Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIR BAGS | |||
| 11/09/2012 | 90000 | 1 | |
| Airbag light was illuminating intermittently - took to dealership for diagnostic in 2010. kia dealership in turnersville said that light illuminating was normal and no issue. i recently had timing chain replaced by same dealership - different tech. this time they said that the light meant the airbags would not deploy in an accident! they said repairs would not be covered! i am furious. *tr | |||
| 11/09/2012 | 90000 | ||
| Airbag light was illuminating intermittently - took to dealership for diagnostic in 2010. kia dealership in turnersville said that light illuminating was normal and no issue. i recently had timing chain replaced by same dealership - different tech. this time they said that the light meant the airbags would not deploy in an accident! they said repairs would not be covered! i am furious. | |||
| 10/08/2011 | 100000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2002 kia sedona. the contact was driving 45 mph when the driver and passenger side air bags deployed independently. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer, but the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileages were 100,000. | |||
| 10/08/2011 | 100000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2002 kia sedona. the contact was driving 45 mph when the driver and passenger side air bags deployed independently. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer, but the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileages were 100,000. kmj | |||
| 10/08/2011 | 100000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2002 kia sedona. the contact was driving 45mph when the side drivers and passenger side air bags deployed, with out impact. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer, but the manufacturer was contacted. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileages were 100,000. rds | |||
| 08/29/2007 | 84000 | 2 | 08/01/2003 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2002 kia sedona. while driving less than 25 mph, the contact noticed that the air bag light was illuminated. the dealer stated that the seat belt sensor failed and caused the air bag light to illuminate. no repairs have been made as of yet. the vin and engine size were unknown. the current and failure mileages were 84,000. updated 09/19/tr *tr | |||
| 03/17/2006 | 70000 | 1 | |
| Dt*: the contact stated the air bag warning light illuminated shortly after the vehicle was started. previously, the vehicle was repaired under recall campaign #03v17000 regarding the seat belts. before the recall work was completed the air bag warning light was illuminated. once the repair was made the light went off. the contact is concerned the same seat belt problem has returned, but has not made an appointment with the dealer for inspection. | |||
| 12/14/2005 | 9 | 07/14/2002 | |
| In 11/04 my abs lights went on in my 02 kia sedona. i took the van to get new brakes and was told that i needed to take it to the dealership because the abs sensor was broken in pieces on the driver side wheels. in 8/05 my air bag light came on in the dash and stayed on. before i could get my car in to dealership, i was driving home from work in early 9/05 going ove an overpass when my car just died and lost all power. i was told that my master flow sensor went bad and needed a new one (warranty). they also replaced the seat belt sensor in the drivers side to take care of the air bag light.2 days later my airbag light came back on. in 12/05 my abs light came on again along with the warning beep. i called my dealership and got appt. following tuesday. i was told it should be safe to drive until then. both headlights also went out. now when applying brake my brake goes down grinds, adjust then goes all the way down . got car to dealership tues am. in the afternoon received call 1 yr old battery is leaking acid due to faulty alternator (sending too much power out. was told must replace battery so that dealership may complete diagnosis. was told by dealership kia only warranties main issue not any additional items damaged by main issue. received call a little while ago, told bad altinator needs battery faulty seat belt sensor now in passenger seat belt (3 months ago was drivers side also my headlights are both blown - yes faulty altenator most likely caused this. i was also told that my new brakes (replaced in aug 05 at less than 3000 mi ago) are wore thin and need relacement along with rotors which now have grooves in them and they are also to thin. i have now replaced the brakes 4 times on a vehicle that is 4 yrs old and being told must replace once again. *nm | |||
| 12/31/2004 | 57840 | 3 | 11/21/2001 |
| Problems: unwanted acceleration; clunking/seizing brakes/lit airbag warning light. mileage: under 58,000 miles. kia sedona 2002 vin # kndup131626095266. on afternoon of 12/31/04, i & passenger drive from nyc to hartford, ct. minivan repeatedly accelerated to 70-75 mph along highway roads. i braked to reduce speed repeatedly. unsuccessful repeatedly despite knowledge that state troopers looking for speeders on new year's eve. returning from hartford, ct to nyc on afternoon, on highway roads, a light grinding sound from right side of car [seemed both front & rear wheels] came on whenever i steered to the left. no sound if driving straight or to right. checked under minivan for loose anything. saw nothing. felt tires and steel wheels for heat, if brakes are wearing or sticking. felt uniform temperatures on all tires and wheels. conduct my business in hartford, ct. drove home to bronx county, ny with passenger. picked up family of 4 kids, 2 parents to drive to mother-in-law in queens county. drop off passenger and proceed to route 87 south. leaving route 87 south [major deegan highway] onto exit ramp for route 95 north [cross bronx expressway eastbound] in stop & go traffic around 7:30 pm there was a clunking sound going from right front wheel to center to left front of car. i stopped & checked under car with electric lantern for broken strut or tie-rod. saw nothing. drove on route 95, over whitestone bridge to queens. parked van. on 1/1/2005 [saturday] around 1:00 am i drive family back to home in bronx county. two streets from home a clunk sound again, grabbing wheels. drop off family at 1:30 a.m. drive vehicle to neighborhood gas station for check-up that saturday morning. unable to contact service dept of local kia dealership due to new year's weekend. also, note airbag light is on continuously. will contact warranty phone numbers & personnel & kia dealership am of monday, 1/3/2005 prior to work commencing. front & rear suspension complaints. | |||
| 08/11/2004 | 34542 | 4 | 10/11/2002 |
| We own a 2002 kia sedona minivan. we bought it new in october of 2002. since 04/03 we have had to return the car for airbag/seatbelt fault indications four times. in every case the front seat belt buckle sensors have been found to be defective.the dealer mechanic has told us that the air bags would not deploy with this fault indication. with each failure they have had to wait for back ordered parts, and the mechanic says this is a common fault with theses cars. since they are always waiting for parts to repair this defect, it leads me to believe that there is indeed a widespread problem of this nature. in researchuing past problems on your web site iit seems that air bag/ seatbelt problems are a recurrent kia defect. this is an apparant engineering design defect that puts owners of these vehicles at serious risk. seatbelts and air bags are a federally mandated safety feature that consumers should have confidence that they will work when needed. our car is now past it's milage warrenty and now kia insists that we pay for the reoccuring repairs to this important safety system. consumers should not have to subsidise kia's failure prone system | |||
| 06/01/2004 | 4 | 08/11/2001 | |
| We have a 2002 sedona. we have owned it for 2 years. and this is the 7th time the airbag light has come on and stayed on. evey time we take it in they replace something, once was the seat belt latch, another time was a part in the computer and so on. they just don't know what is causing it to come on, so they tell me. that is such a reassuring answer for a car owner. we have also had problems with the battery, hatchback not opening and having dents in it from when we shut it and break problems that they refussed to fix until after the warrenty expired. it is time now for an attorney to step in for us.*ak | |||
| 1 | |||
| Consumer was involved in a collision and the air bags failed to deploy.*jb | |||
| AIR BAGS - FRONTAL | |||
| 04/30/2007 | 50000 | 1 | 11/22/2002 |
| The air bag did not deploy in our 2002 kia sedona. *tr | |||
| 11/06/2003 | 19000 | 1 | 07/01/2002 |
| While driving 50 mph vehicle was involved in a collision. upon impact, dual air bags did not deploy, and seat belt broke. according to the consumer the seat belt retractor did not lock during the event. driver sustained neck injuries during the rollover crash. *ak the back seat had become dislodged during the accident. recall#03v135000. *sc *jb | |||
| 08/19/2002 | |||
| Air bag light will come on and stay on, it has stayed on for about a month. contacted dealer, and the dealer stated that they could not find the cause of the problem. please provide further information. *ak | |||
| AIR BAGS - FRONTAL - SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE | |||
| 09/03/2007 | 84000 | 2 | 08/01/2003 |
| 4 months ago my alternator went, taking with it my entire electrical system. after everything was fixed by the repair shop of my choice, the airbag light was still on and could not be reset because kia will not release the codes to do so. i took it to the dealer who inspected the vehicle and $90 later simply reset the codes to clear the light. now i find myself with the light on again, and my 2002 kia sedona at the dealership to find out why. of course, it cannot be as simple as the code needing to be reset, and i have been informed that there is a faulty sensor in the seatbelt mechanism that will need to be replaced. this will cost $200 + to have done. it is my understanding that this is a recurrent problem with kia sedonas and i cannot understand why it is not a recall item. my sister-in-law has had to replace theirs two times now, my father-in-law has had to replace his at least one time, and my sister-in-laws mother-in-law has had to replace hers at least twice. these are just family members, and i can only imagine how many other people are having this problem. on this site alone i have found several, not to mention other message boards showing the same complaints. at what point does a complaint like this get investigated to be recalled? this is a serious safety issue that needs to be taken care of and i implore you to investigate into this malfunction. thank you. *tr updated 09/19/07 *tr | |||
| 07/03/2006 | 88302 | 3 | 08/18/2002 |
| Back in 2003, the airbag light on my van came on and would not go away. it was under warranty. the problem was a defective passenger side seat belt buckle. that was replaced. now in 2005 the airbag light came on and would not go away again. my warranty has expired, so i tried finding out what the problem was myself. it was the same passenger side seat belt buckle. the problem was a broken wire in the harness to the sensor. the cause was a metal clip that pinches the harness, and with the movement of putting the seat belt on and off, eventually leading to the wire breakage. that i fixed myself and airbag light went out. in 2006, the airbag light came back on and would not go out. the problem now is the driver side seat belt buckle, once again a broken wire at the clip. once again my warranty has expired so i am going to fix it myself. this kind of problem can be fixed if the clips are removed, extending the life of the sensing unit. i am sure that there are many others with that same problem. i would like to see this defect fixed. *jb | |||
| 08/26/2005 | 2 | 10/08/2001 | |
| 1) battery discharge occured during slow speed driving and hot conditions. vehicle stalled at intersection and was almost hit several times. 2) service bulletin put out by kia calls for new alternator, with smaller pulley and ecm battery compensation 3) kia technical service bulletin calls for a new alternator with smaller pulley (65mm ->55mm) and ecm battery compensation revised. | |||
| AIR BAGS - ON-OFF SWITCH ASSEMBLY | |||
| 01/05/2005 | 58250 | 2 | 11/20/2001 |
| Re:kia sedona minivan kndup131626095266 with about 58,300 miles. no prior problems of any kind. st complaint: on evening of friday, 12/31/04, a clunking/grinding sound from right side of my kia sedona at about 58,000 miles grabbed and seized the right axle. on 1/1/05 [sat] i drove car to local srvce cntr. on 1/3/05 [monday] srvc cntr diagnosed burnt/broken right axle wheel bearings. altho i told srvce cntr to do brake service on all 4 wheels but not wheel bearings, as i wanted that work to be done by my kia dealership - my local station replaced brake pads & rims and honed rotors and replaced front right axle wheel bearings. tow service to kia dealership was cancelled by me as a result. 2nd complaint: on wed, 1/5/05, i drove daughter at 6:45 a.m. from bronx to her laguardia hs in manhattan. noticed that car radio and head lights flicked on & off while driving for minutes at a time. later in day, i drove to brooklyn's 99 street cleaners to pick up my military field coat at 3:20 p.m. minivan parked but engine would not turn over & start. used auxiliary battery pack [abp] to start engine and entered bqexpressway. crossing brooklyn bridge to manhattan, engine died. used abp to start engine and entered fdr drive up manhattan to home. car engine died 3 more times. after 4 stalls and re-starts with abp, i kept abp connected to vehicle battery and, with all lights off in darkness from 4:30 p.m.-5:45 p.m., in slow rush hour traffic, the abp kept car alive till arrival at local srvce cntr. all fuses checked okay while car battery recharged. diagnosis made that alternator and/or regulator not working. have phoned kia tow service for pick up to dealership. vehicle has about 58,300 miles on it. nb: i am very satisifed with kia customer service and kia tow service, whom i telephoned on 1/3/05 [and then cancelled tow] and today on 1/6/05. *ak | |||