1999 Kia Sephia from North America - Comments

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.

I know what you mean! I had a 2002 Rio which Kia wound up repurchasing because the car couldn't keep a transmission for more than 5,000 miles!!! I called them and told them EXACTLY what I thought of their car. All they could offer my was another attempt at fixing it. Luckily for me, the people at the DMV arbitration board understood. My car became a lemon with unknown mileage because the dealership rolled my odometer back 20,000 miles! The representative from Kia kept telling me there was nothing wrong with my car when he drove it even though it was quite obvious it was missing a gear! I feel bad for every Kia owner out there...I'm just glad I got out of it!! Kia's are scary to drive!!

I'm a beginner driver and ended up getting a 1999 kia sephia. I try to drive on highways and expressways regularly, but it's becoming impossible to do in this car. It's nearly impossible to pick up enough speed to pass up other cars or do simple lane changes. I wish my dad never gave me this car, it's becoming a burden!!! I'm looking for a 1990 nissan 240sx, if anyone has or knows anyone selling one in illinois, please e-mail me at dollarbill181@yahoo.com. oh yeah, if anyone wants to buy my kia then by all means feel free to e mail me, there's absolutely nothing wrong with it, except the speed, which is only natural in a kia.