Seat Belts › Front › Buckle AssemblyCrash
Filed Feb 22, 200545,000 milesMN
WHEN THE CONSUMER WAS HIT AT 5 MPH ON THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT UNLOCKED. DEALERSHIP WAS NOTIFIED, BUT DID NOT RESOLVE THE PROBLEM. *AK
2002 Kia Sephia
Routine
Owners filed 6 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the tires. No safety recall has been issued.
What fails
| Component | Reports | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tires | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Seat Belts › Front › Buckle Assembly | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Power Train › Automatic Transmission | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Electrical System › Ignition | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Air Bags › Frontal | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
What owners reported
Newest filingsPower Train › Automatic Transmission
Filed Oct 20, 2004DC
WHILE SHIFTING GEARS, THE VEHICLE HESITATED. THE CONSUMER APPLIED THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED AT A HIGH SPEED. THE CONSUMER APPLIED THE BRAKES, BUT THE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR. THE VEHICLE CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE WITH EXCESSIVE SPEED. THE DRIVER TURNED OFF THE VEHICLE AND RESTARTED IT. THE CONSUMER WAS ABLE TO DRIVE IT TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION. THE MECHANIC INFORMED THE DRIVER THAT THE TRANSMISSION SOLENOID SWITCH NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. PLEASE FILL IN ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. *JB
Air Bags › FrontalCrash1 injured
Filed Apr 21, 200418,000 milesOH
DURING A 35 MPH FRONTAL COLLISION FRONT AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. DEALERSHIP WAS NOTIFIED, BUT DID NOT RESOLVE THE PROBLEM. *AK
Electrical System › Ignition
Filed Mar 23, 200421,871 milesMI
WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE STALLED. DRIVER WAS ABLE TO RESTART VEHICLE, AND DRIVE IT TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION. MECHANIC COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. *AK *MR
Service Brakes, Hydraulic
Filed Feb 12, 2003CA
THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCE.*JB
Tires
Filed Oct 28, 2001TX
VEHICLE ORGINALLY STARTED WITH A VERY HARD PULL TO THE RIGHT & VIBRATION AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. WHEN TAKEN TO DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIRS, TOLD THAT SERVICE TECHS WOULD NOT ALLOW ME TO HAVE BACK UNTIL REPAIRS MADE BECAUSE VEHICLE WAS DANGEROUS TO DRIVE. AFTER CROSSMEMBER REALIGN, STILL HAD A HARD PULL & VIBRATION. RETURNED TO DEALERSHIP. FRONT TIRES REPLACED. STILL HAS HARD PULL & VIBRATION BUT NOW AT LOWER SPEEDS. MANUFACTOR CONTACTED ALL TIMES BUT UNABLE TO REMEDY PROBLEM AT THIS POINT. VEHICLE DANGEROUS AT ANY SPEED ABOVE 40MPH SINCE VEHICLE WILL VEAR HARD TO THE RIGHT ESPECIALLY UPON ACCELERATION.
6 of 6 complaints, reproduced as filed.
Across model years
Worst on record: 1998Reading this record
No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.
Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.