Kia Sephia
Owners filed 1,703 complaints across 10 model years of the Kia Sephia. The 1998 drew the most (491).
Model years10
Complaints1,703
Recalls16
Fires73
Deaths4
Which Kia Sephia years should you avoid?
Going by 1,703 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the Kia Sephia years to avoid are 1998 and 1999.
- 1998491 complaints, 2.4× a typical Sephia year, most often about the brakes.
- 1999428 complaints, 2.1× a typical Sephia year, most often about the brakes.
How this is worked out: each year is compared with a typical year of the same model, which takes most of the difference in sales out of it, and its share of serious failures is compared with every other car of the same model year, because older cars were complained about differently. A year needs 25 complaints to be judged at all. Complaints are unverified owner reports. Full method →
Every Kia Sephia model year compared
Complaints per year| Year | Complaints | Relative volume | Recalls | Fires | Crashes | Most reported | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 2 | 0 | — | — | Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine | Routine | |
| 2002 | 6 | 0 | — | 2 | Tires | Routine | |
| 2001 | 107 | 0 | 2 | 21 | Air Bags › Frontal | Fatalities reported | |
| 2000 | 266 | 1 | 3 | 42 | Power Train › Automatic Transmission | Above average | |
| 1999Avoid | 428 | 5 | 42 | 50 | Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine › Gasoline | High concern | |
| 1998Avoid | 491 | 6 | 16 | 33 | Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Foundation Components › Disc | Above average | |
| 1997 | 205 | 1 | 5 | 30 | Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine › Gasoline | Fatalities reported | |
| 1996 | 118 | 1 | 4 | 9 | Unknown or Other | Fatalities reported | |
| 1995 | 64 | 1 | 1 | 12 | Unknown or Other | Routine | |
| 1994 | 16 | 1 | — | 3 | Power Train | Routine |
Data: NHTSA complaint and recall files, October 2026. Complaints are unverified owner reports.