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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.

Carlos of Nuevo, CA August 22, 2009

I bough a new Kia Spectra 2008 with 19,000 milles and on less than a year to be driving it, and the engine Overheated, start smoking and stalled car not restart, damage cyl head. and the water got inside of the motor and took it back to the Kia dealer and they told me that they and Kia company are not going to cover anything on the warranty eventhough is till 36,000 warranty. No i do not have money to repaired and after some months the dealer wants to charge storage charges since July 6 2009 when the Kia failed

FAYE of JASPER, GA August 19, 2009

I bought a 2006 Kia Sportage in 2006 since then I have had to put three fog lights on it. I have also had to put front brakes on it now they tell me it needs rear brakes on it. I have had to put two new sets of tires on it. They say at the customer service that it has to be the fault of the tire dealership because it is not a Kia problem. It will not stay in alignment. I carried it in for the brake light recall and now one of the rear brake lights does not work. They also tell me it needs a new timing belt replacement one at a cost of 750.00 and this has to be done every 60,000 miles and is so expensive because of where the timing belt is located and 90% of the cost is for labor. This car stinks and the Kia company will not even discuss the possibility that they are at fault at all. They will not help in anyway.

Karie of South River, NJ August 7, 2009

We purchased a Kia Rio Cinco in 2004 with just 13 miles on it. We were confident that this would be a great commuter car for me because it is backed by such a powerful warranty, 10 years/100,000 mile powertrain ~ not to mention, we purchased an additional warranty from xtra care as another just in case. My car has 78,000 miles on it and the engine blew ~ due to a timing belt issue.

I had my car service religiously and also had the belt changed, as per the owner's mannual to validate the warranty. Now that my car is at the dealership, they have denied the claim stating that the belt was never changed. When indeed the belt was changed in '08 with receipts to prove.

This all started on Sunday and now it's Friday...it's really upsetting that when my husband went to the Kia dealership they were willing to let us test drive a mini van for a couple of days to see if we wanted to buy? I cannot believe that it has taken this long for an answer not to mention that they are passing blame to our mechanic. Now my husband and I are researching the best alternative to replace our engine. Estimated cost so far for a used 1400 without labor!

Angela of Loudon, NH August 5, 2009

My husband and I purchased a 2006 Kia Spectra in early 2007. We've always been on top of all the maintenance at reputable service centers and now with 47,000 miles on it after a transmission flush, the transmission is hunting for gears and running terrible. I've been told that the place that serviced it put in the wrong fluid.

Jiffy Lube has documentation that this fluid was compatible for our car and Kia says no and will not cover the transmission as part of our warranty. We have 2 special needs children at home and no car. My daughter is a liver transplant recipient and my son is autistic. I have no way to get them to their appointments. I am completely lost. Please help. We still owe 10,000 on the car and right now it's not even worth 3,000.

Melanie of Langley, BC August 4, 2009

I purchased my 2008 Kia rio 5 in August of 2008. The car has been nothing but a nightmare since that time. I first started noticing a significant drop in my fuel mileage and loss of power after about a month of having the vehicle. I mentioned it to the dealer but i was informed that unless it throws fault codes or has a more pronnouced problem, chances of being able to diagnose a complaint like that were slim.

1 month later i went to start my car & it wouldnt fire up. After numerous attempts of cranking it, it finally started. I contacted Kia and they said not to worry about it unless it happens again. Another month goes by and one morning the check engine light comes up. I bring it in to the dealership and they tell me it requires a reprogramming update. All right so thats all done & I leave. it basically happens 3 more times after that. they keep blaming it on the reprogramming but advise me that my fault codes are for misfire.

At this point 7.5 months have gone by so we have a total of 4 incidents of the light coming on & reprogramming. The 5th time this light came on flashing, it derating the engine & i couldnt drive faster than 40 km. I shut the car off & restarted it. The light didnt flash and operated normally so i dropped it off at the dealership. Flash foward almost 2 months.

I finally get my car back from the dealership. During this time i was given a courtesy car (i do have to give them that at least) and they resealed the cylinder head & block. I have my car back for not even 12 hours and the check engine light comes on again & derates. They take my car for almost another 2 weeks again (visit # 6), this time replacing the ecm. I was at the point where i was discussing a replacement vehicle with them, but the only solution they were giving me was owing them an additional 10,000 dolllars to get a new car.

Since they finally did do an actual replacement of a main component (the ecm) of the vehicle i decided to give the vehicle one more chance. 2 days later, i started my car & im guessing you know the outcome.

I will be contacting Kia Canada today to place my complaint & depending on the outcome when i visit the dealership today (visit #7), i will be taking appropriate measures to get this dealt with. Not only for myself but also for the satisfaction of other Kia consumers.

Gary of dora , AL July 29, 2009

We have taken this car in for numerous repairs that keep going bad.The door locks keeps failing to work right. The windshield had to ne replaced due to a stress crack. The check engine light was on when we bought it. I was charged 2000.00 for an extra warranty for a brand new car and new nothing about it. I was given misinformation by the general manager about that warranty.

This is supposed ti be a new car. We purchased a new car to not have all this trouble. I truly believe this car is not worth the money they say it is and that it is a LEMON. This car has less than 10000 miles on it.

Diane of St. Petersburg, FL July 28, 2009

Car bought brand new with the 10 year/100,000 mile warranty. Always serviced by Kia Dealer. On the road to St. Petersburg, Fl, the timing belt broke, jamming the pistons and ruining the engine. Mileage was 80,000 miles. Car was 7 year old. Service dealer said the repairs are not covered under the warranty because the timing belt was not replaced at 60,000 miles. At no time during all the years of the car being serviced at the Dealership did anyone mention the timing belt needed to be replaced to keep the warranty. Kia Corporate offices tells us the information about this timing belt requiring a change is in the owners manual and (this is the kicker) the Dealerships are not required to mention this to the owner. Awesome... Interestingly enough, two tow truck drivers stated that the car is not old enough or has enough mileage to warrant the timing belt to break. Even more awesome...

Carl of Columbus, OH July 26, 2009

Since last November, every time it rains or there is any dampness, my 2002 Kia Rio Cinco shudders and rattles when started, and then is incapable of accelerating over 25 mph, nearly stalling into turns. If I am able to pull over for 3-4 minutes and turn the engine off, I do so. The car then drives as if nothing had happened, except the battery light stays on for a good two days.

Shariff of Redmond , WA July 24, 2009

In 3rd week of July 2009, I had taken my Kia Sedona LX to the Le Johnson of Kirkland dealer for a engine light check, a car seat belt light, and for an oil change. Later in day I was told by the dealer that oil change was completed, and for engine light ON it needed a Canister Close and a Valve Purge CON part replaced as it was not functioning correctly, I went ahead with that repair to make sure the pressure for my emission was functioning.

I was later told that the red light for seatbelt was for the Airbag module. They have not seen this issue before and not sure of any previous year’s record. This is what they typed in my invoice quote " Scantool unable to communicate with Airbag control module. Module has internal failure and requires replacement" I declined this repair hoping to find some more answers and info and do my research with other drivers and dealers to look into why, my van that has only 50k miles ( 9months over 5 year warranty period) could have a part that is important with a National Car Safety Rating of 5 start could go bad in such a short period of time?

I looked and research on internet and did not find any other consumer experiencing same issue, if anyone out there had seen same issue with their van please update this blog, I am reaching out to other dealers for help as well. Lee Johnson is a good dealership, but I do not get it why this part gone defective in such a short run mileage? I belief is the manufacturer lemon part, and they have some responsibility and vested value to investigate why their part went bad so quick. That part does not qualify for 5 start rating does it? I am reaching out to manufacturer, dealers, individual owners, in this Nation to answer my call for help.

David of Hemet, CA July 17, 2009

I purchased a 2003 Kia Sedona and a 2003 Kia Spectra in July of 2003. I continue to be extremely happy with the purchases. I have followed the maintenance schedules, oil, timing belt, etc.. and not a single problem. I now have 130,000 thousand miles on my Kia Spectra and 60,000 thousand on the Sedona. Keep in mind that I do all the service on my vehicles myself, I don't trust dealerships or anyone else to touch my vehicles because of the damage they often cause. I can see many people have had issues with the Kia brand but I also see they rely on third parties to perform regular vehicle maintenance. I hate to see the Kia brand slung through the mud do to the incompetance of the repair shops people take their cars to.

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