1999 Kia Sephia review from North America

What hasn't gone wrong with the car?

I am on my fifth transmission. The first one was replaced at less than 10,000 miles.

The computer system has had to be replaced twice. The first time at under 10,000 miles.

The starter has been replaced twice.

There have been numerous recalls. My favorite was the recall to fix the gas tank. Before this was fixed gas would squirt all over you every time you filled up.

The first problem occurred on my drive home from picking it up at the dealership. It stalled on the expressway in heavy 60 mph traffic. Not cool.

The driver's side front door lock has been broken since about 5,000 miles. It either sticks or will not lock. You cannot open that door at all in the winter. (about 6 months out of the year here)

The rotors were warped when I picked up the car from the dealership and they had to be replaced.

The dealership even tried to cheat me out of that "free tank of gas" that KIA promised when I picked it up.

The list goes on and on.

This car is loud and noisy. It handles terribly and shakes and shimmies on the road. Especially at high speeds.

I have found the car to be extremely unreliable. I have had it back to the dealer too many times to count for repairs. Even though all of these repairs have been covered under warranty, my time and sanity is worth something. I have had to fight with the dealer to get many of these problems fixed. When they did agree to fix them parts were sometimes not available for weeks or months. I got no satisfaction from corporate KIA when I brought up my issues to them.

The most satisfying experience that I could have would be to drive this car off a cliff and watch it burn. At least then I would get some enjoyment out of it.

To get right to the point, I would rather walk.