Kia Sedona Reviews

I was told they would look into it. I have heard nothing further. I bought and paid for a new van, so if the theft protection device isn't factory installed I asked by whom and when was it installed. When I bought the van, it had 1200 miles on it, but I was told that was allowable for a new vehicle. I believe I was sold a previously sold van that was returned to the dealer and resold as new.

I bought a Kia oil filter brought it to my oil change place and they told me that their filter doesn't have one either. I then brought the van back to the dealer and they quickly changed their story to as long as it goes away when pressure builds it is ok.

Well now at 80k miles, it is louder and lasts longer than it ever has. I brought it to a repair shop and they told me of a huge problem and multiple TSB referring to this problem. To make the long story short, the tensioners are going bad too early and come to find out it is almost a $2,000 job to get it replaced.

I called Kia and they basically told me to go to hell, they weren't going to do anything about it because it is under warranty. Well this was my first Asian vehicle and will be my last for sure. Did anyone else get screwed by Kia for this?

I felt if they knew there was a problem they should have fixed it. I cannot be good to have the chain turning without oil on every startup. They didn't even offer to split the cost when this was brought up. The exact reply was "we aren't gonna do that, it's out of warranty and it's your problem".

I brought my van to a dealer and parked it until I saw someone looking at Sedona’s and then I started it. The look on their faces was worth it. The customers left immediately after I told them the vehicle only had 80k and Kia wouldn't help with the repair. Shortly thereafter, the police showed up and told me to leave.

I bought it in Delaware and lived in MD. Since I moved to WV, I have to take it to Clarksburg WV Kia and they are worthless. They don’t know what they’re doing and the service manger doesn’t give a crap about my problem. So I drove it back to Delaware now and taking it to them. Let’s see what’s wrong now! I will never by Kia again. I’m sticking to Chevy. I won’t recommend them to anyone

Dealer will not cover anything. Nothing but the run around. This van is a piece of cheap crap. Can't even call it metal because its made out of titanium. Cheap cheap cheap. Do not buy. If you have one get rid of it while you can.

April 2009 -- Huyndai KIA is recalling 139,844 MY 2006-2007- Sedona, Sportage, Sorento and MY Rondo and Amanti vehicles. The stop lamp switch in the affected vehicles may malfunction. A malfunctioning stop lamp switch may cause the brake lights to not illuminate when the brake pedal is depressed or may cause the brake lights to remain illuminated when the brake pedal is released. A stop lamp switch malfunction may also affect the operation of the brake-transmission shift interlock feature so the transmission shifter would not be able to be shifted out of the park position. It may also cause the electronic stability control (ESC) malfunction light to illuminate, and it may not deactivate the cruise control when the brake pedal is depressed. Any of these malfunctions, alone or in combination, may lead to a crash. Dealers will replace the stop lamp switch free of charge. The recall is expected to begin during May and June of 2009.

I called the local dealership in our nearby town of Jonesboro Arkansas and they made an appointment for it to be repaired at no charge, however when I left my van there, they called me and said my VIN # showed that my van was not within the production time of the recalled vehicles. In the meantime, we can fix it for XXXX amount! I rejected and I have contacted the KIA Consumer help number and nothing, no help!

I have three kids and my husband works out-of-town. I stated that I needed to get a courtesy car. They stated that they did not have those cars but I could rent a car. I feel Kia should have paid for this rental. We finally heard back late Friday afternoon and was told that it was going to be covered under warranty but the part would not be in until Monday morning, forcing me to retain the rental car through the weekend. I feel that they should pay for the rental or reimburse us for it. The repairs were covered under warranty. It was not our fault that no one in the warranty department called back until a day later which happened to be the weekend.

I contacted the Service Department and Customer Department. Both were not helpful and pretty much told me sorry about my luck but we can't help you. Our vehicle will be paid for in one month and had planned on trading it in for another Kia. We will not be doing that now thanks to the wonderful service and attitude we received. I think it's poor business when a car tears up through no fault of your own and the dealership makes you pay for another car while they take their sweet time fixing it.

Within a few minutes of driving out of the lot, the check engine light came back on again which is one of the original problems that the car was brought in for. Loose sway bar links on front and all 4 subframe bushings may be a problem in the future needs repair at a cost of $529. The car received a tune up with new plugs, etc. at a cost of $199.95. Tires were mounted and balanced and two new tires were purchased. My daughter, Danna, paid $1736.33 by check on a bill which totaled $2028.11. She and my wife are listed as owners of the Kia Sedona. Danna feels that she wasn't treated very well and was taken advantage of by running up the costs of repairs. Her additional warranty noted as aftermarket will pay some of the costs related to this repair/service. The check engine light came back on within blocks of the dealer. It is not likely that she will return to the dealer for service. Poor communication, loss of the use of the car, inflated bill, second opinion sought due to the lack of confidence in the service, treated with a lack of respect. Thank you for your consideration in this matter.

It's very scary and they say this is okay or they can not find a problem. Also, as you are driving it accelerates or decelerates oddly. The vehicle only has 62,000 miles and we have replaced brakes twice.

Therefore, the warranty didn't cover the broken axle or the bearings. Kia of Keene also told me I would need a new battery before winter. That was 2 harsh Vermont winters ago and I still have not replaced the battery. I sent a scathing 3-page letter to Kia Motors and they sent me a form letter saying they turned it over to the manager at Kia of Keene and if I had any further questions to contact him directly. Despite all the ** and feeling totally ripped off by the Kia dealer, I have grown sort of attached to the old Kia van and plan to drive it until it dies.

I've had to take several days off work, because they do not provide a loaner car and have also had to pay out of pocket for a rental. This time, they have agreed to pay 1/2 the rental.

In the past 6 months, we've sunk almost $4000 dollars into this lemon, and as I write this, it is again at the dealership, awaiting $1150.00 just to get it running! And this amount doesn't include fixing the power steering that has suddenly died or the 8 other issues they found with the vehicle that need to be addressed. Plus, as mentioned by a previous poster, all the paint on our car is bubbling off, and the car is literally rusting from the inside out. Our local dealership gives us a clean bill of health each time we leave, then, 4 weeks later when we come back, they hook it up again and find another boatload of problems. The local dealership is no help.

I've begun complaining about the quality of the car and the many problems, and they just shake their heads and tell me it "must be your car because we don't get these complaints from anyone else. " Baloney! I've had it with this car, and have been warning friends to stay away from KIA. With luck, the car will be traded in today for a more reliable vehicle, as I simply refuse to spend any more of my hard earned money repairing this piece of garbage. In the past 6 months of paying for this car's repairs, we have had to juggle our budget to the point of some bills going into collections. We can't pay bills unless we can get to work, and to get to work, you need a running car. Thus, money has been poured into this lemon. Plus, we have fallen behind on the payments for this car while trying to keep it running!

Since I began researching this problem on the internet, I learned that there are many people who have experienced this same problem with their Kia Sedona Van. Their complaints are the same-- door handles that have fallen off and Kia refusing to fix them. This is obviously a manufacturer's defect. I know many people who own antique vehicles. All their vehicles still have their original door handles. I have never heard of door handles falling off a vehicle, let alone three! I contacted both our local Kia dealership and the Kia Corporation.

The Kia Corporation of America's (800-xxx-xxxx) Consumer affairs assistant sounded like a robot. She told me that this was not a recall item. The time for reporting a manufacturing defeat was over and that nothing would be done! She did say that if we wanted them to look at the vehicle, we could bring it into the dealership, pay for diagnostics but they would still not pay to fix this problem. This is just throwing good money after bad! Why would I pay them to tell me again they are not going to fix this vehicle?

When I spoke to the Kia dealership in St. Augustine, they were sympathetic to our problem. However, they explained that they could not absorb the cost of this repair since Kia Corporation would not reimburse them. I can understand their dilemma. From the tone of our conversation, but without saying it, I believe they agree with me. While the Kia Sedona issue is certainly not at the danger level as the run away Toyota problem, the potential for a tragic ending is there none the less. Why is an auto maker allowed to produce dangerous, inferior products and then refuse to fix their problem or better yet, charge us to fix their mistakes? When will they be held accountable? Please help us and the other Kia Sedona owners resolve this issue.

After a couple of weeks, we called them; and they had forgotten to order the wheel. Two weeks later, we got no call and they said that they would order it for a fee. We then were so fed up that we called 1800lemonlaw. This was a mistake, as they have given us the runaround for at least a year, switching us from attorney to attorney, court appearance after court appearance. In the end, they (Lemon Law) told us that we should take the offer of four thousand, 50% to them, and be happy. I am so mad that I purchased a lemon and had an attorney fight for me only to screw me over. So much for the consumer. We are now driving the KIA. Still, it is pulling. I had the wheels changed twice and two sets of brakes, and it's not even 50k yet. Do not buy a KIA, and do not call 1800lemonlaw.

I was later told that the red light for the seat belt was for the airbag module. They have not seen this issue before and not sure of any previous year’s record. This is what they typed in my invoice quote, "Scan tool unable to communicate with airbag control module. Module has internal failure and requires replacement." I declined this repair hoping to find some more answers and info, and do my research with other drivers and dealers to look into why. My van that has only 50k miles (9months over 5 year warranty period), could have a part that is important with a National Car Safety Rating of 5 star, could go bad in such a short period of time?

I looked and researched on the internet and did not find any other consumer experiencing the same issue. If anyone out there had seen the same issue with their van, please update this blog. I am reaching out to other dealers for help as well. Lee Johnson is a good dealership, but I do not get it why this part has gone defective in such a short run mileage? I believe it is the manufacturer lemon part. And they have some responsibility and vested value to investigate why their part went bad so quick. That part does not qualify for 5 star rating does it? I am reaching out to manufacturer, dealers, individual owners, in this nation to answer my call for help. Thanks.

Once taken to the dealership, they stated that my engine was knocking because the third party entity did not use the right filter or sealant and this was causing my engine to knock. They also recommend an additional maintenance. I had everything done. I then took my car to get an oil change about 4 months later which was outside of the 3,000 mile range and they stated that my engine knocks since I did not get the oil changed at 3,000 miles.

I asked how can this be fixed and he stated that the knocking was not going to do anything to my engine and that as I get the oil changed on a more regular basis, the knocking would cease. Well, 4 months later, I was driving down the road and the van just stopped. After having them to tow the vehicle, which is still under their so-called warranty, they were not able to look at it until the following Tuesday since it stopped on a Friday afternoon.

After looking at the vehicle, they stated that since I did not get my oil changed every 3,000 miles, my engine went out. My van only has 46,000 miles on it. They refuse to honor the warranty and stated that it would be $8,500 for me to replace the engine. I do admit that I may not always get the oil changed at 3,000 miles but this is not the first vehicle I have owned when I did something similar. This has never happened to any other vehicle I have owned of which I have had almost 100,000 miles or more.

What kind of engine gets shot at 46,000 miles with no sign, no oil light (since it was full of oil), nothing? The truth is the engine must have been faulty to begin with and they are looking for almost any excuse not to honor the warranty. I have paid for services through Kia a couple of times and every time, I wind up spending about $100.00 just for their recommended maintenance.

If I had not agreed to those recommended services, they probably would not have honored my warranty either. I have not owned my vehicle for two years and the engine is now gone. This is the worst service I have ever received. I will continue to advocate to consumers not to buy Kia. The warranty is a hoax. It is an advertising tactic. They depend on human error or lack of attention to detail to cover their faulty equipment. Do not buy Kia! The warranty is really a warning!

However, the fix was temporary. Each summer, the AC has failed to dispense cold air. The compressor clutch assemblies keep burning out. We are not the only owners who have had this same problem. There are hundreds of current and former 2002 Kia Sedona owners who have had this same history. Since the warranty expired, we are now having to have a third compressor installed. And it will most likely only last six months and will need to be replaced again. The master mechanic we are using now says the condensers on the 2002 Kia Sedonas are too small, causing the compressor clutch to constantly be engaged and subsequently burn out.

In Arizona, average summer temperatures exceed 105 degrees daily and remain in the hundreds as late as 10 p.m. We are having to spend $500 to $1200 every year now to try to keep our Sedona EX properly cooled for our family of seven. We feel the original problem with the AC has never been resolved and we are seeking a suitable solution to this defective Air Conditioning problem prevalent among the 2002 Kia Sedonas.

So, after a $95 cab ride to the hotel, we were in scramble mode. We had to do something with the kids, our dog, and figure out what we were to do until Monday. First thing Monday, I called the dealer and told them the situation we were in and that the tow company was going to have the van first thing. We had to catch another cab to the dealer because they would not come pick us up. Our van finally arrived at the dealer at noon! At about 3:30, I asked the service writer if he knew anything. He said it might be the next day before it was ready.

I asked for help with a rental car because we had children and jobs that we had to get home to. He tried really hard for us but Kia wouldn't help and Avis wanted $600. The service writer finally said that we could make it home in the van but the check engine light would stay on. As he was checking for a rental car, I or anyone for that matter, could hear the tech's saying I had put the wrong gas in the van to save money. They were saying how cheap I was and an idiot. I got so mad that I told the service, "Just let us have our van." We had to get home. I finally arrived home at 10:30 pm. My van still has grease in it from the tech. I bought this van because of all the commercials about the great warranties. If you have to use them, they treat you like dirt.

I have been corresponding now for over seven months with no resolution in sight. At this point, I want a refund of the full purchase price of this totally misrepresented vehicle or replace it for another new 2008 van that can have running boards installed. I feel I have been discriminated against because of disability, used, abused, and lied to.

The next BIG problem I have had and am still having is the low beam light. They are lasting about 6 months or less and then they burn out. Usually, one side will go out and not long after I replace one side, the other side will burn out. These bulbs are not cheap; they cost about $21.00 apiece, and if you take that times 4 on each headlight, that adds up to $168.00 (it might be more).

The next problem was the sliding door latch on the passenger door. The lock will not let the door shut all the way, so I had it looked at and they say there was nothing wrong with it. So I took it home and it still did it, and I called and raised Cain with them and they looked at it again and they replaced the door latch, but it still won't shut and they said they had done all they can. Now my check engine light can't on, and the stupid thing lunges forward when I come to a complete stop, and it doesn't want to run at all when I press on the accelerator. It is one thing after another...the thing is not worth the problems, and I still owe $10,000 on it. I would rather ride a bike than to keep putting up with these problems on an ongoing basis...BIG WASTE OF MONEY. I will never buy another Kia vehicle again!!!

Oh, I forgot something: when I purchased the van in 2002, we took out an extended warranty on the van, and when we were having all these problems, the service guy at Anderson Ford told me that my van was not under any factor warranty anymore. I told him that I had an extended warranty and I told him the extended warranty company's name. He told me that they went out of business. I told him it wasn't right that they didn't tell me about this issue. Anderson Ford in St. Joseph, Mo. said that they would honor the warranty, but when I got work done on it, they told me my warranty won't cover the problem. Why have an extended warranty if I can't use it? These are my complaints, and as you can tell, I am not one bit satisfied with Kia and the dealers who sell them, especially St. Joseph, Mo.

At the end of the day, they had not called my wife, so she called to ask them when it might be done. They told her it would have to be kept overnight. I don't think they cared enough to let us know she wasn't going to have a ride home from work. Luckily I was still in town. They then said that they had messed up and a piece had actually seized up in the chassis and the whole segment would have to be replaced. So, we waited another four days, but this time they rented her a smoke-filled rent-a-car. The sound persisted and finally in December of this year, they replaced the sway bar. I am not sure if it is on too tight or what, but now the vehicle makes a loud thump noise at the end of all left and right turns.

I finally brought it in yesterday for my 8:30 appointment and they had me drive it into the mechanic's bay. The repairman, George, then said, "Do you mind leaving it overnight because we want to give it special attention and make sure it is really fixed this time?" I told them of my frustration civilly and agreed. Today, I had not heard from them at 11:30am and was getting a bit anxious, so I called to ask about the status of my vehicle. George seemed irritated with me and said they were getting ready to look at it right now. Twenty-six hours after my "Special attention" was promised! I asked what had taken so long since it was already in the bay, and he said they got backed up, and he was extremely condescending. I got off the phone, irritated, but feeling totally at the mercy of the repairman. I mean, what choice did I have?

Two hours later at 1:30pm, I called again and believe it or not, he actually told me they were getting ready to test drive it for the first time!! "What about the last two hours?" I protested. "We're looking at it right now, what can I tell you?!" he said. I am still waiting... 2:30pm to find out if I will have a car this weekend. I cannot begin to explain my frustration with this dealership. Their service department is terrible and only outshines their customer service. The Sedona is their second leading seller!! If they can't fix their own van, what are they there to do??

I have filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and with KIA Consumer Affairs. The dealership has since closed its doors temporarily. I have no way of contacting Tommy Parker and I have no idea about the location of the minivan that I traded in. My credit report shows that I am 3 months behind in payments, even though I no longer own the car.

I've committed to losing Kia at least 1,000,000 in sales here in the UK by relaying our story to everyone I know and asking them to promise to never buy a Kia. If the average car sells for 10,000 it would take only 100 people to reach this goal! Please join the Facebook group which I have set up to show your support!

Last winter the transmission went out and they would not cover it because I didn't change the tranny fluid 2 times. I have replaced the starter and the power steering motor as well. My van only has 78000 miles on it. This van has cost me 1800 for a new transmission (70,000 miles), 250.00 for a new starter (71,000) and the cost of a new power steering motor and I am looking at anywhere from 600.00 to 2000.00 to fix a wheel that per the recall list should be covered - but they conveniently left my VIN number off of the recall list.

They agree that the hood needs to be replaced. The cost for repair is $1102.64 and their offer is that we each pay 1/3!!! Dealership 1/3, KIA Canada 1/3, customer 1/3. I also only have a limited time to accept this offer?? I've owned cars for over 30 years and have had rust problems with some of them but have never heard of this. They insist that this is an isolated problem, even after I sent them pictures of 5 other 2004 Sedona vehicles with identical rust marks and a promise to send more in the coming weeks. After doing some limited research, I found rust problems on earlier models but we were assured that these problems had been resolved in newer models. Any suggestions are welcome.

Also please be aware that if you do have a Sedona around this age, make sure you insist that they check the REAR COOLANT LINES. These are also starting to rust out and I already know of one person who recently replaced his engine when the line broke. KIA is aware of this and will repair under warranty but only if you INSIST that they check this. They will not check this as part of their regular inspection.

They now have told me to come and pick up the van because I can drive it. They will change the oil and I can purchase an additive to it to break up the sludge. I believe that the oil sludge should fall under warranty and am hesitant to remove my vehicle from the dealership when they originally told me that it was undriveable.

All of this is of course false. I cannot get them to pay for these brake jobs, or admit that there is a problem, or offer to buy me out of this vehicle that now at 70,000 needs a 10th brake job. Do the math, that is a brake job every 7,000 miles. I owned a conversion van that only needed brakes every 40,000 miles, and it weighed twice as much as this van. Someone needs to convince Kia to do a recall on this vehicle! It is unfair to make us consumers pay upwards of 200-500 every 4 months for brakes that were defectively designed to begin with, and leave us with unsafe vehicles if we don't spend this money to get them repaired! This is neglect of the customer at its worst.

Kia would not honor the fee for a car rental and they could not release the car because of a SAFETY reasons. She explained to me that if the car was driven and was involve in an accident my family life would be in jeopardy. This is after 3 different visits. Talked to the manager and the response was that they would investigate. Dave Johns( KIA Gen. Mngr) Called me on August 20th and told me that they had acted correctly,that I could call KIA Customer service and reported, that they were already aware of all the previous mention incident. Not honoring the warranty, Releasing an unsafe car and disperse treatment based on gender and nationality

They Would say the problem was fixed or would say they could find nothing wrong. One time after driving 136 miles to pickup the van after it had to be towed, we stopped 15 miles from home for gas. The van wouldn't start and had to be towed again. The third time was on the way for a Better Business bureau inspection. The inspector had to come to us! We mentioned to the service manager in July of 2007 that we wanted another van or our money back. He suggested we talk to the customer satisfaction again. We finally got an attorney in August of 2007 and began action under the Lemon Law. KIA Motors in Irvine handled the negotiations for KIA. After lengthy negotiations we agreed to settle out of court for less than the van cost and less than the expenses occurred in going to and from the dealer to drop off or pick up the vehicle. Sometimes they would furnish a car for us to drive and sometimes we had to throw a fit to get transportation the 100 miles back to our home. Kia seemed to take their time with the negotiations. I signed the settlement in December of 2007.

We heard nothing and our attorney threatened to file suit the beginning of April 2008. KIA customer service called me after that and made an appointment for 4/28/08 to drop the van at Avondale KIA, 100 miles from our house. We were told to take the van to the dealer where we purchased it. When we arrived at Avondale KIA in Avondale, AZ no one knew anything about the appointment. Turns out the person who set up the transaction made the appointment with a dealership in Tucson, AZ,another 125 miles from the dealer we bought the van from. In all fairness Avondale did handle the problem in a very professional way. Their sales manager had all the paperwork faxed there and we were able to carry out the transaction without having to drive further. On 5/1/08 our attorney received the settlement check and sent it to us.

We had to buy another vehicle for me to drive as KIA took so long to settle the problem. We paid cash for the KIA and couldn't afford to pay cash for a second new vehicle, as we are retired and on a fixed income. We have been making payments since 12/08. We are out the interest for the payments, plus having to make payments on a new vehicle while the faulty one sat in our garage. We also had to keep insurance on the KIA to protect us agianst damage to it while it sat on our property for 8 months. We did not drive it as every mile would cost us less in recovery money. We also had to pay for the trips to and from the dealer to deliver and pick up the vehicle. We had to drive 100 miles one way to Avondale KIA and once 136 miles to Yuma, AZ to pick up the van. We both lost sleep worrying over the settlement, as well as suffering stomach and bowel problems from worry and anxiety.

We were charged for the mileage we put on the van. They made no allowance for the mileage that resulted from having to run back and forth to the dealer to drop the van off or pick it up after failed repairs. We also had two incidents where we had to use my husband's truck. Once to have a friend drive 120 miles round trip when the van stalled. We were picking a friend up after out patient surgery that time. Then we used the truck to drive 242 miles round trip to pick the van up after repairs and return home. KIA refused to take the mileage into account and charged us $2,324.41 for the total mileage. We would have settled for a new KIA van but by the time the offer was made we felt we couldn't trust KIA. We sure weren't going to give them another chance to fix it as we couldn't trust the van. We had the worry of one of us driving it someplace and it failing. Cell service is spotty in our area of Arizona. With the summer temperatures reaching 114 degrees there was a danger of being stranded with no cell service and no way to get help. We had no faith in the van or KIA by this time. We feel KIA made a simple problem more difficult by their lack of concern and unprofessional handling of a simple case.

The finance assistant said, "We have to get our money back somehow." No, the Sedona was a straight buyback and they added it, not subtracted it to the Hyundai financing. My wife and I went in and I had her convinced that what they did was wrong. By the time we got out, I was ejected from the office and she was calling me foolish and herself stupid and shaking hands with the enemy. I doubted we had a chance because she signed off on the original paperwork and that is what the asst. mgr. defaulted to "You signed the agreement to have the loan added in." I don't think this was done in good faith and they know how to get their money back and take our old Sedona for free.

This seems to be an excessive amount of mechanical issues for a NEW vehicle in the course of little more than a year. As we have dealt with these issues, Christy **, service manager, stated that we purchased one of the Sedona vans from a shipment that is plagued with problems. She called the vans lemons. It was her desire to replace the vehicle with another from the lot. Similar comments were made by the mechanic in the garage. The sales person also did everything he could to trade out this lemon for another vehicle on the lot. All three of these individuals were not successful because the manger, Steve, did not want to lose any money on a trade and Kia would pay the dealership for time and materials to continue to replace parts. Steve made it very clear that a satisfied customer was not his priority, but the financial bottom line of the dealership and his commissions.

o add further injury, part of the sales agreement was that the dealership would provide discounted ($750 value) routine service like oil changes. Upon Garcia's purchase, the discount card was dishonored. The staff of Cottonwood Kia (those who remained during the transition) did not inform customers of the change in the discount program until after a purchase was made. They stated that they hoped that customers would not notice that the discount did not appear on the invoice.

Learning of the purchase by Garcia was disheartening because of previous dealings with Garcia. Further, this purchase created a monopoly on Kia sales and service in Albuquerque metro area since Garcia owns both dealerships. Because of this, we cannot simply go to a competitor for better service. When we purchased our vehicle, we also purchased the extended warranty. The following quote was taken from Kia's current website: Kia has a lot of confidence in the quality and endurance of all its new vehicles.

So much confidence, in fact, we offer the industry-leading Kia 10-year/100,000-mile warranty program. Kias 10-year/100,000-mile warranty program covers repairs made to precise Kia standards and requirements. You can rest easy knowing your vehicle is in the skilled hands of Kia trained service technicians at your authorized Kia Dealer. The guiding principles are easily stated: provide high-quality, high-value vehicles at prices well below the competition and back them up with The Kia 10-year/100,000-mile warranty program and a customer-first policy. First where is the quality when the vehicle must have a new transmission before its first oil change? Second, where is the trained service technicians when parts are ordered incorrectly (wrong parts installed) and they have problems diagnosing the failed parts.

This vehicle has spent about 1/4 if its life in the Cottonwood Kia repair shop. Its longest stint was three continuous weeks. It was in the shop over a month within the first six weeks. Twice during these shop visits, Cottonwood Kia provided a loaner minivan. Each of these vehicles had mechanical issues as well. The other times we were provided a rental vehicle through the exclusive agreement with Enterprise rental. An issue is that GE Auto Warranty, who pays for the rentals, is that they insist on renting the cheapest and smallest vehicle. According to the sales staff when we purchased the Sedona and the extended warranty, we are supposed to get a comparable vehicle. Yet when the need arises they insist on putting five individuals, two of which are in car seats, in a compact car. Only once has a comparable vehicle been provided.

They have called Enterprise to find out what the cheapest vehicle is and stated that is the max they will pay. Rather than observe the contract they stated a maximum value of $30 while the warranty contract states $35 per day is allowed. Sometimes, it has been necessary to take our two smallest children to the waiting area and wait on them to diagnose the problem or install a part. This area is always dirty and the toys provided are broken. Several of them pose great safety risk (small parts that come loose).

At present the Kia Sedona is in the shop again - transmission. I requested a rental vehicle and was denied on the grounds that it would not be paid for over a weekend. I went to Enterprise to see if I could arrange something, but was turned away by lack of customer service by Enterprise. I complained at Cottonwood Kia and they stated the Enterprise is know for bad service.

As I am reviewing my files and history I have looked at the New Mexico Attorney Generals website. I found the following quote: A used vehicle is defined as a vehicle that has been sold and taken possession of by one or more retail buyers and has been driven over 200 miles total, or a vehicle that has ever been registered with the Motor Vehicle Department. This appears to imply misrepresentation on the part of Cottonwood Kia. They sold a vehicle with substantially more than 200 miles (514) as NEW rather than USED. As I look at the Attorney Generals website the vehicle qualified as a lemon under the used vehicle lemon law and a replacement vehicle was requested and denied to us. Garcia Automotive Group has been contacted without response.

We drove it less than 300 miles and the car virtually froze-up. Left front wheel would turn, but right wheel slid along. And this would reverse. My wife was driving at the time. She parked the car. My son babied the car into Tempe Kia- starting and stopping based on temperature gauge, engine was running hot. It took about 2 hours to cover approximately 3 miles.

Tempe Kia's response to her call was bring it in. They diagnosed the crank pulley bolt backed out and said it was a KIA design fault they had seen before. They said the defect had caused other problems and although covered by warranty, they would need to keep the car a week. 7 days later they called to say the car was done. I picked it up the next day 8/15/07. I drove the van to work, home, and to the airport. It was parked at the airport 4 1/2 days. While driving home from airport check engine light was illuminated.

The next morning, which was Monday, we arranged alternative transportation to go to work. We called Tempe Kia and they said bring it in. Today 8/21/07 the van is back at Tempe KIA. We went less than 60 miles this time. While turning vehicle in for another assessment. I informed service consultant that the illuminated light had prompted me to check the engine oil and they had returned the car with insufficient oil. The only note he made on his comment sheet in accepting the e vehicle was tires appeared worn.

The tires have been completely replaced, but the problems of 8/8/07 had put strange wear due what was a kind of dragging the vehicle did from one side to the other while attempting to bring it in.

After they got the car into the shop for the repair, we were told that because we didn't change the fluid every 30,000 miles or so they wont cover it. I feel they should have told us before and we would have changed the fluid.we feel the transmission should have lasted longer then 96269 miles. we are not pulling anything just normal driving.we feel that after so many miles the kia is not with standing normal use. Why would a transmission go out at 96269 miles, they are not made tough. Maybe we have a bad one or was our van used as a test vehicle to see how many miles we could get out of the transmission. We own 2 kia's a 04 sedona and 04 sorento. NOT HAPPY WITH KIA Hope you can help.

Then I called Kia Motors directly and the consumer relations department representative basically told me that yes, out of 60k miles it is not a covered item and that he agreed that 25k miles is not unusual to have to replace rotors. I asked him why did they replace them under warranty last time then????? He also told me that the part is warrantied for one year - guess what, it was one year and one month, so I lose!!! I don't have a problem paying to replace rotors when the wear and tear is within a normal expectation of time, but I have owned a Mercury, a Volkswagen, and several Mazdas and have NEVER had to replace/resurface the rotors before 40-50k miles.

My girlfriend owns a 2004 Sedona and she has also had her rotors replaced twice and is need of replacement again. The thing that kills me is the first two times it happened, I was talking to the man in the service department and he told me it was somewhat common because the van is so heavy. Now all the sudden, it is normal wear and tear. I will never buy another KIA because they don't stand behind their product. Buyer beware.

I o

One time when I brought my car in they told me it was not safe to drive. Now not only do I have to pay for repairs but I have to pay for car rentals because I swear they have a deal with the rental company. I would make an appointment to have the car fixed even an oil change and it would turn into a 1-2 day project. Sometimes the rental was worse than the repair. I have contacted Kia who the people are rude and uncaring.

I guess its true you get what you pay for. People ask me all the time how I like my car and I tell them I hate it dont ever do it. Service stiks and parts are expensive. I spent $18,000 and almost $10,000 in repairs this is no bargain, but be careful about their great warranty. 15 miles after expiring the car is falling apart and there is nothing to be done.

I feel taken !

Am stuck I cannot afford a new van so I keep pouring money into this one. I no longer use the dealer I now have my own certified mechanic who documents every thing that he fixes. I do not need a rental when he does the job and he is close to my home. He gives us a ride when we need it. I don't know what else to say other that no one should ever buy a kia.

They replaced the thermostat and the spark plugs. At that time, I mentioned that when I put on my brakes at times I could hear a low moan sound. They never checked it out. At 12,796 miles the check engine light came on again - - same problem as before. I also mentioned the low moan of the brakes - - nothing done and nothing documented. At 14,738 miles at the time of the oil changed I also mentioned the moan - - nothing documented and nothing done. At 16,875 miles I took the van in because there was a clunking noise from the rear and I also complained about the low moan when I applied the brakes.

They had to replace the tie rod. They also told me they checked the brakes and that everything - - including the low moan was fixed - -the broken tie rod was causing the problem. At 20,246 miles I took my van in for an oil change and paid for the special 20,000 mile check-up which was to include a brake inspection. I told them again about the moan when I put on the brakes and that it was getting worse. Nothing was done. At 24,062 I took the van in because when I put on the brakes the van was not stopping very well and jerking all over the place.

They told me my front brakes were bad. I went ballistic and asked them why they went so soon -- I have never had to replace my brakes on any car or truck I owned with so little miles. I don't ride my brakes, I deliberately take routes to and from work that have me in little stop and start traffic.

They told me I rode my brakes and that the van weighed more than my cars and trucks and that is why the brakes went out so soon. I was also told by a new guy at the service desk that at the 20,246 mile check they did not check my brakes (a service I paid for) and that no one test drove my vehicle as I requested the previous time and that no one had been documenting my complaints of the low moan. (Interestingly when I went took my car in the next time, this guy was nowhere to be seen).

When I went in to pick up my van and had to pay $249.95 for the new brakes I let the service manager have an earfull and told him that I felt I had a faulty brake system and that I expected them to own up to it. He told me it was my driving habits that ruined the brakes and that everything was fixed. Well, low and behold, shortly after I left the shop, once again I heard that same low moan. I took my van in at 27,061 miles -- now the rotors had grooves in them and the brakes pads were crumbled up. I again went ballistic and told them something was ruining my brakes and that, unless they took care of it, this was going to continue.

They said that only the brake pads were bad and they corrected the problem. I have talked with brake servicemen from other companies and a friend has talked to engineers with one of the big three, and the consensus is that I have a faulty brake system and more than likely the calipers are sticking. Of course, when I mention this to the dealership, they will deny it. So now I have to worry every time I drive this hunk of junk that my calipers are going to go out and then I will have an even bigger bill.

I have had to pay out, what for me is a large sum of money, for brake repairs that I feel should not have been needed in a car with so little mileage. I bought this van because I am single and I needed something that I could haul things around in and also so that I could start taking driving vacations to see family and friends.

My old car had 250,000 miles on it and I was afraid to go anywhere any distance with it. I bought the van to alleviate those fears and start living again. I am now afraid to drive any distance with it for fear either the spark plugs will become fouled with fuel, the tie-rod will break and/or the brake system will go out. I am also afraid I will be left with a huge repair bill that I cannot afford. I can't trade it in, they won't give me the money I need to buy a new one and who am I going to sell it to? One look at the repair history and no one will want it, and if they did, they surely wouldn't pay the price I asked. Once the warranty expires on this van, what am I going to do? I can see that this is just the start of many more problems.

In early December, the check engine light came on and the car immediately lost power. My daughter limped it back home from about a mile away. AAA towed it the next day to Albert Kia in Rehoboth. MA. We had purchased the car there in 2004 but it was a Herb Chambers’ dealership at that time. Please note: The car was due for another oil change as we had already traveled more than 3,000 miles since the last one.

This will be an important factor later on. In any case, about 3 days later, the service manager from Albert Kia called and said the car had a blown engine and that it would be replaced under warranty. However, we needed to bring in all the oil change records because we had never had the car serviced there and they had no record that the car was properly maintained.

We went to our mechanic and he ran all the oil change and service records for the car. Within 2 days, these were brought to Albert Kia and we were told that the engine would be ordered and the car ready in about a week. Once the week passed, we called the dealership to see how things were going. Mr. Albert informed my daughter that the entire service department was let go and he was closing his business. I called Kia USA and informed them as to what had happened. Later that day, the rep from Kia USA told me that they were going to tow my car to Balise Kia in Warwick, RI. By days’ end, the car was at Balise.

Two days later, Scott, the service manager at Balise, called to tell me that he and the district manager had looked at the car and it was determined that it had 5 liters too much oil in it (that’s the equivalent of an additional oil change). Basically, he’s telling me that we drove the car over 3,000 miles with 10 quarts of oil in it. Ask any mechanic – that’s impossible. Scott said that there was a partial quart of oil under the front seat. I had no knowledge of the oil but my daughter informed that this was an old quart of oil that she had when she drove her old clunker. She kept it…just in case…under the front seat. I also mentioned to Scott that a blown head gasket would make it look like there was too much oil because in those instances the oil mixes with the water. Scott said the oil looked too thick for that to be the case.

Note: In a later call, I asked Mr. Albert if he could locate his former service manager as the diagnosis he made was never entered into the computer system – so there was no proof of his original diagnosis. Mr. Albert said he would try and about 5 hours later he called me back to report he had had no success in reaching the service manager.

I told Scott that the service manager at Albert Kia had already diagnosed the car and reported a blown engine – never once mentioning anything about too much oil or any other abuse to the car. We were told the engine would be ordered and the job performed under warranty. Scott said the district manager had made the determination and that there was nothing he could do for me. I called Kia USA again and spoke with the rep. She said that she would bump the case up to a higher authority. I asked her if I could speak with the DM directly before she did that. She basically said that the DM’s don’t typically speak directly with the customers. That, she said, was the purpose of her job. I demanded to speak to the DM before the case was bumped up. She called the DM (with me on the line) and it went to voice mail. She left my name and number (I could hear the entire conversation). So, I waited 5 days for this DM to call back before calling Kia USA again. The rep now said my case was bumped upstairs. I explained that I clearly had wanted to speak with the DM before this happened but it happened anyway. I was told that I would be contacted within 72 hours for my side of the story. Within the 72 hours, Jeff from Kia USA called and informed me that he had my case. After a brief review of the entire story, Jeff asked me to fax over the service records to him.

He said once he had those, he’d see what he could do. I had the service records re-printed once again from the mechanic and faxed them over to Jeff the next morning. That was on January 9th, 2007. I called January 16th to make sure the papers were there and to see what progress had been made. When I called the number and extension Jeff had given me, it went to voice mail for a gentleman named Andrew. I pressed “0� for the operator, as I thought I had been connected to the wrong extension. It was the right extension. Turns out that Jeff is no longer with the company. The operator said to leave the message with Andrew. She said that if Andrew was the new case worker he’d call. If not, he’d call anyway to let me know who’s working on the case now.

Russell Stuart from KIA USA called back to say he was the new case worker. He had reviewed the case but was trying to find out where Jeff had placed the copies of the service records. I re-faxed those over to him to save the time and effort it would take to locate these for the third time. Russell Stuart called back later in the week to tell me the decision was final and that Kia would not cover any part of the repair. The repair would rest on me. The DM, he said, has refused to reverse his decision. The first thing we checked when the car failed was the oil. I can assure you that it did not have 10 quarts of oil in it when it was towed away by AAA that December morning.

My daughter drove the car over 3,000 miles since the last oil change. So if the oil change garage had actually made the mistake of not draining the oil when doing the last oil change (and leaving 10 quarts in there), the general opinion of several mechanics I’ve spoken to is that we would have had oil all over the place within the first few days (not 6 months later). All this a mute point however because the car left us topped off at 5 quarts – not 10. I questioned Russell about the previous diagnosis from Albert Kia of a blown engine and he said “maybe the service department was let go because they were incompetent�. To my understanding, the whole dealership folded up due to money problems. So now Russell and Kia are dismissing the original diagnosis as one of incompetence. Russell said, “Mr. Brosco, I’m not saying that you under-maintained your vehicle – I’m saying that you OVER-MAINTAINED your vehicle. I asked if I could take this to an unbiased mechanic, one who would have nothing to gain by the decision (like a AAA certified mechanic).

I was told that if anyone other than a Kia dealer looked into the engine, the warranty would be void. I was offered the opportunity to take this vehicle to another Kia dealer, but with the same DM, what would be the point. I went to Balise Kia to have the car towed by AAA from that dealership to a family mechanic. The first thing I did, upon seeing the car for the first time in over a month, was ask Scott, the Balise service manager, for a garage rag. I immediately went out to the parking lot and checked the oil. Much to my amazement, the oil was BARELY over the fill line. Where were these 5 extra quarts/liters? I went back inside and told Scott that the oil was barely over the fill line.

He told me that I needed to start the car before checking the oil. I immediately knew that I was speaking with someone who clearly knew nothing about cars. As the car was being placed on the flatbed of the tow truck, the Kia DM miraculously showed up and came out to the parking lot. This was the first time I had met him face-to-face or spoken directly to him. I asked where this extra 5 liters of oil was. He said that he never said that. I told him that Russell at Kia USA said that the extra oil was the problem with the car.

The DM checked the oil, noted that it was barely over the fill line and again said that he never said that the car had 5 liters of extra oil in it and that he’d call Russell to set the record straight. The DM removed the oil cap, looked at the underside and said here’s your problem. “See all this sludge on the back of this cap?� “This car has never had an oil change.� So now we go from over-maintained to under-maintained. I asked if the sludge on the back of the cap was the result of a blown head gasket and what we were looking at was the result of oil mixing with radiator fluid. The DM said he thought not. I said, “If that’s the case, where’s all the fluid in the radiator overflow container?� It was almost empty. The DM got mad and said to one of the mechanics, “Take the car into the shop. We’re going to remove the front valve cover.� The DM told me that if the underside of the valve cover had the same sludge on it as the oil filler cap did, he’s not covering anything. The car was taken into the shop and the valve cover was removed. Once removed, I was called into the service bay and shown the results.

The underside of the valve cover had a thick, almost pudding-like buildup on the underside – but it was only on the left half of the cover. The other half looked pretty normal. I questioned why the sludge was on just one half. The DM said it was possibly the result of the engine being mounted in the car one inch lower on the left and favoring that corner. Sounded like total bull to me. I then repeated that the sludge, to me, looked like the result of oil mixing with radiator fluid.

At this time, my son (an ASE Certified Master Technician) was also on the phone speaking with the DM at the same time and hearing the conversation that all 3 of us were having. My son made the point that if the car had never had an oil change in the 24,000 miles of ownership, it would not look like this. In fact the DM even said to the both of us that “If I knew nothing about this vehicle and saw this valve cover, I would have told you that the car had been driven 80,000 to 100,000 miles without ever having an oil change.� He also seemed to be hinting that we may have turned back the odometer. This angered me greatly. I asked the DM to view the oil filter, which he did.

I asked if that was the original oil filter. He said it was not. So, I said to the DM, ok let’s use your reasoning and say we under-maintained the car. Kia expects the oil to be changed every 5,000 miles. So let’s say that we drove the car 5,000 miles and had the oil changed, as validated by the fact that the car does not have the original oil filter in it. The new oil would have been good to 10,000 miles. The car currently has 24,000 miles on it. Are you saying that the sludge I’m witnessing on this valve cover gasket is the result of driving with old oil for a mere 14,000 miles? The DM said no. That he had NEVER witnessed that much sludge on a car with 24,000 miles on it – still hinting that we may have turned back the odometer. I asked him if the tires on the care were the originals. He said they were. Which proved the car’s mileage was, indeed, correct. So…with all that, the DM took digital photos of the valve cover and samples of the sludge to send to a lab for analysis. He said if the tests come back and there is something other than oil in this sludge, I will stand corrected and repair the car. Indeed a few days later, I was called and told the decision stood. The lab showed that nothing was mixed in the sludge. It was merely oil. A week later, the car was towed to my son’s garage.

It should be noted that Balise Kia went out of business, as well, a week after my car left their dealership. When my son looked at the car, a few days later, the first thing he did was run the car and let it warm up for about 20 minutes. Previous to this, the car had not been left to run for more than a minute since the “check engine� light first appeared. Upon warming up and taking the car into the service bay, my son removed the oil filler cap and surer than hell – the underside of the cap was the same color as the radiator fluid – a strong indication of a blown head gasket (my original diagnosis that was dismissed by the DM). In addition, the computer showed that the 2nd and 4th cylinders were skipping. In addition, these two cylinders are on the front of the motor – all the way on the left which is EXACTLY where we saw all the sludge build-up on the underside of the valve cover AND directly underneath the oil filler cap (explaining why there was this pudding-like sludge on the filler cap).

My son also found a Kia issued technical service bulletin stating that some 2004 Sedona models with the 3.5 liter engine had a defect that left a score mark at the #6 cylinder on the head, resulting in head gasket failure. My vehicle was built 4 weeks after Kia said they corrected the problem so Kia (who never even mentioned this service bulletin)will not lend any credence to this theory either. If my son takes apart the engine and finds the exact scoring at the #6 cylinder as described in the technical service bulletin, he will have voided the warranty. If a Kia dealer does the work, the same DM will be involved and he'll likely still refuse to cover the warranty work because we will have made a mockery of his original decision or he'll claim that the ar was made outside the service bulletin dates. In either case, I'm not going to be covered.

This is a vehicle that was well maintained at my son’s garage. He changes our oil for free so there’s no reason for us to skip oil changes on ANY of the cars we own (4 in total and the Kia is the only one giving us problems). It only has 24,000 miles on it and has been very reliable up to this point. The 3 year/36,000 mile warranty is still in effect, as well as the 10 year/100,000 mile and we’re just getting a run around. Let’s also not forget that the original dealership diagnosed the car and said it had a blown engine. It should also be noted that in all of this I have never been handed one piece of paperwork from either dealership. NOTHING. We haven’t been asked to sign anything.

There is NO PAPERWORK trail on any of this. Sure seems strange based on my experience with other manufacturers/dealers.

They said they fixed it by checking something in the fuse box, and sent it home. 20 days later, the same thing happened: wouldn't start. Lights work, and makes all normal noises as if to start, but does not start, only makes a clicking sound in the fuse box. Had it towed again (this is twice in one month that we have been stranded and needed a tow on a new vehicle), and once again, it started fine for the mechanic. They claim they are unable to duplicate the problem and wanted to send it home.

After doing some research online, there are many owners of this vehicle complaining about the same exact problem, of their 2006 Kia Sedona EX not starting intermittently. The Kia dealership claims they can do nothing to explore the cause of the not starting if they can not duplicate the problem (despite being able to duplicate it 20 days ago).

Thus far, there has been no physical damage, but both times it has not started, we have been in a safe location. It has only been an inconvenience up to now...and hopefully it only remains as such.

They called me that following Monday and told me that they were talking with Kia to try and diagnose the problem. Later that week I received a call from them and was told that I needed a complete transmission replacement and that they had to order one. After checking periodically with them over the next couple of weeks all I was told was, the transmission is on order and we'll give you a call when it's in. I eventually did receive a call from them asking that I bring in all my paperwork relating to servicing of the vehicle. I obtained this paperwork and dropped it off within 2 days of the request.

By now we are well into the third week of them having my vehicle. No one ever suggested that I could take the vehicle home or use it until the new transmission arrived. It just sat in the yard behind their shop. About a week later I received a call from them stating that, Corporate will not authorize the warranty repair because you missed a transmission service at 60,000 miles.

I explained to them that they themselves had serviced the transmission at 44,000 miles and that Schedule One in the Owner's manual didn't even call for a replacement of the transaxle fluid until 105,000 miles. My Sedona currently has less than 82,000 miles. They told I was using the incorrect table. You should be using Schedule Two. No one ever informed me that I should be using Schedule Two.

After speaking with a couple of transmission specialty shops I also find it highly unlikely that a transmission will need complete replacement just because the fluid was not replaced at the correct interval. I have had the fluid inspected by two other specialty shops and neither could find a severe deficiency with it and in fact even questioned exactly what it was that Aurora Motors was seeing. At this very moment I am having the transmission inspected more in detail to see if there indeed is any problem with it at all. Aurora Motors eventually called and asked if I would like an estimate to have the repair done at my own expense. I declined.

The day I picked up my vehicle marked the fifth week that Aurora Motors had it at their shop. I called several hours early to inform them that I would be coming for it and upon my arrival I found it parked around the side of the building completely snow and ice covered. No attempt had even been made to warm up the vehicle or remove the ice and snow from the windows.....a fitting end to the whole ordeal. This was the reward I got for being an 8 year customer and buying 2 vehicles from them!

Our case was escalated to corporate where it is difficult to find someone on the phone to talk to. The car is back at the dealership. We would like a refund of our money. Right now, they have our money and our car. It pulls to the left so severely that you could crash from reaching for your coffee cup! One glance away from the road and you're heading towards the center divider. They also had to replace the fuel pump because it was humming. Also, my seat belt stopped fastening within a week of owning it and they repaired it instead of replacing it.

The car had what they thought was sticker gue on the handles and bumper and I was asked to come back and have it buffed out. It wound up being wrinkled paint. They sanded it down and painted it an off color. Kia expects us to be patient while they experiment with our car. I've read other complaints online, where people have had the same problem with the alignment. I'm not at all happy, and I'm looking into lawyers.

Brakes are defective. We have been told by the dealer to simply budget for replacing the brakes and even though the manual says we can pull a trailer, NEVER do that. The brakes simply cannot handle the extra weight. We know other families in our area and we are all filing a lemon law suit. This is ridiculous. Feel free to contact me wiht similar problems or concerns.

I have bought brand new and used cars and have NEVER had to replace or turn rotors. I want to look into the lemon law because this is just wrong. The mechanic said that it is just because of the weight of the vehicle that causes the rotors to go bad, well then they should equip the vehicle with the proper rotors to handle the weight, that's not the customers problem that's the Corporation's problem.

After two months of having my car I began noticing the front end shaking whenever I would apply the brakes. Over the next few weeks the shaking was so bad I was scared to drive my car. So I took the car in and a really nice man told me that these cars have a tendency to warp their rotors, because of the weight of the vehicle in relation to the size of the rotors. He said don't worry, I'll have the rotors replaced, even though they are a wearable part, and if you experience this again, just bring it in and we'll keep replacing them. So I went on my way, and two months later I started having the same issue again. So I took it into Kia, and the nice man who helped me was since fired (probably because he actually helped the customers). And the guy who took his place did nothing for me.

Even though the rotors come with their own warranty, and I was within the time frame for them to be covered, I was told they wouldn't help me. However, they would replace them one more time IF I would pay for my rear brakes to be adjusted. That was going to be $100. I called the mechanic who does my oil changes, which I hired because Kia would always overfill my oil and it would leak, not to mention a 30 minute oil change took them over four hours, and with two small children I couldn't sit there that long. And one time I loaded my kids up and drove the 40 minutes to the dealership for my oil change APPOINTMENT and after I got there they said I'm sorry we can't get to you today, you'll have to come back some other day.

I went in search of more information and was concerned to find that this exact same thing has happened to other Sedona owners. What has to happen before a recall is put on a potentially defective part? I shudder to think what might have happened if we had been involved in an accident and the buckle had chosen then to break off!

Then the struts - still did not fix the problem. They finally checked the transmission and replaced it. We drove it home and within 2 hours we notice transmission fluid running down our drive way and into the street. We called the dealership that had done the work and reported what happened. Since we live 40 miles away they did not want to tow the van back down there but take it to the nearest dealership. We refused and insisted they correct the problem. They discovered a clip was not placed properly and corrected the problem. Two weeks later, the popping noise returned. We took the van back again and they insisted since the transmission had just been replaced, it couldn't possibly be that. The service department told us that they only saw problems like this when the vans were used to tow. We had proof that our camper was well within the specifications and we purchased a tow package with the expectations of towing our camper.

We reported this to the corporate office and they agreed that if we bought the tow package, we should be able to tow without the worry of transmission problems. Once again the transmission had failed so in less than 4 weeks, our Sedona had required 3 transmission repairs - 2 transmissions. Now it is October 2006 and our van has 89,000 miles on it and the transmission has once again failed. They tried to argue with us that we did not do the maintenance but we provided the proof it was done on time. We are once again without a vehicle and are required to pay for a rental car while waiting for repairs. We were also told it would be up to the district manager to decide if we would have to pay for a transmission repair that should be under warranty.

I asked what the warranty would be on this transmission and was told that just because the transmission has been replaced does not extend the warranty past 100,000. I was also told they do not put new transmissions in when they do repairs, only refurbished ones. Maybe that's why they keep failing people. I was amazed when I started researching the complaints. Everyone I talk to knows someone or has experience with Kia transmission problems. This is ridiculous and something should be done.

We have replaced the starter and have had 2 batteries. The power windows are very slow going up and down. The passenger side sliding door - my 11 year old has a hard time opening and shutting it. Sometimes it gets stuck and my husband has to slam into it to get it to open. This weekend when I opened up the visor mirror, the plastic around it literally fell off and now the light does not work and it does not open all the way. Now the driver side mirror is cracking. The rust!!! It is amazing! My husband has a 1997 Ford Ranger that does not have the amount of rust my Kia does. The cup holder under the radio does not work - it sticks all the time. The transmission is going. The air conditioning went this summer. That cost $900 for a refurbished one. Then 3 weeks later we plunked down $300 more because some tube burned through.

In September of 2005 my A/C stopped cooling. It was getting cooler where I lived so I did not bother to take it in right away. So, in March of 2006 I took it to the dealership I purchased it and was told compressor had to be replaced, and offered me several options of brake work, filter replacement etc. I turned it down and they were not too happy about it.

I just wanted my free warranty work done. Later that evening got a phone call that my van had R12 in it. I had no idea what he was talking about. I said let me have my husband call you.

He began to tell him the warranty will not cover it because the van was tainted. Unless getting your oil change can taint it, we did not do it.

I called Kia and was told that they would call the dealership to verify it and it was my word against theirs.

That was no help either. It is now April with 95 to100 degree weather. I had to have it fixed, and pay for out of my pocket.

I am a mother of 3 young kids and I do not feel safe in this vehicle. We have been stranded twice now and had to have it towed 3 times. It has been in the "shop" at least 7 times, to which, every time, they call to say they found nothing wrong.

My husband has to commute over 30 miles to work, so he cannot be without his car. This has been a major inconvenience for us and we're sick of it. Right now, the van is in being "repaired", but, honestly, I don't want it back. I refuse to drive it. I was amazed at all of the similar complaints on this website. I truly think it's going to take more than just one voice for the Kia Headquarters to hear us. We need to take a stand against them and demand some kind of compensation.