2001 Kia Sedona LX from North America - Comments

Various warranty Repairs

Replaced:

Power steering pump

Coolant hoses and pipes

Exhaust pipe and bracket

Rear shock absorbers

Interior trim pieces.

I purchased my Sedona new in January 2002 from a dealer here in Barrie Ontario Canada. The van has not been the worst nor has it the best vehicle I've owned. The dealer has been responsive and acted favourably to the numerous warranty issues this vehicle has presented.

The vehicles mileage is approaching 60,000 mile (96,000 kilometers) and according to the service schedule the timing belt and spark plugs must now be replaced. The dealer initially quoted a price of $1100.00 just to replace these two items. This seemed a tad high so I contacted other Kia dealers in the Toronto area to quote. I found that prices to replace these two items ranged from as low as $640.00 to as high as the $1200.00 quoted by a New Market dealer. A dealer in Brampton mentioned that they offer a 96,000 kilometer service package that includes replacing the plugs, timing belt, fuel filter, air filter, oil & filter and brake servicing as well as a few other items for $895.00 all inclusive and they'll provide a rental car free of charge.

I decided to contact Kia Canada. After explaining the situation, I asked if there was a standard price for vehicle maintenance, Kia Canada said the dealers can charge what ever they want, kind of a like or lump it response.

My suggestion to any potential Kia owners is find out what the dealers maintenance charges are in writing before you sign the deal. I think there may be a lack of integrity practiced by some Kia dealers and Kia Canada appears to be somewhat apathetic.

Because Kia and its dealers allow this type of situation to exist, I will not purchase another Kia. You have to have some trust in who your dealing with.

Think you'll find that most dealer prices vary from location to location. 96,000 kms services of all makes vary (check all the domestics and imports). Some dealers will include only the manufacturer's maintenance and some dealers will include manufacturer and "dealer recommended" maintenance (like fuel injection service, drive belt replacement, tire balance, etc).

It's not the manufacturer, but the dealer and all vehicle owners of any make should get a detailed description of what any service (described by mileage) includes. Sounds like the dealer in Brampton quoted a fair/reasonable price for Kia recommended maintenance and offered an additional service by providing a vehicle.

Go ahead and check with Toyota, GM, Ford, Honda, Nissan and see if any of these dealers will offer you a replacement vehicle for a service when you've never dealt with them before.

I have a Honda and a Kia. Have also owned various other domestic and imported vehicles and have found that Kia makes an economical vehicle, that the maintenace is more than reasonable, and atleast my dealer is extremely fair.

Good luck in finding any manufacturer where the maintenance at the 100,000 km area is inexpensive.

John.

What's the problem, maintenance is the owners responsibility and it's and as a consumer it's also your responsibility to comparison shop for equal services.

Does sound like various dealers are offering different levels of the 100km service.

Why not just not do the maintenance, have the timing belt destroy your engine and then you can complain about the quality of the kia engine.

If you have complaints about kia, atleast write about valid issues... stop whining.

Changing the cam belt at 60,000 on a Sedona is a lot of work. I did this myself - It's not rocket science, but you need to know what you are doing and you absolutely must have a repair manual or a mechanics manual. Otherwise I think you'll be scratching your head for days. And you need to get the torque settings right. Remember that this belt is made of thin rubber and spins around with the engines rpm so be careful.

The part itself is not expensive. But with all this work it's no wonder why some dealers may quote prices in the 1000 dollar region. Another fundamental question is why they fit these engines with cam belts. A chain would be more durable, but I guess that's a cost issue. Better to postpone this problem until the 60,000 service and make the customer pay instead of investing the dollars into a better product, right? But I'll be fair, many other automakers are doing the same thing. It's just so irritating. It was better in the push rod days then you never had to worry about belts. OK they can't do the same rpms, but who needs a lot of rpms in everyday driving? Sometimes I feel the world is going backwards in many respects.

Besides most other manufacturers now provides 100,000 mile cam belts, but not Kia/Hyundai. Kia and Hyundai have the same engines as far as I can see. Some parts even came in wrapping labeled Hyundai.