Complaint Statistics
4 total complaints
Top Reported Components
| Component | Complaints |
|---|
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | 2 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM:RADIATOR ASSEMBLY | 1 |
Incident date: May 20, 2011
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 KIA SORRENTO EX (NA). WHILE THE CONTACT DISPENSED FUEL INTO THE FUEL TANK, FUEL WOULD SPRAY OUT ONTO THE GROUND AND CLOTHING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSIS AND REPAIR. THE FAILURE CONTINUED TO OCCUR AFTER THE REPAIR. THE DEALER WAS NOTIFIE
... D AND RECOMMENDED THE VEHICLE BE DIAGNOSED TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE DEFECT. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 150,000.Read more
Incident date: May 28, 2010
APRIL 11, 2011 TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, THIS LETTER IS TO OFFICIALLY SUBMIT A COMPLAINT ABOUT THE SAFETY OF OUR 2003 KIA SORENTO WITH MILEAGE OF 109209 MY HUSBAND AND I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE BEFORE THE BIRTH OF OUR BABY BACK IN MAY 2010, BECAUSE WE NEEDED THE EXTRA SPACE. UNFORTUNATELY, WE
... HAVE SOME CONCERNS ABOUT THE SAFETY OF THE VEHICLE. AFTER MUCH RESEARCH WE FOUND THAT THIS PARTICULAR COMPLAINT ALONG WITH OTHER FUEL PUMP COMPLAINTS ARE COMMON AMONG OTHER KIA OWNERS. I AM ASKING THE PERSON OR DEPARTMENT IN CHARGED TO PLEASE LOOK INTO THIS MATTER AND TAKE THE PROPER ACTION. OUR COMPLAINTS ARE AS FOLLOWS. THE MAIN PROBLEM AND CONCERN IS WITH THE FUEL TANK, EVERY TIME WE PUMP GAS THE GAS SHOOTS BACK AND SPRAYS ME OR MY HUSBAND AND IT RUNS DOWN THE SIDE OF THE CAR. WE HAVE TO CONSTANTLY STOP PUMPING GAS EVERY 10 SECONDS TO PREVENT THE SPRAYING OF GAS. ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS THE GAS HAS ALMOST SPRAYED ME ON MY EYES, AND JUST RECENTLY IT SPRAYED ME IN BOTH ARMS, AND BURNED MY SKIN. I HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL EVERY TIME I PUMP GAS, I'M AFRAID THIS IS GOING TO SPRAY ME IN MY FACE OR WORST YET HARM MY CHILD! OUR SECOND COMPLAINT IS THAT THE KIA NEEDS CONSTANT ANTI-FREEZE BECAUSE THE HEAT THERMOMETER SHOWS THE VEHICLE OVERHEATS ABOUT EVERY 3 MONTHS. WE HAVE TAKEN OUR VEHICLE TO VARIOUS MECHANICS, AND TWICE TO THE KIA DEALERSHIPS, HOWEVER THEY CAN NOT FIND A PROBLEM, ON BOTH OF THE ISSUES LISTED ABOVE. THE KIA IS THE MAIN VEHICLE WE USE TO GET AROUND, HOWEVER LATELY I HAVE BEEN VERY CONCERN ABOUT THE SAFETY OF THE CAR. PLEASE TAKE THIS LETTER AS OUR OFFICIAL COMPLAINT, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING AN OFFICIAL RESPONSE BACK. I?M CONCERN ABOUT OUR SAFETY, BUT ALSO THE SAFETY OF OTHER DRIVERS WITH THE SAME KIA MODEL. PLEASE LOOK INTO THE MATTER, AND I TRUST THE RIGHT THING WILL BE DONE TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE. *TRRead more
Incident date: Jun 13, 2007
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 KIA SPORTAGE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, THE BLADES ON HIS COOLING FAN BEGAN TO COME OFF, CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO OVERHEAT. THE DEALER COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HE RECENTLY RECEIVED RECALL NOTICE # 07V1610
... 00 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM:FAN). THE PURCHASE DATE AND FAILURE MILEAGE WERE UNKNOWN. THE CURRENT MILEAGE IS 93,314.Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 1901
PROBLEMS WITH 2002 KIA SPORTAGE/ LEMON VEHICLE..*MR THE CONSUMER WAS REQUESTING THAT KIA OF AMERICA INC PURCHASE THE DEFECTIVE VEHICLE IMMEDIATELY. PLEASE RESPOND PROMPTLY IN RESOLVING MATTERS* CB
NHTSA Safety Investigations — KIA SPORTAGE
Investigations opened by NHTSA into potential safety defects. These are separate from recalls and may or may not result in a recall.
EA — Closed
— Model Year: 2002
FAN BLADE CRACKING/SEPARATION
KIA MOTORS AMERICA, INC. (KIA) HAS IDENTIFIED A DEFECT IN THE PLASTIC ENGINE COOLING FAN IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES AND WILL CONDUCT A SAFETY RECALL.KIA'S DEFECT REPORT STATES, ...HEAT GENERATED BY THE ENGINE CAUSES REPEATED BENDING DEFORMATION OF THE POLYPROPYLENE COOLING FAN...INITIATING CRACKS IN TH
... E FAN.THE CENTRIFUGAL FORCES GENERATED BY THE ROTATION OF THE BLADES CAN CAUSE THE CRACKS TO PROPAGATE UNTIL COMPLETE SEPARATION OCCURS...KIA ESTIMATES APPROXIMATELY 35,090 VEHICLES WILL BE SUBJECT TO THE RECALL, AS SOME OF THE 46,887 VEHICLES PRODUCED HAVE ALREADY HAD THE FAN REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY.KIA DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE ORIGINAL VERSION OF THE FAN WITH A FAN MADE OF IMPROVED MATERIAL.THIS INVESTIGATION WAS OPENED ON SEPTEMBER 21, 2006 AS PE06-042 AND UPGRADED TO ENGINEERING ANALYSIS EA07-001 ON JANUARY 22, 2007.PLEASE SEE NHTSA RECALL 07V161 FOR MORE DETAILED INFORMATIONRead more
PE — Closed
— Model Year: 2002
FAN BLADE CRACKING/SEPARATION
THE INVESTIGATION OF ENGINE COOLING FANS IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES WAS OPENED ON SEPTEMBER 21, 2006 AS PE06-042.THE BASIS FOR OPENING WAS 10 CONSUMER REPORTS ALLEGING FAN BLADE CRACKING AND BLADE SEPARATION.SIX OF THE REPORTS INDICATED THE SEPARATED FAN BLADES CAUSED DAMAGE TO OTHER ENGINE COMPARTMENT
... COMPONENTS.KIA HAS PROVIDED ADDITIONAL CONSUMER REPORTS AND INFORMATION IN ITS RESPONSE TO PE06-042.THE INVESTIGATION HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO ENGINEERING ANALYSIS (EA07-001) TO CONTINUE TO ASSESS THE CONSEQUENCE OF FAN BLADE SEPARATION IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES.Read more
EA — Closed
— Model Year: 1996
FUEL TANK LEAKAGE
A SAFETY-RELATED DEFECT TREND HAS NOT BEEN IDENTIFIED AT THIS TIME.REVIEW OF THE WARRANTY DATA REVEALED ELEVATED TANK LEAKAGE EXPERIENCE IN VEHICLES PRODUCED FROM JUNE 1999 TO OCTOBER 2000.ANALYSIS OF COMPLAINTS AND WARRANTY CLAIMS IDENTIFIED MULTIPLE CAUSES AND ORIGINS OF FUEL TANK ASSEMBLY LEAKAGE
... .THE MAJORITY OF COMPLAINTS INVOLVE NON-SPECIFIC ALLEGATIONS OF FUEL LEAKAGE WHERE MORE THAN ONE FUEL SYSTEM COMPONENT WAS REPLACED.ODI'S ANALYSIS FOCUSED ON LEAKS OCCURRING ON THE UNDERSIDE OF THE TANK DUE TO CORROSIVE FAILURE CAUSED BY DISRUPTION OF THE PROTECTIVE PVC COATING.THE ANALYSISINDICATES THAT SUCH LEAKS ARE RARE AND DO NOT SHOW EVIDENCE OF AN INCREASING TREND. ACCORDINGLY, THIS INVESTIGATION IS CLOSED.THE CLOSING OF THIS INVESTIGATION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A FINDING BY NHTSA THAT A SAFETY-RELATED DEFECT DOES NOT EXIST.THE AGENCY WILL TAKE FURTHER ACTION IF WARRANTED BY THE CIRCUMSTANCES. SEE DOCUMENT FILE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING THIS RESUME.Read more
PE — Closed
— Model Year: 1999
FUEL TANK LEAKAGE
ON JANUARY 4, 2006, THE OFFICE OF DEFECTS INVESTIGATION (ODI) OPENED A PRELIMINARY EVALUATION TO INVESTIGATE ALLEGED FUEL LEAKAGE FROM THE STEEL FUEL STORAGE TANK IN CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 1999-2000 KIA SPORTAGE VEHICLES.ODI SENT A LETTER TO THE MANUFACTURER ON JANUARY 25, 2006 REQUESTING INFORMATION AB
... OUT THESE AND OTHER KIA SPORTAGE VEHICLES.ODI IS AWARE OF 40 NON-DUPLICATIVE COMPLAINTS THAT ALLEGE FUEL STORAGE TANK LEAKAGE IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES.ANALYSIS OF MANUFACTURER DATA INDICATES THAT ALLEGED FUEL LEAKAGE AT OR NEAR THE STORAGE TANK MAY BE ATTRIBUTED TO SEVERAL DIFFERENT FAILURE MODES INVOLVING THE FUEL CONTAINMENT AND DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.KIA HAS IDENTIFIED CORROSION AS A PRIMARY CAUSAL FACTOR RELATED TO FUEL STORAGE TANK COMPLAINTS AND CONTINUED FUEL SYSTEM PART SALES.ACCORDING TO KIA, FUEL TANK CORROSION CLAIMS RELATED TO LEAKAGE CAN BE DIVIDED INTO TWO CATEGORIES: LOWER TANK CLAIMS ASSOCIATED WITH EXTERIOR CORROSION DUE TO DISRUPTION OF THE POLYVINYL CHLORIDE (PVC) PROTECTIVE COATING AND UPPER TANK CLAIMS ASSOCIATED WITH CORROSION AT THE FUEL SENDING UNIT MOUNTING PLATE AREA.THE MANUFACTURER'S INVESTIGATION INTO ALLEGED FUEL TANK CORROSION RESULTING IN LEAKAGE IS ONGOING.ACCORDINGLY, THIS INVESTIGATION HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS (EA06-007) TO FURTHER STUDY THE FREQUENCY, SCOPE, AND SAFETY CONSEQUENCES OF THE ALLEGED DEFECT.Read more
EA — Closed
— Model Year: 1999
SEAT BELT BUCKLE FALSE LATCH/MALFUNCTION
THE MANUFACTURER HAS INITIATED A SAFETY RELATED CAMPAIGN TO RECALL THE SUBJECT VEHICLES FOR CORRECTION OF THE SEAT BELT BUCKLE DEFECT.THE CORRECTIVE ACTION IS TO REPLACE THE SEAT BELTS/BUCKLES.THIS SAFETY RECALL PROGRAM HAS BEEN ASSIGNED NHTSA CAMPAIGN NO. 04V305.
RQ — Closed
— Model Year: 2001
SEAT BELT BUCKLE FALSE LATCH/MALFUNCTION
INFORMATION RECEIVED AND ANALYZED DURING THIS RQ DISCLOSED THAT MY 1999 AND 2000 KIA SEPHIA AND SPORTAGE VEHICLES WERE EQUIPPED WITH MODIFIED VERSIONS OF THE SAME SAFETY BELT LATCH ASSEMBLY AS THOSE RECALLED IN CAMPAIGN NO. 02V-216.THESE LATCH ASSEMBLIES WERE IDENTIFIED AS TYPE A97. ODI ANALYSES IND
... ICATE A CONTINUING TREND OF CONSUMER COMPLAINTS FOLLOWING A SERIES OF DESIGN MODIFICATIONS MADE BY KIA TO IMPROVE THE A97 LATCH ASSEMBLY.MY 2001 AND 2002 SUBJECT VEHICLES WERE EQUIPPED WITH DIFFERENT DESIGN LATCH ASSEMBLIES (TYPE DB-6 OR AUTOLIV) AND EXHIBIT A MUCH LOWER COMPLAINT COUNT.THIS RQ HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO AN EA IN ORDER TO FURTHER INVESTIGATE THIS MATTER FOR THE SUBJECT VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH TYPE A97 LATCH ASSEMBLIES.Read more
RQ — Closed
— Model Year: 1998
ENGINE STALLING POST-RECALL
RQ02-013 WAS OPENED TO ASSESS THE SCOPE AND ADEQUACY OF RECALL 99V-325, WHICH INVOLVED MODIFICATIONS TO THE ENGINE FUEL INJECTION WIRE HARNESS (HARNESS).VEHICLES PRODUCED AFTER THE RECALL POPULATION HAVE SHOWN NO SIGNS OF A DEFECT TREND.THE MAJORITY OF RECALL REMEDY FAILURES IDENTIFIED WERE REPAIRED
... WITHIN ONE DAY OF THE INITIAL WORK.SUBSEQUENT FAILURE EXPERIENCE IS MINIMAL (249/55,548 VEHICLES REMEDIED).FIELD DATA SHOW NO INDICATION OF AN ONGOING CONCERN: OF 627 POST-RECALL STALLING-RELATED WIRE HARNESS WARRANTY REPAIRS, ONLY SEVEN OCCURRED IN 2003.CONSUMER COMPLAINTS AND FUEL INJECTION WIRE HARNESS SALESHAVE DECLINED SINCE 2001.ODI HAS RECEIVED A TOTAL OF TWELVE POTENTIALLY RELEVANT CONSUMER COMPLAINTS SINCE 2001.UNDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES, FURTHER EXPENDITURE OF AGENCY RESOURCES IS NOT JUSTIFIED.THE RECALL QUERY IS THEREFORE CLOSED.THE CLOSING OF THIS INVESTIGATION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A FINDING BY NHTSA THAT NO SAFETY-RELATED DEFECT EXISTS.THE AGENCY WILL TAKE FURTHER ACTION IN THE FUTURE IF CIRCUMSTANCES WARRANT.Read more
PE — Closed
— Model Year: 1996
SAFETY BELT BUCKLE MALFUNCTION
BY LETTER DATED AUGUST 25, 2002, KIA ADVISED NHTSA THAT THE SUBJECT VEHICLES WILL BE RECALLED.SPECIFIC CORRECTIVE ACTION TO BE TAKEN BY KIA HAS NOT BEEN REPORTED TO NHTSA AT THIS TIME.THE SAFETY RECALL PROGRAM HAS BEEN ASSIGNED CAMPAIGN NO. 02V-216.
DP — Closed
— Model Year: 2000
VEHICLE ROLLOVER
There is no summary currently available
PE — Closed
— Model Year: 1999
WINDSHIELD WIPER
PE — Closed
— Model Year: 2000
INCORRECT BATTERY JUMP-START
ALLEGE BATTETY MAY EXPLODE IF OWNER'S ATTEMPT TO JUMP-STATE THE VEHICLE BY FOLLOWING THE OWNER'S MANUAL DIAGRAM
EA — Closed
— Model Year: 1998
TURN SIGHAL
There is no summary currently available
SQ — Closed
— Model Year: 1997
CHECK ENGINE LIGHT STAYS ON
A monthly Technical Times published by Kia and distributed to dealer technicians identifying a wiring harness problem that could cause connectors C123 and C124 to pull apart slightly during engine load changes.This could lead to erratic or tempory loss
PE — Closed
— Model Year: 1998
WINDSHIELD WIPER
ALLEGED WINDSHIELD WIPER BECOMES INOPERATIVE WHEN THE WIPER ARM AND PIVOT SEPARATE