2002 Kia Sedona ex from North America - Comments

I was hoping to search the Internet and find a few similar problems to my own. Alas, we are truly not alone. Here is my story: We purchased our 2002 Kia Sedona with 32,000 miles on it in 2005 what a great van. Then it happened around 55,000 miles 1st the headlight housing broke off of the mount so I fixed it with a little epoxy then the interior vanity mirror holder broke into pieces so I had planned to order a replacement, but wait while starting the car in July a hissing sound and lots of steam shoot out from under the hood, that was the A/C compressor blowing a line. So off to the dealer who replaced the compressor, but not the mirror.

At 57,000 miles, (keep in mind that the warranty is up at 60,000) the serpentine belt keeps flying off and the turn signal light switch is no longer working. To the dealer who after replacing the belt 3 times finally listened to me when I told the to replace the dynamic tensioner which was cracked. 3 visits later after trying every turn signal part they can get they "fixed the turn signals".

To top this off the dealer informed us when we picked up the van that the warranty was expired, but that they would cover it anyway. So today we now have a Van with 66,000 miles on it that has the following problems, A/C is now dead, Turn signals still work, but wipers do not fully work right, interior light on drivers door has no power, rust is showing all around the rear plate frame, the hood is oxidized and very blotchy the sunroof weather striping had to be re-installed which is when I discovered rust around the frame, The drivers seat power adjust skips on the track, Trim pieces from the bottoms of the seats have all come off. Oh yeah I cannot forget the airbag light. I can say however that my headlight repair is still holding strong. We still owe 16,000 on this piece of junk, so once it is paid off we will never ever ever buy another KIA product.

B.R.

Orlando, Fl.

Bought 2002 Kia Sedona in spring 2004. Right away ran into problems. Thankfully, warranty covered around $3,000.00 worth of work. We only had to pay for brake pads. A couple of months later the driver side seat broke (thankfully, right before we left to go on vacation and not during.) Again, warranty covered this.

Not a great start, but seemed fine after that. Then, in spring 2006 went to get out of van and driver's side door handle broke.

About a month later the passenger side door handle broke.

Shortly after that the passenger side slider broke.

By this time we were down to 1 working door. (unless we rolled down the window and opened from the outside)

One day I went to take my son to school. I had my 3 kids loaded in the van. I forgot my keys. The one slider door that worked from the inside was for some reason on child safety lock. Long story short my kids and I were trapped inside the van for over 4 hours until my husband got home and rescued us. We ate stale cheese crackers and water bottles left over from a trip we had taken the weekend before.

We went to have the doors fixed and, of course, it was not covered. We had a list of repairs that needed to be made one of which was windows that would not go up or down. This was covered thankfully, this is after all the only way we can get out of the front of the vehicle. We always make sure the child safety lock is not on on the one working sliding door. Eventually, I hope to have this fixed. It is going to cost more to fix than the vehicle is worth.

We don't owe anything on the vehicle. We hate to have a payment again. But we definitely know that we will never own another Kia again. Did I mention we also own a Kia Sportage? That's another tale! My next vehicle will be a Toyota.

We call our Sedona the "money pit." Our sliding door handles have broken (among many other things--too many to name). We always laugh when we see the Kia commercials on TV with the ambiguous slogan, "the power to surprise." We have been surprised alright (like when we broke down in line at the bank, etc.).

We should have a support group for Kia owners. "The Power to Surprise"... This is the best and most ambiguous slogan I have heard. How much did they pay an ad exec to come up with that one? We will pay our lovely van off this summer. I hope we can hold out for a while without a payment, but I don't know! We may need to get rid of it ASAP... if we can find anywhere to unload it. Have you seen the Toyota commercials about people trying to destroy their cars so that they have an excuse to buy a Toyota? Believe me, things like this have crossed my mind.

My Kia van sucks... do not buy one. I can't get ride of mine. I have replaced everything and I mean everything in it. my Kia trained dealership says they don't know what is wrong with it (hows that?)...but true. Absolute hunk of junk.

The windshield wiper problem is because the plastic connectors on the linkage assembly break. I am on my second set. Eighty-five dollars plus tax for part. At eighty thousand miles our 2002 Sedona has had this repaired twice once under warranty, second time by me. It is not too bad of a job.

The alternator was a different story. I went with a refurbished one and did it myself for one hundred fifty plus twenty for a new belt. Big job, took about four hours to get it out. The bottom bolt will not come out unless you wedge the engine over a quarter inch. I used a splitting wedge in the motor mount. To release the belt you must first loosen the bolt in the center of the pulley then loosen the bolt on the tensioner. You get access through a panel in the wheel well. You must remove both fans and bring the alternator up past the radiator, so be very careful.

We bought it new in 2001. No rust, but we live in North Carolina, so not much snow.

Windshield cracked seven hundred dollar, didn't realize it might have been covered by warranty.

Back door sticks and has been repaired twice.

AC died last summer and was at dealership three times over the summer. We really never had AC last year, they replaced the high pressure hoses and dryer, but no the compressor which is now making noise and the green light on the switch goes on and off, so I don't have high hopes for it working this summer.

Check engine light was a constant problem until the sixty thousand mile warranty ran out and suddenly it was the charcoal canister. Six hundred dollars.

I will keep trying to fix it myself because I just can't afford the high dollar dealer repairs.

Sometimes you can get a better deal at a small shop. I got the front wheel bearing done for two hundred and fifty dollars when the dealer wanted four hundred.

My son won't drive the car because the front end alignment is so bad. The dealership messed it up at thirty thousand miles when they replaced the tires. I took it back three times before they refused to fix it again.

I won't buy another Kia, and can't sell this one because it's worth so little on a trade.

I bought my 2002 Sedona brand new in Aug,01. We have had a lot of problems, and it drives me crazy that the dealer has to "order" every little part! It eats tires like crazy! I bought some at 60,000 mile tires at Sears, and they lasted 20,000. They would not replace them because they said I did not keep them aired up. I have owned many cars, and never need to air them up between oil changes! The air leaks out of them somehow. I'm getting another set this Thurs. I only have 61,000 miles on my van and this will be the 4th set of tires, I just had a blow out! The windshield wiper has left nice scrapping marks off the driver side window through the paint. It was some connector thing. At about 58,000 miles my van died and the dealer said I had goo built up in the engine, and I had to prove that my oil had been changed on time! I did that so it was covered, but then I had to pay $600.00 to replace belts and other scheduled maintenance. The plastic door an my fuse box broke off the first year I had it, and both mirror on the visors have broke off. It never holds a front end alignment, and I don't hit curbs! The paint chips SO easy! I'm trying to get another year or two out of it, but if I have to keep putting money in it, I will get rid of it, and like the rest of you, I will NEVER buy another Kia!

I am one of the "lovely and proud Kia owners." I have a 2002 Sedona and I swear by now it is a brand new one.

I have replaced the transmission, motor, alternator, water pump, battery, etc.

Now the A/C Compressor is out.

The driver's door handle (interior) is broken, and I have to roll the window down to open my door, the outside door handle is broken on the driver's side slider door, the airbag light has been on for two years (or more).

I go through tires like crazy, gas is crazy, the clock is crazy, the mirrors on the visor covers (both sides) have shattered (I'm really not THAT ugly LOL), the passenger side exterior mirror got broken and had to be special-order replaced by a glass maker in town and ended up costing $85 (CRAZY).

When the engine blew, I was given the option to have the engine replaced or get a different vehicle.

I thought that I loved my van and knew the history of it, and thought my problems were about ended, but, no, new day new problem.

Although I love the way it drives and rides, I am just about sick of it. I can't afford to even put gas in the tank anymore, let alone continue paying to PATCH the problems until the next one comes around.

I do NOT recommend Kia to anyone. It was a relief to read everyone else's problems. Makes me feel better knowing that I am not alone and that the van really is the problem, not me.

I HAVE A 2002 KIA SEDONA VAN. 4 MTHS AGO IT WOULD NOT START, LEFT IT SIT, THEN IT STARTED UP AND DROVE FINE TILL 3 DAYS AGO. NOW IT WILL NOT START AT ALL. WE REPLACED THE NUETRAL SAFETY SWITCH, NOTHIND, THEN HAD THE STARTER CHECKED AND IT IS FINE. wHAT COULD BE THE PROBLEM? THIS IS MY EMAIL- abdolori69@yahoo.com. THANKS.

OMG, my friend's gonna buy a Kia Sedona. Should I stop him?

Amazing - I feel sick reading all these comments. I just replaced a battery tonight and thought I could find out why my idiot lights are still on. Now I find my little problems like the wipers not sweeping correctly, the idiot lights are on, replaced the radio once, the doors jam and my right hand turn which causes a beeping sound and brake light to blink is happening to someone else! How ridiculous. I thought about trading this on a newer model - but now NO WAY!

Now what?