On certain passenger and sport utility vehicles, the front safety belt buckles may emit a "click" sound during the buckling process that is similar to the sound emitted when a buckle is being latched, when it is not.
1986-2003 · 11 model years
Kia Sephia Problems by year
Owners have filed 1,716 complaints about the Kia Sephia across 11 model years, and it has 8 recalls. The 1999 has the most complaints once its age is allowed for (428), while 1986, 2002, 2003 have far fewer than a typical year. The most reported problem area is the brakes, followed by the engine & cooling.
- Complaints
- 1,716
- Recalls
- 8
- Crashes
- 204
- Fires
- 73
- Injuries
- 177
- Deaths
- 4
Sephia complaints by model year
Highlighted: the year with the most complaints for its age. Older vehicles have had more time to collect complaints - the Safety Index grade allows for that.
Most common Sephia problems
Kia Sephia recalls 8
On certain passenger vehicles, the safety belt buckle may "false latch" and expose the driver to unrestrained movement during a crash.
On certain passenger vehicles with 36,000 miles or less as of july 15, 2002, an electrical contact problem may have developed in the hazard switch which could result in inoperative hazard lights and/or inoperative turn signals.
Covers1998 Kia Sephia
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. Manufacturing changes were made to the orvr spring force and float wire length reducing the valve angle. Certain valves caused fuel shut off before the tank reached 95% of nominal capacity.
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The electrical circuit for the fuel pump is grounded at junction connector g300. If the pin tension is poor, or the bolt securing the connector to the vehicle floor is not tightened sufficiently, a poor connection is...
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. Electrical current to the fuel pump passes through the c304 and c305 connectors. If exposed to moisture, these connectors could corrode. Over time, the fuel pump will not receive enough current to operate.
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The ball socket on the windshield wiper link may be out of tolerance resulting in the link disengaging from the wiper motor drive under load, such as pushing against ice, snow or other resistance. Also the wiper arm...
The electronic speedometer sensor can seize, causing the speedometer and cruise control (if the car is equipped with cruise control) to stop functioning.
Covers1994 Kia Sephia
Latest Sephia complaints
The contact owns a 2000 Kia Sephia. The contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH and approaching a traffic light, the brake pedal was depressed and the vehicle stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was unable to veer to the side of the road. The vehicle was able to restart after being jumpstarted. The contact continued to drive; however, the failure recurred 5 times while driving and depressing the brake pedal or the accelerator pedal. After each failure, the vehicle was able to be...
Read the full complaint
restarted when jumpstarted. The vehicle was taken to a local Pep Boys and diagnosed; however, no fault code was retrieved. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.
While driving on the interstate at 75 mph the top layer of the hood (skin) separated from the hood and flew upward into the windshield and detached itself from the vehicle causing the drivers vision of roadway to be blocked. Once it detached itself causing high risk of safety for other drivers behind the kia sephia.
Tl* the contact owns a 1998 kia sephia. While driving various speeds, the vehicle would shut off without warning. The contact associated the failure with nhtsa campaign number: 99v317000 (fuel system, gasoline). The contact was informed by the manufacturer that the vehicle had been serviced for the recall in 1999. The contact took the vehicle to hanson kia (2300 carriage loop sw, olympia, wa 98502, (360) 943-2120) and was informed that a diagnostic test needed to be performed to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was 119,000.
The seatbelt pretensioners is locked up & they (both driver/passenger) seatbelts "do not" reel back 2 provide securement of the passenger(s). Also, the electrical issue is the horn does not work even when there's a new fuse & horn. There's a defect in the steering wheel horn button.
I 🅾wn a 2000 kia sephia & the front drivers seatbelt retracts slow& does not lock. The passenger seatbelt does not retract @ all. Additionally, the passenger front door lock does not lock as if the lock actuator has seized up.
The stupid passenger door wont close this just so darn frustrating it's also very dangerous and I am not a very happy person right now. You should make cars more safe if some one had been hurt with that stupid door I would have sued youi
Questions about the Kia Sephia
Which Kia Sephia years have the most problems?
Which Kia Sephia years have the fewest complaints?
What are the most common Kia Sephia problems?
Across every model year, owners report problems with the brakes (601), engine & cooling (305), electrical system (253) most often.
How many recalls does the Kia Sephia have?
NHTSA lists 8 recalls across all Kia Sephia model years. Each year's page lists the recalls for that year; check your own vehicle by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether the repair has been done.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked daily. Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data