27th Mar 2006, 18:03
I have 98 Kia sephia. While I was driving, the engine stopped. A mechanic said, timing broken, and engine may be hurt. So it may cost 1700 to 2000$ to fix it up.
So is it true, if timing belt is broken during driving, I also have engine head and/or valves gone? My car is sohc, manual shift.
19th Apr 2006, 00:36
I own a 2000 KIA Sephia that I bought brand new from the Dealer. I have been very pleased with the vehicle as far as handling, maintenance and comfort. The paint is still in excellent shape even though I park my vehicle outside. I had no real maintenance problems other than I had the speedometer replaced. The trip meter was sticking when trying to set it back to zero. That may have been from not using it. My interior is in great shape as is the outside of the vehicle. It definitely does not look 6 years old. I paid $8000.00 for the vehicle with a standard transmission. I have gone through Pennsylvania Inspection for 6 years now and the only item that I had to replace is the windshield wipers. Paid about $18.00 for them. The battery is still running strong. I would recommend this car to anyone. What sold me, was the 10-year warranty.
17th Oct 2007, 20:46
I have a 2002 KIA Optima. Last spring, I think it was, the check engine light came on. Because the salesman at the dealership where I bought it mislead me about the power train warranty, which doesn't transfer to the second owner although I was told it did and was the reason I bought the car, the dealership paid the first $1250 to fix the transmission. The engine light continued to come on, and I had both O2 sensors replaced. It still came on, and a vacuum leak was found. (Luckily, I had a friend who was a KIA tech, and he would check all this new stuff at my house.) It still comes on, but will go off usually when I gas back up, if not before then, which leads me to believe I need a new gas cap. I had the timing belt and everything replaced, and yes, in the 2002 models you DO have to remove the valve cover gasket to get to the rear plugs. I will be glad when it's paid off, not because I want to get rid of it, but because I'm tired of payments. I logged on here to start with because I saw an ad for a 98 Sophia for sale for $1000. Says it's in great condition, but I wonder what great is!
14th Feb 2008, 19:52
If you guys have any problems with KIA, please go to Streetkiaz.com, we would be glad to help you. Also, you can see all the show KIAs.
Come and check us out.
6th Jun 2008, 14:49
Well, I have a 1999 Kia Sephia LS and for the most part it has been great. I have over 175,000 miles on it and the transmission finally died. Costs me $1500 to replace, cheaper than a new car.
As for cost, normal maintenance which included changing the timing belt, which I did at 84,000 and probably should do again soon. Cost about $400.
The O2 sensor went out twice over since I had, at about 5 year intervals, cost about $150.
The fan / AC is acting up now, but its almost 10 years old now since I had the car and this is the first time I've run into that issue. No problem with alternators or starters or other stuff.
If you are honest with yourself and add up the costs, it's a great car for the price. That being said, not EVERY Kia Sephia is going to behave exactly the same...yes, there are lemons, but if you do a search on the internet for any car, you'll find someone complaining about it.
I only wish KIA was US made.
20th Jul 2010, 19:31
This was my first purchase of a new car. It has been driven very carefully and all the maintenance has been done on it. It is a 98. The first year there were numerous recalls, because it was the year for the model. However, this year suddenly it stopped running. After five hundred dollars they found out what the problem was. Then, when I drove it back home it has the same problem. After several visits and no car, I found out that the transmission was totally gone, with less than 100k on it. I also found out that the over drive mechanism needed to be replaced. It was also running roughly, so there were some unknown engine problems. Now it appears that there are so many error messages being produced by the car that it is only good looking junk. This was a total shock to me, because I will be able to get next to nothing out of it and must buy another car.
I should have known before taking it in three times, that what they said at the Kia dealership was correct: "Get rid of it!" Plus KIA told me there were so many things wrong with it that it that I should rapidly trade it in on a new KIA. Be sure I will never again buy a KIA!!
20th Mar 2006, 12:50
Just to be clear here, this guy didn't wear his seatbelt and his impact with the steering wheel is what killed him?
HMMMM, while the airbag should work it also sounds like this guy would be alive if he actually had buckled up.