Faults:
The radio was losing sound intermittently. They found a pinched wire under the headliner in the rear and fixed it. I love the radio! It has CD and tape both, and sounds great.
The remote key-less entry system started acting funny. It would sometimes require that I press unlock several times. Other times, it would lock by itself. One of the controllers was completely dead. The dealer replaced the whole unit and both controllers at no charge to me. KIA hasn't quite got this down though. When pressing the lock button, the horn sounds and all doors lock. But, pressing the unlock has issues. First, there is a delay of about 1 second after you press it. Also, you have to be right next to the car (within 15 feet I believe). Finally, it doesn't make a sound! Sure, the dome light comes on, but in daylight, you can't tell externally whether the door was unlocked until you've tried it. So, I find myself waiting until I'm almost touching it, then pressing it twice (which unlocks all doors) just to be sure it's unlocked. Most other systems will honk the horn twice, and are generally more responsive.
There was a very strange sound emanating from passenger-side rear on the inside of the vehicle. This was an elusive problem. Of course, this wouldn't replicate for the dealer and I had an "open trouble ticket" for what seemed like forever. Finally, while in the service department for another reason, I mentioned it again. This time, they mentioned that there was a recall for a valve on the rear heater element. It took a couple of hours to swap out the heater, but it hasn't made that sound since. It was a strange sound, steadily moving from a low-pitch to a high-pitch ranging from 2-5 seconds. It would come on unpredictably. I used to say my car had "gas"...LOL.
The sliding door on the driver's side had difficulty opening. Well, not for me, but for my 7-year-old daughter. Yet, the passenger side was fine. Even some adults that rode back there had problems. The service department adjusted it, well tried to. It's still hard for the kids to open. Strange that it's only the driver's side and not the passenger's side that is hard to open. They just can't seem to get it adjusted correctly.
I've seen the complaints that the windshield cracks prematurely in cold weather, due to the "wiper defroster" feature. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that there is a fuse that controls this directly, though I'm still looking.
I've had my oil changed religiously every 3000 miles. Yet, the engine still made a "knocking" sound. I've put in the premium oil on the last oil change (at 11,000) miles and it's stopped. With the premium oil, I get close to, but not quite, 20 mpg. Otherwise, I typically get 14-17 mpg.
I found out while calling 1-800-333-4KIA (about the strange sound) that there was a recall for the ABS Control Module. This only took about an hour to correct, but again, it was yet another trip to the dealership. I didn't notice any difference, but I was glad to have the recall. I've found that if you don't specifically ask for each recall, they won't perform the necessary service. So, check the recalls and let them know what you want.
General Comments:
High seating capacity, along with comfort and performance makes this minivan a pleasure to drive. There are minor glitches here or there, but nothing to get alarmed about.
Between me and my fiance, we have 5 kids total. So I upgraded from my Saturn 4-door sedan to my first minivan. She still has a sedan, a 1999 Ford Taurus, but prefers to drive the "2003 Kia Sedona EX" minivan.
We got a "demo" model, which had almost 5000 miles on it. But in exchange for that, we got a power sunroof and leather seats for free.
It's very comfortable to sit in. The front two seats are fully adjustable electronically. The bucket seats in the middle are nice also. There is a tray between the front seats that I use a lot. Plenty of drink holders and space to put things.
Visibility is OK for being a minivan. The side mirrors are large, and if your kids are small enough, you can remove the headrests from the rear seats to improve visibility through the rear view mirror.
Somebody ran into my rear bumper just a couple of weeks after I got the van. It looked like a small amount of damage, but ended up costing their insurance company close to $1000 for just the bumper.
It's a 6-cylinder, which is OK. There is a slight hesitation when you accelerate quickly, but once it kicks in, it goes!
Turning on the windshield wipers seems to be back-wards to me. Maybe it's just me, but in other cars, it seemed that I twisted the blinker knob the other way. I'm still getting used to it.
Also, bright lights (which I never use anyway) are pulled toward you to flash, and push away from you to click on. I'm used to pulling it half way to flash and pull it all the way to click them on. Again, it seems back-wards. But, it's something I can live with.
On the back sliding doors, the kids are still learning to pull them back all the way until it clicks. Otherwise, if you're on a slant, the door will start sliding shut on you.
I like the option where locking the driver's door locks all the doors. There is an electric door lock on both front doors as well. The way the sliding doors work, is if they're open when you lock the doors, they will lock after they're closed.
There is also a button on the driver's door to lock the windows. What I don't like about this is that it locks the passenger window and the two rear windows (which only slightly slant open). I want the kids to not play with the power buttons in the rear, but I also want my girlfriend to be able to roll her window up/down in the passenger seat. It would be nice if these were separated.
There was an ashtray in the rear which was easily removed to leave a round drink holder. The ashtray in the front is permanent, unfortunately. Since my car will forever be a non-smoking vehicle, it would be nice if they reused this wasted space. Smokers will like the ashtrays in this vehicle. There are 2 cigarette lighters in the front (3 total) which is really good for charging both of our cell phones at the same time.
There is a luggage rack on top, which I'll probably never use, but it's nice to know it's there if I ever need it.
The fog lights only come on if the headlights are on (maybe a legal reason?). They're not very bright, and are probably only there for aesthetics.
I like having the third glove compartment, it gives me someplace to store the garage door opener.
It comes with buttons that can be programmed for garage doors. But, after spending several days trying to figure out how to get it programmed (yes, I read the manual), I was told by the dealership that it only works on newer models (1999 or above, I think) of garage door openers. So, that would be a nice feature, but it doesn't work for me.
Overall, in spite of all the little troubles I've had with it, I'm very pleased with my vehicle on a day-to-day basis. The service department has taken care of me every time, except for the door they couldn't get adjusted, but they tried and tried. I'm definitely glad I made the purchase.
It's a lot of vehicle for the price.
1st Feb 2007, 08:11
These cars may be a bargain as second hands if you know what you are doing. A 2003 may be had for as little as 6000, even low mileage ones are less than 8000. That's a lot of steel for your money. So I'm considering one. But these cars may be ticking repair bombs and I feel sorry for anybody that has bought these new since the deprecation is murder. Buying a car like this new would be like fooling yourself. The price gap used is much larger than the price gap new, compared to virtually any other brand or model, so the overall economy is worse than bad. But your loss is my gain, and I've always bought second hand cars like this. Why take the price plunge from 23000 to 6000 in less than 4 years? My neighbour is still in shock after trying to trade it in for a Nissan and was offered less than 5000. Even when I offered him 1000 more he was still in rage. Kia owners, keep on dreaming. Your dream will be gone when you trade it in or when it breaks down on you.