Faults:

My convertible top is broken completely off.

My gas lid opener is broken.

My left window is off track.

My timing belt went out once.

My power steering belt came loose.

My muffler cover came loose.

My muffler burnt through my bumper.

General Comments:

Everything is wrong with my car. Somebody told me before I got a Kia, that it was the most unreliable car.

Faults:

Speedometer and Odometer stopped working completely.

(Replaced speed sensor and instrument cluster - did not fix)

4WD hubs stopped working.

Valve cover gasket leak.

Fuel Pump quit, stranding us.

Rear hatch has noisy rattle.

Rear fiberglass spoiler faded and cracked in sunlight.

General Comments:

Good points:-

Looks good

Relatively low initial purchase cost (However, this does not translate to "value")

Bad points:-

Extremely low component quality

Extremely low interior quality

Feels cheap

Underpowered

Can't rely on it.

Bought this car while still under the 60,000 mile warranty. Kia dealership replaced the 4WD hubs under the warranty, but then kicked up a fuss for every other item requiring repair under warranty. This is not a customer-oriented organization.

I couldn't be less happy with this vehicle. It has been nothing, but hassle and expense since purchase. Kia (and Hyundai) have lost a customer for life. Prospective buyers beware.

Faults:

I bought the car new and what a mistake. It seems like it is always in the shop.

Right side door has major air leak the dealer could never fix although they tried several different "fix's".

I have had the heater motor replaced twice.

I have had the oil pan removed and replaced twice due to excessive leaks.

I have had the timing belt replaced twice, 1st as recommended, then again 5000 miles later because the new belt slipped.

I have had the drive belts replaced twice.

Then the dealer did a whole bunch of warranty work (about 3K late 2004 early 2005)

General Comments:

The car felt cheap in its construction within 5000 miles of new.

The car had lots of cabin noise and wind blowing.

The passenger heater did not seem to work (my husband was always cold, while I was burning up).

Each trip to the shop cost about $800 out of pocket and then they always piled on warranty work on top of that.

The value dropped so quickly that I could not trade out of it without having to pay thousands of dollars.

I finally traded it in this week at a substantial loss, but was so tired of the trips to the shop, loss of transportation and repair bills I feel I will come out ahead.

Faults:

Many smallish things have gone wrong with the vehicle:

The heat shield is shot and loud.

The spare tire rack will not stay open anymore.

The back hatch rattles.

The cup holder sticks.

Two of the speakers went bad, sound system sucks.

AC stopped being cold.

Alarm constantly went off when unlocking, no longer use, car has been broken into three times.

O2 sensor has been replaced three times.

"Something" is wrong with the electrical, supposedly in the wire harness.

General Comments:

We've had OK luck with this car compared to what I've read other people go through. For the most part it's run for us and the 4 wheel drive has not had many problems, though we've used the 4x4 perhaps 6 times in the 5 years we've had the car. But I can relate too many of the common problems like the heat shield and electrical issues.

My biggest complaint is with the service. The techs at the dealership are rude and completely uninterested in fixing the problem. At 75k miles and a so/so experience, now that we've run into an expensive electrical issue, we're selling this thing for anything we can get for it.