1995 Kia Sephia GTX 1.6 SOHC MULTI EFI
Summary:
Great car and completely reliable. KIA or walk, that's my motto
Faults:
Busted fan belt.
Leaky water line.
Broken cooling fan temp. sensor. Engine overheated.
Busted engine mount.
Power window switches were broken when I bought the car.
Cradle bushings began to make a cricket like noise.
Door upholstery became loose.
Valve cover gasket began to leak oil after 200000k.
Driver's door lock would not open with key.
General Comments:
Inn general this car is a great car.
The engine is going on it's tenth year without any major problems, all I do is change oil and filters.
There are unexpected problems, but the dealership was willing to help even though the car is almost ten years old.
The spare parts are amazingly cheaper than other auto brands.
Even if you can't get the spares at the dealership you just buy Mazda spares,and they work, because this car was built by Mazda and Ford for KIA Motors.
It has plenty Mazda parts in this great car.
Never fails to start.
Only problem that made the car show its age was the dashboard, it was horrible, it turned brown.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 11th August, 2005
26th Oct 2006, 14:53
Funny someone mentioned its' "Korean sister" Hyundai. More like Korean parent Hyundai, since Hyundai owns KIA. Unfortunately Hyundai had no choice, but to buy the car company since the Korean government would not approve of its' sale to a foreign car company. It's strange that a company that is over 60 years old, has not yet developed a good customer service plan. I once heard a mechanic mention that one of Toyota's strengths is its' customer service base. And they are correct, I've been to one dealer and have not had a complain so far. Parts are easily found. Although Japanese parts are expensive compared to American and Korean parts, I know the part is going to last. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for KIA's CS and parts.
18th Nov 2006, 09:13
KIA Sephia GTX is a great car! My wife bought one eight years ago and at that time it was already three years old! Fantastic performance, quiet ride, excellent fuel consumption, very sturdy body.
The only faults are, as someone already mentioned, the dashboard, which I intend soon to reupholster.
I overhauled the engine four years ago, after some 375,000 kilometres of hard running.
I won't get rid of "Betsy", oh no, not ever. She's been too faithful to my family.
28th Aug 2005, 09:16
Yeah, but you make it sound like the guy bought the car brand new and 44,000 kilometers later it had already had all those problems. No, the car already had 160,000 kms on it. When you read the other good reviews for Kia, you will notice that it was just that this car was never maintained well. You also add the valve cover gasket leak at 200,000K as an example. That's great that a car would only leak at the valve cover gasket at that high a kilometerage/mileage. That's an easy and cheap repair. The leaky water line and overheating are actually one problem, but you don't correct him on that. One problem caused the other due to pressure. The window switches were already broken so they didn't happen during those 44,000 kms. Driver's door lock wouldn't open with key. This happened on my car from someone trying to break in. Also, if it's not theft or vandalism, this is fixed 80% of the time by spraying WD40 in the hole. Stop exaggerating. The guy is smart enough to know the car has been good to him. You're just another Kia basher.