me to pay for further repairs (24 hours labor). So now were at day 16 since the vehicle was towed to the dealer, and were at a impasse. I'm perplexed in that Kia was willing to repair the vehicle in the first place at no cost, but since it was discovered that the repair was not successful, or was not performed correctly, or possible engine damage was missed during the initial diagnosis, they are now insisting that I pick up the tab. This seems wrong in so many ways, that I can't even think about it without getting frustrated.

LYNNE of ROCHESTER, NY September 16, 2009

I took my 2004 Kia optima to be inspected. It would not pass because the "flex" on the converter assembly is leaking. O.K. now the converter itself is covered for 8 years or 80,000 miles. The FLEX is not, but the Flex, Converter and pipe is all one piece. I cannot replace just the "flex" but since the converter is not the part that is leaking, I have to pay and the cost of this repair is over 1000.00. That seems like pretty shady business to me. I don't know how that is legal or ethical.

Catherine of Mandeville, LA September 15, 2009

We purchased a 2006 Kia sportage in January,09, and recently we had problems starting the car. We would have to press the accelarator like crazy for is to start. We took it to a local mecanic and he told us that computer says nothing is wrong with the car, that he got it started with difficulty but he could not determine what was wrong with it. So, I got it towed to a KIA dealership 20 miles up the road to a city nearby, and he just informed me that the cylinder wall is cracked which means the car has over heated many times, without nobody noticing, and no check engine light ever coming on, and mainly that it needs a new engine for the hefty price of 5598.00. KIA obviously have issues and they really need to recall most of them. Its crazy!

Aaron of San Jose, CA September 9, 2009

My story sounds the same as a few of the above. I bought my car brand new in 2004 (normal 2004 rio not the cinco ) 74000 mi later my clutch broke which is normal. Now at 78000 my timing belt broke even though I inspected it and had the paperwork. I submitted it and the kia local parts rep. Named Audrey in san jose ca inspected it and refused to service it because of the paperwork. I told them (the autoshop that did the tuneup and checked my timing belt)that I requested my timing belt be inspected and since the+ paperwork had the word timing on it I had been led to believe that it was.

Well, when I found out that Audry denied it I called Bonnie (my 800 333 4kia rep who opened my case) to complain and investigate why they wouldn't accept my proof of inspection. A week passed by and I called bonnie again. The second time i spoke with her she said that she couldn't reach them and that's why it was taking so long.

So the next day I call the dealership Karl kia and they say that they are on the phone with her coincidentally while I'm calling. 10 minutes later bonnie calls me back and says two things: she says that my paperwork has nothing to do with the timing belt, and that my timing belt was only covered for the 5 year warranty, and that since it was an expired part that broke it voided the power train warranty.

I just bought this car in December of 2004 brand new and had followed the maintenance table as I was supposed to, for this vehicle's motor to break down at 80,000 miles is ridiculous. So I called today to pay for the 130 diagnostic fee since repairing the engine is not an option but out of curiosity I asked the service person on the phone (from the carl chevrolet dealership) if they had knowledge about kia warranties.

I had also checked the warranty info on the kia motors of America website and as it turns out, my representative from kia had lied to me and the timing belt is included under the powertrain warranty according to the person. Kia has delayed fixing my car for nothing 8000 dollars and 80000 miles later with no car. No more Kia's...ever.

Ray of Middleton, ID September 8, 2009

We our unable to believe that a company holds such little regard to customer loyalty. As owners of two KIAS and business owners who are looking at purchasing a new van for such; we cannot believe that being trapped in our vehicle on a weekend by faulty locks does not constitute any type of refund. We were told by "robot-like" reps of our warranty three times. We knew about our warranty which did us little good on a weekend. Prior to our useless conversation with "Randy" today, we spoke to Dale at Nampa KIA about purchasing a Sedona for our business. We have realized that our loyalty to KIA means nothing, therefore we feel it is time to terminate our long term relationship with KIA.

Joan of Philadelphia, PA September 8, 2009

The engine light. I have had this vehichle over the past 4 years to several dealerships for this, approximately 12-15 times. They all tell me it the gas cap. There is only so many ways you can put on a gas cap. I had had many cars in my over 30 years of driving never had that problem. The last time I had it check out (4 months ago) I was charged. Now it is time for inspection and the light is on again. How is this problem going to be resolved? Spectra, 2005. 21,502 miles.

john of toms river, NJ September 2, 2009

We purchased a 2005 kia sedona new. Whilst driving it home I noticed it pulled to one side. We called when we got home and took it back for an inspection. They found nothing wrong and blamed it on the curviture of the road. Driving back home the car was still pulling so we called and took it back again. They switched the wheels around and balanced them. Driving home the car still pulled so we took the car back again. They said they would order us a wheel which would be in within the week, no call. After a couple of weeks we called them and they had forgot to order the wheel. Two weeks later no call and they said that they would order it for a fee. We then were so fed up that we called 1800lemonlaw. This was a mistake as the have given us the runaround for at least a yera switching us from attorney to attorney, cout appearence after court appearence. In the end they (lemmon law) told us that we should take the offer of four thousand 50% to them and be happy. I am so mad that I purchased a lemmon, had an attorney fight for me only to screw me over. So much for the consumer. We are now driving the kia still, it is still pulling and had the wheels changed twice, two sets of breaks and not even 50k yet. Do not buy a Kia and do not call 1800lemmonlaw.

melissa of marengo, IA August 29, 2009

Bought an '07 Kia Optima with 19,000 miles. At 30,000 a sensor went bad, leaving me stranded for 4 days. The dealership jacked me around until I finally got the car back, saying they had to replace the entire gas pedal. Needless to say, I also was not allowed a rental. Now, 2 days and 100 miles later, the car just doesnt seem to be running right. NEVER EVER EVER buy a Kia is all I have to say. And yes, this is my first new car. What a bad taste this has left in my mouth.....

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