2001 Kia Sephia from North America - Comments

Brakes have gone four times, rotors have gone twice.

I am now on my eighth set of tires.

The car is terribly uncomfortable for all occupants.

There is never enough room for passengers (legs especially in the back seat)

The seats are wearing out fast, as is the floor and carpet.

This car has no power, the get up and go, got up and went.

The windshield cracked six months after I got the car, not from a hit to it, but by the car hitting a pot hole! The glass is cheap and thin.

The sheet metal is so thin that the car dins and dents from even the smallest tap.

The outer finish of the paint on this car is so poor that the magnetic signs I bought for business were ruined because the paint heated up under the signs and made them stick to the car, my sign guy has never seen such a thing in fifty-six years of sing making.

Gas consumption is more than I would expect for a small junk box with a 1.8L engine, I get 275 -300 miles from a tank full.

The alternator or the ECM or TCM computer has gone bad however the dealer (Pine Belt KIA of Toms River NJ) can't tell what one it is and can't get me in for service for two weeks.

When I ask the dealer what is covered they always dance around the question with all sort of perhaps and maybe answers. Although they are now starting to feel the shake in the steering, the one they denied at 300 miles and again at 1200 and still didn't believe was there at 14000 but at 78000 they now admit to all the problems I have been bringing up all along... and after all why not, this part was covered till 36000 and that part was covered till 60000 so of course you have a problem NOW sir and no there was not a problem before, that will be $$$$$$$!.

I have also noticed that the motor and everything else metal is rapidly starting to rust or rot out, I guess they never expected the car to last more than a year or to and engineered a rapid decay element into the materials that make up the car so the LANDFILLS don't get overloaded with KIA TRASH.

If you are thinking about buying a KIA DON'T! The car junk and the dealers are no help, I've called KIA corporate and they don't care either.

This car is seriously a pile of junk!

This car is seriously the single biggest mistake I have ever made. (With only one exception and that being my first wife).

DON'T BUY A KIA.

If you want to through money into something then buy a boat, at least then when you Break Out Another Thousand (BOAT) you'll know why and at least get some enjoyment and return from your money.

However if you are fool enough to make the same mistake as I have then plan to keep your KIA (Keep Infusing Assets) on life support because KIAs require a constant infusion of money to the repair shops and dealers to stay on the road. And if you already own one then consider marking it DNR (No Not Repair) junk instead.

If you are planning on trading it in, well forget it! The dealers know they are trash and won't give you much for it at all. Don't even think of donating it either the schools teach repair not engineering and certainly not reverse engineering.

I just wanted to comment on this. I bought a 2001 Kia Sephia with 5 miles on it in September 2001. I wanted nothing that could break, so it is a standard transmission, no power windows or locks, in fact the only 3 options I have are power steering, A/C, and floor mats. I paid 10,700 dollars including tax and everything else. I have taken 2 road trips from Florida to Massachusetts, have gotten into 1 not at fault accident and 2 speeding tickets with this car.

Sure this isn't the most comfortable car or has the most power, but hey besides a 2 door Hyundai and the Rio this is (or was) the least expensive car in America. Well here are the facts on my Kia.

I have just broken 100,000 miles. I drive 150 miles a day to and from work so that is a lot of pressure on a car. Not to mention the speed limits on freeways here in Florida are 70mph with most people doing over 80. I have no problems merging into traffic by the time the on-ramp ends; so in other words that's not bad getting this car up to 80 from an on-ramp. Don't get me wrong it is no racer and definitely will not win any races at the light, but it gets up to speed when it needs to. Lets see, the horn went once and the right headlight leaked water into it, both were covered under warranty. I am on my second set of tires, the first set changed at 67,000, not bad for a set. Of course I had them rotated every other oil change; also the oil was changed every 3,000 miles which ends up being once a month. All maintenance has always been done at the Kia dealership mainly because I know I bought a cheap car and at least want people experienced with Kia's to work on it. Had my front brake pads changed once at 87,000. I just had all the belts replaced at 97,000 including the timing belt. That's not bad either because most mechanics definitely recommend changing the timing belt at 60,000. Every once in a while it seems to have a little hesitation with the starter when starting (about every 50 starts) but it has done that from the beginning and I have never had to have a jump. It has a good loss of power when starting from a stop when the a/c is on, but that was from day one and is like most 4 cylinders do in this size car and engine, but it is fine once up to speed. a/c is ice cold by the way. It has a very small oil leak from the oil pan gasket which is about a $50 job that I haven't had done because it is a very small leak also the head gasket is a little wet with oil which will cost about $200. I think that was caused when a lady t-boned me last summer and caused 3000 dollars damage. In which by the way nobody was hurt in my vehicle. Don't get me wrong I would be killed if I got into an accident doing 70 but then again so would I in any other car this size. The dealership did an excellent job in repairing and making it look like new. Sure at this point it is probably worth in resale value very little, if any, money. To me, I expect, and am very sure of, getting another 100,000 miles with this car probably investing about 1000 dollars, so it is worth it. Which is a lot better than most cars on the road today. So overall? I knew what I was buying and so do most Kia buyers. Would I buy another, well, if it is the same price as this one and I am still on the limited budget as I am today, yes. I would never buy a high priced Kia like the new I believe Amanti or the SUV or minivan. Kia makes cheap, inexpensive cars. Maybe I got lucky, my dealer's mechanic told me they had a lot of problems with the automatics, I don't know. This is just my experience and you never know the car might die tomorrow. Before I bought my Kia I used to sell cars, Nissan and Honda. We used to tell people never to buy a Kia because they are junk and yet I saw people all the time with brand new Nissan's and Honda's, which have excellent reputations, with all kinds of problems in service. Cars I sold them. So I guess you never know. I know that if I had the problems I read on this site I guarantee I would have gotten the car replaced. Persistence and patience pays off along with being a nuisance. The more you are in all three the better your chances.

It's obvious that you work for a kia dealership and that you are trying to preserve your livelyhood by the bogus story about your kia.

I see so many things about the Sephia... I bought one used. It's a 2001, the interior is in MINT condition, yea they don't take dents well, but that's for any car that gets hit by another car door or rock. I had a few minor problemss with mine in the beginning, but the dealership honored the warranty even though I was not the original owner. I think it's the best car I have ever owned, and if they still made them, I would buy another one.

I have had a kia sephia for 5 years and had no trouble with it. In fact it is the best car I have ever had even though I had many that were much more expensive. Thanks Kia for the sephia! Great Job Guys!

James Szolis

Baton Rouge, LA.

I bought my 2001 Kia Sephia brand new in August of 2001. Since then I've put over 100,000 miles on it, changed the front & rear brakes one time, changed transmission fluid & filter 1 time and new tires twice. I've also had it aligned 1 time. I think this is the best car I've ever had and would buy another without question.

It's not the fastest or coolest looking car in the world, but I keep up on my oil changes and keep it clean. It's been a great little car and I have no aspirations of getting rid of it anytime soon. It also doesn't seen to have any of it's own aspirations of dying on me anytime soon either.

It's been a great car (knock on wood). I dare say that if you've had one - or have one - that seems like a peice of junk, you either bought it from some one else who didn't take care of it - or you yourself didn't properly take care of it.

I totally recommend this car to anyone!

Don't buy a Kia. You'll live to regret it later. Trust me on this (first hand experience). It's better to shell out more money and get a quality car.

My sister had a Kia Sephia brand new in 1995. She just donated her sephia with 389K and got a new Kia Optima 2.7 V6 EX 2 weeks ago. She had Sephia for 12 yrs, never gave her a problem. She drove from here (San Francisco) to Maine 7 times to visit friends & family and it never broke down on her. For any vehicle, maintenance it crucial!

I bought a used Kia an 01 Sephia and I can honestly say its the worst car I have ever driven. I had it to the dealer at 45,000 because the front end felt like it was going to shake apart, but of course the service writer said gee, I don''t feel anything, I don't see what you mean. OK so I am crazy! So I kept driving it and it got so bad that it was hard to hold on the road, I have been too many places trying to find out what is wrong and no one seems to know. I tried to go on like to KIA, but the web site refuses to let me on. THis car now has broken CV joints I think and is undriveable. Heard a huge noise and it wouldn't move. I even tried to call Kia they say too bad.

I own a 2001 KIA Sephia. Just passed 112K Miles. The ONLY two problems I had were 1) Transmission went out at 30K (Under warranty and was later a recall for this model) that was fixed promptly with a new tranny, and 2) the washer fluid pump died at about 100K miles. I still have all of the original belts (they squeal when cold, but still working)

I have had to change brakes, battery, etc, but would have had to that on a "quality" car also.

Overall - Take care of the vehicle, it will take care of you.