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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.

Jaime of Lahaina, HI May 21, 2008

Jaime of Lahaina HI (05/21/08)
In December 2007 I purchased a new 2008 Spectra 5 with 17 miles on it. In March 2008, I noticed the paint was bubbling and chipping off. I went to the dealer, they took pictures and said the distrcit manager will have to see the vehicle in person as the pictures were not clear enough. I had to wait unitl May 2008, when the district manager would be on-island. The district manager told me that it was bird droppings causing the paint to come off and that the 36,000 mile paint warranty would not cover that. I told him that it was not bird droppings and I refused to let that be the end of the discussion. He then said I could go and get independent auto body qoutes/estimates saying that the paint was defective and not caused by bird droppings and they would paint the car. I did this and was then told that the description on the quotes was not descriptive enough to relay defective paint. I called the Kia head office and was told that they would first go to the district manager 9which I had already done) and then go to the regional manager. I was guaranteed an answer within 75 hours so I will wait until then. If I hear nothing I will try to go through the Hawaii Lemon Law, but have heard people having nothing but difficulty with that avenue too. If anything happens I will let everyone know, all I want is my car painted!

Edward of Victorville, CA May 20, 2008

Edward of Victorville CA (05/20/08)
7-10-06 with 10,156 miles.Toke Kia into dealer,brakes pulsate when stopping. Now tech found front rotors were overheated and hot spotted from possible hard driving.Tech replaced rotors and pads this one time only for good will. 3-24-08 25,140 miles.Toke Kia in service and brake noise.Upon inspection tech found that front pads had 1.5MM of life worn brakes. Tech replaced pads and rotors this one time gooddwill per DPSM with customer paying for labor and Kia paying parts. 5-19-08 27,540 miles.Toke Kia back for brakes make a squeel sound and grawling. Tech found that front brakes were glazed and slightly hot spotted from possible hard driving.Tech also inspected rear brakes and foundthat they were properly adjusted and working as designed.tech recommends machining rotors to remove glaze which would result in quieter braking.Last repair was a one time goodwill.Repair tech did not find any deffect in braking system.Hot spots and blueing of rotors is a reslut of hard braking.Customer declined repairs at this time. PS. we've owned three new trucks,one new car,purchased another mini van with 25 thousand miles on it.Never had issues with the brakes on these vehicals.I also like to say that our service advicer at Kia dealer ship has gone out of his way to help us as much as possible.We take good care of our Vehicals and never had a problem with any until we purchased our Kia.

Roberta of Kailua, HI May 15, 2008

Roberta of Kailua HI (05/15/08)
I was driving m car home when it began losing power. I looked at the instrument panel and the indicator lights were not on. Car was moving very slow even though I was stepping on the gas. Parked it down the road from my house until morning. In the morning I started it up and all lights lit up but, now the check engine light remained on. I tuned car off and called KIA roadside assistance and requested car be towed to ALoha Kia.

Keith of Germantown, OH May 10, 2008

Keith of Germantown OH (05/10/08)
Summer of 2007 I purchased this used '02 kia sportage in hopes of having a fuel efficient suv. Mine gets between 20-21 mpg usually. The sportage had 118K on it when i bought it. First thing i noticed was very severe wear on the inside of the front tires. steel belts were hanging out of both, but good tread still on the rest of the tires. Replaced both and got aligned assuming that was the problem. within two weeks i noticed a ticking sound when i would coast. It sounded like cards in the spokes of a bicycle. Turned out to be the front wheel hubs and were replaced with manual locking hubs for about 400 by the time the problem was found and fixed. The next big problem started after about 6 months of ownership. It would hesitate occasionally while driving down the highway. It is steadily getting worse and now barely idles with the air running. As I accelerate, it sputters and jolts and hesitates until up to speed. The fuel filter was changed, but before taking it to the shop, i noticed the steel belts were hanging out of the inside of the tires again and had to buy new tires. They claimed that a the ball joint on the swing arm is loose and causing the extreme wear. we will see. meanwhile it is running very roughly. I've also replaced the driver's side headlight twice now, and although starting out bright, within 2 days, the new bulbs are barely lit at all. They aren't burning out entirely, just not lighting up very brightly. The check engine soon light stays on constantly and when it is started on cold days, oil leaks pretty badly from somewhere. It doesn't leak at all once the engine is warm or if the weather is about 45 degrees or above.

Micah of Cabot, AR May 7, 2008

Micah of Cabot AR (05/07/08)
I have a 2006 Kia Rio. My wife had a wreck on Febuary of 2008. She was hit at approximately 35 to 40 miles an hour in the front passenger side of vehicle and the airbags did not deploy. thankfully she only suffered a broken wrist and bruised ribs. I had a wreck in same vehicle on April 24th, 2008. I hydroplaned and ran up under an eighteen wheeler and was struck by the back tires of the big rig which sent me into a spin till I slammed into a retaining wall facing oncoming traffic where I was helpless to leave vehicle till troopers arrived. I was also struck in the front passenger side fender just behind the wheel. I was traveling at 60 miles per hour at the time of the crash and my airbags did not deploy. I suffered an injury to my left leg.

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