18th Sep 2007, 09:15

My wife and I bought our 2002 Kia Sedona a little over 2 years ago. The car had about 68,000 miles on it so we purchased the extended 100,000 mile warranty hoping for peace of mind if anything goes wrong. Right away the air conditioner wasn't blowing at the temperature that it is supposed to. We took it back to the dealership and all they did was recharge it. The next summer, the air stopped blowing cold again. We took it back to the dealer and they used a dye to check for leaks found none and recharged it. This summer the same problem however, we were at 104,000 miles and past the warranty.

I took it back to the dealer and they told me that the shrader valves were bad and needed to be replaced. Also, the ac needed recharging. The quote for labor and parts came over $900 for a simple repair. They were kind enough to not charge me a diagnostic fee and I didn't fix it then. I don't usually have a spare $1,000.00 lying around. A few months later I took the van, knowing what needed to be done to a different car repair facility. They said that the air compressor was frozen and needed replacing. I was so lived with Kia/Hyundai (same car company, two different names). I will never buy a foreign car from Korean peninsula again.

22nd Oct 2007, 14:56

"K K K Kia", what a pile of crap. I was so disappointed with my 2002 Sedona that it's hard for me to believe that anyone would post a positive review.

I've never owned a vehicle that was as bad as this one. The dealership where I bought the van is nothing to boast about ether. Needless to say, I won't be buying another Kia Product.

The problems started the day I drove it off the lot. Malfunctioning air conditioning, warped brake rotors, defective power steering pump, alternator failures etc are just a few of the items needing attention. To top it off, the dealership never carried parts and were more than happy to charge outrageous prices for parts once the van fell out of warranty. When I say fell out of warranty, I mean fell as in fall down.

Once the warranty expired, the van became a nightmare. Two weeks out of warranty the alternator failed. The dealer charged $1,150 to replace it. Shortly after, the air conditioner failed again, but this time, according to the dealer, part of the instrument panel needed to be replaced. The dealer wanted more to fix this than the alternator cost.

I recently sold the van without air conditioning to a dealer in town. Who knows, maybe you'll end up owning it.

19th Apr 2008, 18:02

We've had the alternator replaced, and now after 4 tries the AC unit is still not working. I feel like there are a lot of other 2002 AC units too. What can be done to have it working again? Nobody will work on it. It has a bad reputation.

2nd Mar 2009, 20:51

We bought a 2002 Kia Sedona EX in April of 2002, and other than some minor issues, it was a great van. We drove it on numerous 2000 mile plus trips, and my wife took the kids to school every day with it. We had it serviced at our Kia dealer and the only thing I really ever paid for was oil changes and replacement of the timing belt at 60K miles. Oil was changed every 3000 miles and think I changed the brake pads once or twice. The dealer even had a tire for life deal and I did not even buy tires. The paint still shines, the leather interior is clean stereo works great.

We just sold the van and it had about 92000 miles on it, and I am certain the new owner will get at least a few more years of good use out it.

18th Mar 2009, 19:26

We also purchased a 2002 Kia Sedona brand new. The air conditioning unit NEVER worked properly. I am writing this while it is being repaired again. This is compressor number 4 or 5. We have been told the condenser is too small for the unit. It makes the compressor and clutch assembly work overtime. It is causing the parts to burn out quickly. Even with this history of constant warranty repairs from Kia they refuse to fix it after the warranty expired. We are thinking of bringing a class action suit against Kia. In Arizona, air conditioning is a big part of your vehicle. The 100's are just around the corner. It is 90 degrees today.

March 2009.