1999 Kia Sportage 2dr EX from North America - Comments

I own a 1999 Kia Sportage and without a doubt it is the worst car I have ever owned. The check engine light has almost never been off and of course the dealership has no clue what is wrong. But they don't hesitate to make guesses, replace parts, and charge a lot of money for their "repairs". The most frustrating issue of all is the unpredictable starting problems. Some times it cranks and just won't start. Eventually it does, but I can be stuck for quite some time. No mechanic has figured it out.

Thank God, I thought I was the only one... I own the 99 Kia Sportage EX. My Check engine light makes it's guess appearances from time to time and the RPMs are always erratic when I'm in idle. At least mine starts correctly, but sputters especially in cold weather. I've been to the mechanic countless times within the last 2 years for everything from transmission work to a new gas tank door. My girlfriend has officially dubbed it the "Sportage Death Trap EX"!

Hello all my fellow disgruntled Kia owners.

After scanning through many of these posts, I relate to many of the negative- experiences listed - -from the faulty check engine light, rapid idling, ominous smell of mold - - -to the issues with the paint, etc.. I GUESS We've figured out the hard way- not to invest more of our hard earned dollars to purchase another Kia.

I sought this site out, due to having my 99 Sportage EX - -4 WD, shut down, while driving, in the middle of the highway three mornings ago, and subsequently not starting... The car sounded like the motor was trying to turn over, but would not start... Finally was towed to my driveway (thinking it's the timing belt) - -and I'm, now, wondering - - if I want to continue putting dollars into this car, at this point... Feels like a sieve to me, especially after reading all the other complaints.. Can it get better?

Fortunately for me, I have a stand by vehicle to drive.

If anyone wants to respond with any helpful hints, or advice, please send response to Calliope315@yaoo.com - -thanks!

I have a 2000 Kia Sportage, 4cyl, with 58,000 miles on it. I agree with a lot of the above comments regarding problems with the vehicle, but after spending a good amount of money to maintain the vehicle I am now at a point where I don't know who to turn to, and how to get it fixed properly. I've yet to bring it to the dealership for fear of some jacked up bill, but I don't know if my mechanic shop knows how to fix the problem. I have a crazy idle problem also, drops really low when sitting in park, neutral or drive almost to the point where it feels like its going to stall, but then when you first start it in the morning it starts at a high high idle. My check engine light is on, something to do with mass air inflow, or at least that's what the code says. I think it might be linked to a possible transmission problem as my car runs fine between 1st and 2nd gear, but struggles to drop rpms when going into third (hypothetically of course,) it is an automatic so I'm not actually shifting it in gears I can just know the sounds it should make when the engine changes gears, from driving manual cars for years. Any ideas? Anyone with similar problem?

I have read these pages from the second day I bought a used 1999 Kia Sportage. It is a 'cute' car. Yes, so was "Christine" by Steven King.

I regrounded all the grounds, cleared the A/C tube and generally tried to keep it up. The 'check engine' light comes on after fueling up. The ignition key gets very warm. I bought a new ignition switch from Kia. I will NEVER take the car to the Kia dealer. I have never seen such a bunch of misfits in my life.

I am now retired. I worked for Chrysler as a mechanic, finished my studies as an electronic engineer and had a business. I bought this thing from an independent dealer. Crooks the lot of them! I feel for the majority of the population who are struggling with these junky cars. We have enough of our own problems with American cars and we are flooded with cheap foreign tin.

I ordered a repair manual when I bought this thing. I think the printer is hand setting the type, maybe making each letter, too. It's been over a year. I don't need it any more. It's probably faulty, like the car!

John, CA.

Hello, I have a 99 kia sportage with about 116,000 miles on it. I've actually had it for almost 5 years, so I guess that's pretty good. I have only been afraid to drive it a couple of times before repairs, for the most part, it gets me where I'm going, it's just kind of loud and not very powerful...

I have had 3 brake jobs, 2 major, and 1 small. I've had 2 batteries, alternator, major tune-up, including ignition coil, and major oil job, changing valve covers, and cleaning out the oil sitting on the spark plug wires, radiator front and back hoses replaced, and maybe a few other things, like muffler & tail pipe.

My car also does the revving up rpms while sitting in park, yes it is quite embarrasing, and the ac leak, my mechanic fixed that for me, and the crazy locks have spooked a few of my friends, it's funny to hear that we've all had most of the same problems, and my check-engine light has been on almost the whole time I've had the car, it went out after I replaced The computer module last year, ECM, and then it ran great for a few months, nice and smooth... Right now it's on again, even though I just spent about $300 for the oil job, and $150 for the radiator and $100 for the brakes.. Oh yes and what is that rattling noise while idling? some kind of loose plate in the back I think... and also had to replace the window switch on the passenger side...

I'm hoping I can get about six to 8 more months out of it, since I have no car payment, but the gas mileage is pretty bad, so I'm not sure, for now I need it to last lon enough to offset the last round of repairs!!! Believe it or not, it's not the worst car I ever had, that was a Chevrolet Monza... Don't ask!!!

I have a 2001 KIA Sportage, and 30 days from the date I bought the car, I've had one problem after another. From the radiator breaking within 30 days to faulty front brakes, and alarm boxes replaced, window switches, changing belts -- there seems to not be many months anymore that go by without something going wrong. The first couple of years weren't as bad as now, at 47,000 it's falling apart, and looks like a new car. Now I have an engine light that won't go off. The car says it's the radiator sensors. After 3 radiator sensors and within 800 miles of new sensors the light goes back on again. I'm convinced it is not what the code has said is faulty. I'm also convinced I'll have to sell this hunk of junk for parts because if I can't fix it I can't sell it to anyone to suffer the consequences that KIA has its customers go through. I'm also convinced that since the engine light has gone on, my gas mileage is much improved and that appears to be the only benefit to all this corrective surgery on a dead patient. Don't buy a KIA, sure they are cheap but the downfall is everlasting expenses. In addition, many of the KIA parts and service don't know how to fix the problems and therefore the owner is back in the shop.

I own a 1997 Sportage 4x4 that I bought about three years ago on ebay from a used car dealer for $3000.00. At the time I was shopping for a cheap 4x4, and I had never read any reviews or comments from forum members. That being said, I was unaware of the multitude of problems Kia owners are having. I guess I should consider myself very lucky. My Kia had 78k miles on it when purchased, and I was the second owner. To date it has 130k miles and I have only had to figure out the "ground" problem on my own, clean the wet mess on the passenger floor, (my A/C smells like pancakes & syrup when I turn it on) replace a rusted & rattling catalytic converter, and replace a broken timing belt at 110k. Since I have recently started checking forums, I managed to find instructions to replace the spark plugs and coils after it developed a misfire due to cracks. The daily appearance of the check engine light has become standard operating procedure. As of this date I am battling a slight oil leak from the valve cover gasket which I have replaced twice with the same result. The oil drips on the exhaust manifold occasionally causing the passenger compartment to fill with smoke and the stench of burned oil. I will replace this for the last time this week. (now I can accomplish this feat in under 15 minutes) Also it starts fine when cold, but after running to normal temp, it turns over and over - then spits & sputters until it burns the gas from flooding, then runs fine. Since I bought it, I have dealt with the excessive play in the steering, but a while back I found and purchased a used steering box to take care of that problem. Overall this vehicle has been well worth the price I paid for it, providing me with "reasonable" transportation (and it is still going) but, I do not intend to repair anything expensive. I figured going in that there was a good reason for the low resale value, and I have since found the reasons why there are so few still on the road.

Some people have posted over and over the grounding fix as the solution for the Check Engine light. I had this procedure done twice, once by the dealer and the 2nd time by a good electronic tech I know. News flash, the problem still exited and I am proud to say I got rid of the bloody piece of garbage and have never been so happy.

Just bought a 98 KIA SPORTAGE. Runs great.

Was told the blower motor needed replaced. No fan for heater / A/C. After checking uses and wiring, found a little more. If you jiggle wires near A/C under the hood, the clock goes off ob panel. If you turn the steering wheel just right, clock goes off. The ground wire by firewall has been melted on outside covering. Obviously it got hot! Would new wiring harness and ground help?

Besides having the check engine light stay on, I replaced the radiator and the fan clutch because it kept overheating.

Then I wired the electric fan direct to the switch and solved my over heating problem. It still won't pass emissions though.

Wished I would have checked reviews before buying a 99 Kia Sportage. The problems are already starting: engine light, mass air sensor code, battery before I even got it home, and I still have 33 payments left.

The only reason I went Kia is my cousin's been driving a 2000 Kia front wheel drive small car and it takes a beating and runs good. Boy am I in trouble for the next three years. Ouch, I'm going to post warnings on craigslist not to buy.