2001 Kia Sportage LX from North America - Comments

Updated 22nd September 2009.

Note: W- Denotes repair covered by dealer under warranty.

1. Timing belt jumped several notches at 48K miles causing engine to die requiring towing vehicle to shop.

W-Resolution: Dislodged piece of plastic inside timing belt guard assembly and reset belt to proper position.

2. Tailpipe rusted and dropped to ground at 51K Miles

W-Resolution: Replaced rusty tailpipe and tailpipe hangers.

3. Engine died en-route to work at 61K miles- Battery discharged due to alternator failure.

W-Resolution: Replaced alternator.

4. 4 Wheel drive failed to engage every winter season for 3 consecutive years due to vacuum leaks.

Resolution: Note: Dealer covered under warranty for 3 consecutive years until I reached 60K miles.

-After 60K miles I purchased and installed WARN front manual locking Hubs and discarded KIA original equipment auto-locking hubs.

Used Dremmel tool to cut out center of plastic hubcaps to fit over and protect new hubs - works well.

5. Door Lock solenoids phantom lock/unlock while driving. Caused by faulty wiring in door.

W-Resolution: Found worn insulation causing short, spliced in new section of wire in door.

6. Driver door switch intermittent causing overhead lamp to not illuminate with driver door open.

W-Resolution: Replaced faulty door switch – Moisture/corrosion issue.

7. Rear hatch ajar light suddenly appeared illuminated on dash at 71K miles.

Resolution: Suspect bad switch or wiring. Have had to manually lock rear hatch with key to extinguish light ever since.

8. Gas tank leaked fuel on ground and smelled inside vehicle at 80K miles when filling tank beyond 3/4 full.

Resolution: Replaced entire rusted fuel tank assembly $180 + 3 Hr. Labor.

9. Check Engine light (CEL) illuminated at 70K miles (Misfire on #2 Cylinder). Other symptoms here included rough idle (stutter) while idling.

Resolution: Replaced all coils and installed new plugs.

10. Check engine light illuminated at 75K miles. Fault code indicated low coolant temperature. Code reset works for about 2 weeks only.

Resolution: Replaced thermostat. Note: Must be 195 Degree F thermostat or CEL will keep coming back on. [been there]

11. Whenever car is started/stopped very briefly when it is cold and damp (say running less than 5 minutes); the following day it will always throw a cylinder #3 misfire code and CEL will flash after starting.

Resolution: Fix is to reset code and all is OK until next brief start/stop – usually months later when I have to move the car in driveway and shut it off immediately thereafter.

12. Rear door hinge center pins were frozen due to rust causing rear door to be very hard to open.

W-Resolution: Grind off hinge welds, remove and reinstall (re weld/paint) new hinges.

13. Actuator for gas filler flap/door frozen and door flap would not stay closed.

W-Resolution: Fix was to replace entire rusted latch release cable assembly.

14. Power steering high pressure line rusted through at 82K miles causing loss of power steering and fluid.

Resolution: Fix was to replace [to gear] high pressure section of power steering fluid line.

15. At 85K miles, steering wheel developed dead spots and was very hard to turn from 12 o'clock to 2 o'clock and 12 o'clock to 10 o'clock positions. Noticeably more stiff at cold startup. Sometimes would operate OK, but most times it is very stiff as if there is no power steering. Fluid levels OK and belt is tight. Flushed line and replaced fluid to correct problem.

16. Brake pad and rotor replacement every 12 months. Rotors always warp causing pulsating pedal when braking.

Resolution: Remove and replace front brake pads and rotors annually. Do not have rotors turned, buy new ones.

17. At 115,000 miles, steering very stiff and made snapping noise when turning steering wheel. Replaced Ider arm assembly that was badly rusted.

18. At 117,400 miles, power steering fluid was dripping beneath radiator. Replaced both sections high pressure power steering hose. [$189.03 Matl.!] Note this was 2nd hose replacement since purchasing car.

19. At 118,000 miles, CEL came on indicating code P0171 - System Lean Bank one. Replaced exhaust manifold O2 sensor but code came back on. Found tiny rubber pipe end cap had fallen off the Inlet manifold center area stub pipe causing vacuum leak. Replaced small rubber cap with new one and problem solved.

Better suited for a mechanically inclined owner.

Replace auto-lock 4wd hubs with mechanical locking hubs.

Sell after 80K miles if not original owner. Otherwise sell after 100k mile warranty ends.

Handles well in winter snow in 4wd.

Use hatchback door often on a convertible to keep it from rusting shut.

Hello OP, can you give more details on what plastic cap fell off on your #19 entry? I have a P0171 and can't find out what the problem is. Cleaned the MAF already. Car only has 50k... most likely not the O2.

Reply to reader on System Lean Bank1 Error code. The problem was caused by a small rubber cap about 3/16" Long by 1/8" wide. Remove the engine plastic shroud and look on the intake manifold on the other side of the engine from the MAS side. It is hard to see but there is a tiny pipe sticking out of the inlet manifold side that needs a rubber cap or else air enters the manifold. The pipe is about the diameter of a BIC ball point pen ink cartridge and sticks out maybe an inch or so. I suspect this may be a test port to check manifold vacuum.

Been having a problem with sticking steering wheel on my 2008 Kia Sportage. It's under warranty, but my experience have been quite negative with the service department. The problem is so sporadic that it cannot be detected for a few days, and it is not likely it will happen when I take it to the dealers.

In the past year I had a problem with the car not starting. Took it to the dealers and forced them to keep it for a few days to keep checking. They said they couldn't find a problem. Luckily one day as I was in the parking lot of Kia, I went to start my car and it wouldn't work. They said at the time "It's probably a problem with the immobilizer" without any further investigation. Then they booked it for that fix. Why couldn't they check that in the first place??? They even suggested it was something I was doing wrong!

So with this current problem I don't have confidence that the company will help me. Please tell me what are my options? By the way it caused me an accident last night when I tried to pull out to the left in a parking spot, and for a split second the wheel was paralyzed, and so it went straight for a foot and hit a concrete post.