1999 Kia Sephia from North America - Comments

The windshield gasket was loose and vibrated against the window, I had that replaced only to realize that the windshield is improperly sized and the problem continues.

Every latch on this car is faulty, the glove box and console have broken off entirely; the front doors occasionally will not latch, this causes the doors to fly open while driving, very unsafe! Also, the drivers side door cannot be unlocked with the key, I have to crawl across the seat to unlock from the passenger side.

The seat belt light is faulty, and stays on even after I buckle up.

The dome light has to be left in the off position because it goes on for no reason, even when the car is locked up and parked.

The tires went completely bald, all 4 of them, with less than 24,000 miles on them.

The battery went dead due to the fluid in it evaporating.

The car lighter does not work any more.

The E-brake is frozen which causes the wheels to lock up and not move, I have not been able to use the car at all in over a week.

The repair manual is not yet available to the general public, this causes repeated, expensive, towing and repair bills.

The 1999 Sephia is nothing more than a piggy bank, with no way to get the money back out of it.

I still have 2 years worth of payments left on it, and it won't last that long.

I have also had several of the same problems with my KIA. I have had the problem with the battery, the latches breaking, the dome light (which has been repaired several times only to keep coming on), tires replaced with only 1200 miles on my car due to balding, passenger door doesn't always lock and has opened a few times while driving. The windshield wiper motor was replaced within a year of buying the car new, as well as the tape player. I have also had the transmission replaced 3 times in less than five years, one of which it was replaced and the mechanic at the dealership tried to take it out for a test drive only to find out that the new transmission they installed didn't work either. The seat belt was faulty and kept unlatching so it had to be repaired. The back brakes literally "exploded" (in the mechanics words) and another part had to be replaced because of it (can't remember what the mechanic called it). One thing after another has gone wrong since I bought the car (new) and drove it off the lot. I am now experiencing a loud clicking noise when I make right turns. I am always wondering what the next problem will be and how much I will have to invest in it. The piggy bank statement is so true because you put the money in and you don’t get it out.