23rd Jun 2009, 15:20
Wow! I also found this site while looking for information on replacing the engine timing belt. I am amazed at the comments here about KIA. We bought our 2003 Sedona brand new in June of 2003. Right after we bought it, we had a minor problem with the sunroof leaking, and it did take the dealership 2 tries to fix it. We did purchase the extended warranty on it, and used that to repair the 2 handles for the sliding doors, which broke within a couple of weeks of each other. Kind of an expensive extended warranty in our case!!!
Besides that, we have had no problems with this vehicle. And aside from keeping up with regular maintenance on the brakes, tires and oil changes, we have abused our poor little KIA tremendously. (NO tune-ups, etc. until now!) It now has 153K miles on it, and is heading for the shop for long overdue preventive maintenance... that timing belt among other things! When we do buy another van, probably in the spring, it will probably be a KIA.
28th Oct 2009, 21:37
I purchased a 2002 Kia Sedona in 2004. The rotors were first to go, then one day after the warranty the transmission went. I was in Calgary Alberta for Christmas and I live on Vancouver island 14 hours away. I had to fly my family home and come back a month later to pick my van up and drive it home. They never covered the tranny so I sued Kia Canada and Kia in my home town. I settled for half, but believed if I went to trial I would have won. 6 months later the next tranny went. Another 4000.00.
While I had the warranty, the A/C went, the power windows went, sometimes it won't start and there is no power.
I am writing this now because my wife was driving home tonight in the rain and the wipers stopped working.
20th Jan 2010, 10:07
I have a KIA Sedona 2003 - worked fine for a while (short while), and like most other folks on this panel, plagues invaded.
The wiper system and now - the car overheats - which is blown head gasket with only 115k.
KIA Canada has no explanation other than "thanks for calling"
17th Jun 2010, 03:16
What's really amazing is that people are so willing to accept mediocrity just to save a few dollars. The old Fram commercial about "pay me now or pay me later" rings true here.
While the Kias are probably a notch better than most Chrysler products, it's a far cry from the top vehicles in the minivan class. Just check out your ads (local and others), and you'll rarely find Honda Odysseys (except for the really old ones) listed because nobody wants to part with them. It's a minivan that handles like a car... I know, I had a '94 Mazda MPV and while it was "OK", it wasn't anything like the '07 Odyssey.
Handling, power, ride comfort, etc. are all top-notch. The best part is the ease of maintenance. Spark plugs, when needed to be replaced, are a mere 20 minutes or less. With the Sedona, you have to remove the intake plenum to gain access (big $$$). Timing belt replacement is a bit tricky on the Sedona, not so on the Odyssey.
Frankly, I paid $19K for my Odyssey with 21K miles on it, and over a year left in manufacturer's warranty, and an extended warranty to 7 years.
It was the best $$$ I ever spent for a great minivan! (Yeah, I got it cheap on Craigslist because a military guy was leaving the island.)
16th Jun 2009, 11:55
I have a 2003 Sedona and the electrical system is possessed by a demon. The door locks continuously attempt to lock and the local KIA dealership (Laurel, MD) was clueless as to the cause but were happy to replace parts un-necessarily and charge me for the work at $100 and hour and for the parts I didn't need; but the problem was not fixed. The door panel lights go on and off by themselves for no apparent reason. The engine has been burning oil since the 5,000 mile mark. By far the worst piece of junk I ever bought and the local shop is the most incompetent bunch of overpaid mechanics I ever met. Trade in value of this fairly new van? $1,500; a bit less than my 1992 Ford Explorer.