2000 Kia Sportage EX from North America - Comments

I purchased this car in late October, 2000. Before the end of 2000 the fuel injectors were replaced. The car was running rough. A month later the same problem reoccured. The car was towed to the dealer for repair. I was told there was a loose bolt causing the problem.

I began to hear a rattle at times. The heat shield around the muffler had rusted and completely broken off. The tail pipe was rusted too. The heat shield, tail pipe and muffler were replaced.

Now my brake light comes on whenever I brake. I have 32,000 miles on the car. The brakes were replaced. Soon the brake light was back on whenever I applied the brakes. I returned to the Firestone dealer and had them check out the brakes. They told me that the master brake cylinder was leaking badly.

From the time that I purchased the car, I noticed that the wear of the tires seemed to be on the outside edges only. I asked about this several times. Each time I was blown off. I had the tires replaced after I had a spin out. When the Firestone mechanic tried to align the new tires he could not. The front wheel bearings were completely shot. He stated that this had caused the tires to wear out early. It cost me over $400.00 for new tires. The spin out nearly cost me my life. I was only going ten miles per hour when the car spun out. I went across four lanes of traffic and a turn lane before I stopped. I spun into a median and the car nearly tipped over. I felt the car come up on two wheels. When the car came back down the impact was hard enough to cause a neck injury.

I went to a Kia dealership for repair of the master cylinder and front wheel bearings. I had to rent a car for a week. I have had to rent cars several times. I have also missed work because of this car breaking down.

At 38,000 miles the car began leaking hot water from under the dash of the passenger side. A passenger got his foot burned when hot fluid spewed out. I took the car to Firestone because they tell me the truth. Firestone told me that I had coolant leaking too. I went to the Kia dealer. A mechanic told me that it was not coolant just water. He stated that it was only a clogged air conditioning hose. I had to wait three weeks to be seen.

The car overheated before I could be seen. I was lucky that my boyfriend realized what was happening and was able to avoid damage to the engine. The car is in the shop now. Again, I have to rent a car. The heater core had blown. I am waiting to see is Kia will repair the damage to the interior from the coolant leak.

I would trade the car in, however I can only get $5,500 for it. I owe $14,000. I have owned this car less than two years.

That is very unlucky. It looks like you will have this car for a while with that kind of depreciation. I buy only Japanese cars and they hold up much better.

I certainly can relate to your problems. Though my 2000 Kia Sportage has not had quite as many serious problems, it has had enough of the type that shouldn't be happening so soon that I sold the Kia last night. I owed 11,565.00 and traded it in for exactly $5500. I was told that was the blue book as of December 2001. I was also told that Kia depreciates so fast that it literally loses value by the month. I was fortunate enough to get a great year-end closeout deal on a brand-new loaded 2002 Ford Focus. With the deep discounts and low interest rate it offset how much I was upside down in the car. My car previous to Kia was a 1993 Ford Escort Sport, which I owned for 7 years so NO problems. The Ford dealer I got my Focus from has recently gotten into the Kia business, but has found out soon enough it was not wise. My salesman told me that dealer is getting out of the Kia business, though he's not the dealer I bought it from. Good luck to you. I know you'll take a loss money wise if you trade in at that rate, but do the best you can. Your life may depend on it.

I too own a 2000 KIA sportage. I purchased my in August of 2000. I recently had my brake light also appearing when ever I touched my brakes. My husband has found that the Master brake cylinder is leaking profusely.. Purhaps there is a factory defect with the master cylinder for this make and model.. I will check with my local KIA dealer and post another message as soon as I get some answers. If any one else finds any other information please post a message..

I own a 2001 Kia Sportage, and it is the most troublesome vehicle I have ever had. I know what a horrible experience owning one is, and I have tried to sell it numerous times. My advice to you is to do whatever it takes to get rid of it, even if it means selling it for close to nothing.

I feel sorry for your situation regarding the many problems you are currently experiencing with your Kia Sportage. These vehicles are absolute junkers, you will lose plenty of money selling the car now. My advice is to drive it until the wheels fall off. I myself drive a Honda CRV and it is as reliable as the day is long. Good luck to ya!

I had wanted to purchase a vehicle from a KIA dealership sometimes next week, but now I have changed my mind. I also do not wish to have so many problems at once. Thank you for posting this message.

I can Sympathize with your Kia problems. I have a 2001 Kia Sportage 4x4 and have had no problems until 2 weeks ago. I took my vehicle in for an oil change and came out with an estimate for new front tires and an alignment. I was somewhat surprised by this because we have only had this vehicle for 8 months. We bought it used with 18,800 miles on it, and have only driven it 8500 miles. You don't expect to have problems with a vehicle after 8500 miles, used or new. Within the week I replaced the front tires with the help of a friend that works at a dealership who was able to get me tires at cost. The very next morning I took mt vehicle into the dealership that I bought it from and they aligned it. I came out of there with an estimate to adjust my hubs (front wheel bearings) and to replace my front brakes. By the way, My hubs were NOT loose the day before when my friends dealership put on the new tires. I was very upset about this and called the service manager to find out more about my warranty. He was rude to me about it insisting that this was all wear and tear items. He couldn't do anything about it. I was not satisfied with this since I had not had this car very long. I spoke with the General Manager. He was also rude to me. A couple days later, I spoke to the sales manager and he seemed like he wanted to help. Nope. When I finally did speak to him, he was rude. The next day, I spoke to the OWNER of the dealership. He was so unbelievably rude to me. I told him what was wrong and where my argument was and he simply told me that he was tired of our conversation. He also told me that he didn't want me to bring my car back to their dealership for work. Take it somewhere else, he told me. I then spoke to Kia Headquarters. They could only give me advice as to what to do. Since all of the dealerships are independently owned, the only thing they could do was evaluate the situation and if they chose, would not re-new their contract with them. I hope that's what they choose. I took my car to another Kia dealership to get a second opinion (more advice from Kia HQ) They confirmed the brakes needed work, but they aren't as bad as the other Kia people said. Yes, the hubs are loose, but can't tell if they were loosened by hand. And the alignment is OK. They gave me a $240 estimate for the repairs. My husband can do them for less than $50. After reading your problems, I am going to have my husband check out the things you brought up. He's no mechanic, but he can hold his own when it comes to fixing cars. I think my biggest complaint with this car (so far) is the fact that this all happened at once. The next is that the people at the dealership were so rude to me. I hope we don't have anymore problems, but as I read these comments, I'm not sure that I won't add more myself! Good luck all with their vehicles. Looks like we'll need it!!

I have a 2000 Sportage as well, but the dealer sold me a rear wheel drive model. I am having trouble with my wheel bearings as well as they are loose. Needless to say the car did not pass inspection and the dealer will not fix it because it is over the warranty at 66,000 miles. So now I am driving three kids around in a junker. I am concerned that this is a prevalent problem with the 2000 Sportage and feel that there should be some sort of recall. Not only am I having this problem, but these are other issues I have had:

the alarm goes off anytime

the power locks don't work

the heat shields have loosened three times

the manufactured key broke off in the ignition (which they tried to have me pay for this, but I stated my case very clearly and had the dealer take care of it).

I agree with another writer that it takes too many steps to close the back door and it takes an incredible amount of force to shut the door.

If possible I would like to get some people together to see what we can do about this issue with the wheel bearings. Please e-mail me at jazzydiva4u@hotmail.com

Thank you

Disillusioned in Massachusetts.

I also own a 2000 Sportage with 27,000 miles on it, and have been having problems with the brake light coming on. My Dad checked it out and discovered a leak in the master cylinder. When we took it to the dealership they denied there was a leak and charged us $50.00 for looking at the car, because it did not need a repair covered by warranty! I had the front brakes replaced at Meineke and the brake fluid filled, because it was very low. Now, about a month later the brake light is coming on again. I am getting ready to take it back to the dealership, especially now with more evidence that others have had problems with their master cylinder leaking. I am sure that is what it is - I want it fixed plus a refund of my $50!

Other than this I have really enjoyed my Kia for almost 3 years now. The only other problem has been the electronic door locks unlocking/locking themselves automatically, which sometimes sets off the alarm, and can be disconcerting if it happens while I am driving. Naturally they never find this problem when the car is in the dealership.

I bought my Kia Sportage in November of 2000. In January of 2001, my brake pads had to be replaced. That's when it all started. I have since had to have my muffler replaced, due to corroding, my alternator replaced, battery, 4wd TWICE, power locks fixed 3x's & the belts relaced 3x's. I do NOT feel safe in this vehicle at all. It feels like a cardboard box on wheels & that it is going to fall apart at any minute. I now have to take it in again for numerous rattles, power locks, & 4WD. The problem is, I am not covered under my extended warranty. The warranty was written, rejected & rewritten several times. It is STILL not valid.

I want to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to share your experiences regarding the KIA Sportage. I was seriously considering buying a used Sportage in the next few weeks. After reading your collective problems, I am going to go with a different manufacturer, perhaps Toyota or Honda. I sincerely hope that KIA dealerships step up to the plate and take care of the issues that you all are having with their vehicles, but after reading all of the problems the dealerships are causing, they probably won't. They're not going to get my business! Thanks Again for helping me avoid a terrible mistake in purchasing a KIA Sportage.

I am an unhappy owner of a 2000 Kia Sportage. At 52K miles my wirer harness had a melt down heading home from New York City to my home on Long Island on 9/11 when the WTC was bombed with passenger Jets. That cost me 2500.00. The Wheel Hubs have been replaced 2 times. My 4 wheel drive doesn't work. I owe 7000+ dollars on it an the trade in is less than 2000 cause of the miles I have on it now. Lets see what else, ummm, the Catalytic Converter also had a melt down, the dealer wanted 1200 to replace it, the told me it also needed a pre-cat also. Well went to a local Exhaust shop, had it replace for 200.00 He told me to replace the O2 sensors on the car. I was told it was a dealer part. 214.00 a piece. Got them on the internet for 45.00 a piece. Now the fuel pump is no good, I could be driving down the road in the car just cuts out or runs like it running on 2 or 3 cyl. instead of 4. Again I was told it's a dealer part only. 340.00 just for the part. Go to the net only one place was able to get one for me an it took two weeks. I paid 140.00 for the pump. I wouldn't have my worst enemy by one. I am taking it off the road, I owe another 2 years on the car. The last NEW car I puchased was a Chevy Corsica in 1990, I donated the car it had 314.000 miles on it. Never repaired the engine except for a water pump an a rebuilt transmission.

Well I have a 2000 Sportage with 31,000 miles on it and am quite happy with it. I replaced the battery at about 27,000 miles, but other than that there are no issues.

I guess I got a good one.

Chris.

I also was going to buy a used Sportage in the next couple weeks- it seemed too good to be true. Now that I have read this page I think I will buy a Civic!

Thanks

GM

Ontario.

Thanks y'all.

I was thinking of buying KIA, but after reading all these comments, I better go with HONDA or TOYOTA.

God bless you!