5th Sep 2007, 03:59

I own a 2000 Kia Sportage 4WD 5 spd purchased new. Began having clutch problems @ 15,000 miles. Clutch sticks when depressed. Had clutch replaced @ 67K miles. Problem remains. Clutch master has been drained and refilled with no effect on problem. Any Ideas to a solution?

31st Oct 2007, 04:49

OK, not sure what to make of the horror stories noted here, but it seems owners need to educate themselves as to proper use of 4x4. Spotages are made for off road use and are quite capable of venturing “off-road”. This is a point some people seem to be missing they are not designed to be used in 4X4- with hubs locked in on normal bitumen roads.

Doing this for any extended period with certainly destroy the hubs and or driveline.

If you require “All wheel Drive” on the road then buy an AWD.

I own a 2001 Sportage, I have had issues with the vacuum hubs- The problem has been rectified by replacing the vacuum lines between the wheels and body with high pressure fuel line as the factory vacuum line perished and split. To add to this, once the lines had split I found the solenoid under the bonnet designed to turn vacuum on and off had stopped closing all the way as it was clogged. By squirting WD40 or a similar water dispersant/lubricant into the solenoid and having someone move the transfer leaver between 2H and 4H it soon returned to working order.

I have just returned from a trip to Fraser Island in Queensland Australia, all beach driving and the inland tracks are all soft sand and quite rough. My Kia went well although there was a rubbing noise from the front passenger side wheel area; I cannot pinpoint the cause

If anyone has any suggestions please post your ideas. Thanks I hope this Info has been helpful.

28th Dec 2007, 12:24

It is your wheel hub or bearings that go bad. Just buy good replacement ones and use Amsoil grease.

29th Feb 2008, 20:43

I believe the rubbing sound while in 4WD may be the hub not totally locking in. You mentioned that you had some vacuum problems. They may be back.

11th Apr 2008, 07:04

I bought my Kia 1997 model from a car yard in Newcastle. I have had a gutful of it. If it wasn't under finance, I would have sold it by now, but because I am stuck with it, I need to fix a major problem, which five visits to the mechanic hasn't fixed. I can't get the exhaust to be quiet. It's like I am driving a V8 truck. Please help me. I am desperate.

15th May 2008, 07:35

The 4 wheel drive is trying to engage because the vacuum actuator needs to be replaced, not cleaned... Try this; the noise and any bumping you feel will be gone...

19th Jun 2008, 17:14

I have a 1999 Kia Sportage also. Kia is and was a new car company for a long time. Expect problems with all new car companies. Remember Hyundai`s. What junks they were. Now they are actually very good cars.

Matter of fact; Kia was bought out by Hyundai a few years ago. If you look at the new Sportage... it`s actually a Hyundai Tuscon, with a Kia grille on it, and some other minor differences.

I have had no problems with my Sportage, other than doors seeping air, and one window tipping off the track.

Oh yeah, and my tailgate needs a little help to close, and tailgate rattles on big bumps.

Other than that, it was worth the $2400.00 I paid for it 10 months ago, with 89,000 miles on it. It now has 99,000 miles.

I think you guys need to take better care of your cars. Plus there are not that many 4 cylinder S.U.V`s that are reasonably priced.

I have had 3 Chevy Trackers and loved them, but they can be a bit pricey. Take care.

24th Jul 2008, 02:19

I own a 2000 Kia Sportage bought new with only 19 kms on it. It now has 118,000 kms on it. Yes I put new brakes on it at 48,000 kms, but that is common on SUVs. Yes I replaced the clutch after 4 years. That's wear and tear. As for the 4wd complaints about rattling.. I removed the differential. No more rattling. My driver's side window stopped working, dealer cleaned the connections. Works fine now. Only real complaint would be the two batteries I have had to buy. Other than that.. I love my truck.

10th Sep 2008, 11:01

This vehicle is such a piece. My dad bought this vehicle for me last year (even after telling him that KIA=junk). Heater motor went out right away, got that replaced and also the rotors as well. After replacing both of those, the driver side window needed a new motor, got that replaced. Fast forward to this spring, this pile of horse crap needs a new heater motor, and new window motors one for the driver's side and one for the passenger side. This thing eats up so much money. I feel bad putting my gas money into this piece LOL. The engine makes terrible ticking noises, the steering wheel rattles, when slowing down/stopping the vehicle it shakes the whole vehicle like an earthquake. Most importantly, the gas mileage on this thing is just garbage, I've seen V6s get better gas mileage than this hunk of cow dung. I pray for this car to be stolen, or having someone ram their dodge ram into it. I've also had thoughts of burning it to get insurance money, a molotov cocktail should do the trick. As stated by others, never buy a kia. Killed in Action for the win.

24th Oct 2008, 21:50

I kind of "inherited" (took over the payments for my ailing father) a 2000 Sportage and it really has been nothing but trouble... It only had 67000 on it when we "got" it. Already we have had to replace a relay in the engine to the gas tank, the front brakes replaced.. side note: (the bearings were so bad that the mechanic was in awe that the wheel did not fall off. Only the passanger side power window works. And now, the exhaust heat shield has fallen off.. (yes I ignored the horrid rattle for too long). As fas as I'm concerned this is a death/money trap. I would trade it in, but I'm afraid that any dealer would ask me to pay to take it off of their hands.

31st Dec 2008, 12:25

Anyone that thinks these problems are simply owner/user maintenance issues does not have a clue as to what they are talking about. Being in the auto repair field for many years, I can tell you there have been few if any auto make/models with as many significant problems as the Kia line. I have seen new replacement parts frequently fail after as little as several hours after installation, not to mention multiple parts failure with new cars with less than 10,000 miles.

Brake shoes on new vehicles that become separated from the backing after a few thousand miles.

Batteries that fail within the first year.

4X4 vacuum hubs that never worked correctly from the factory; my list goes on and on.

Window motors and switches, mass air flow meters, starters fuel pumps, it just never ends.

You might think this is a good thing for a mechanic, but believe me, it is no fun trying to replace broken parts with Kia parts, and having to tell the customer that the part failed again as a result of poor craftsmanship and nothing to do with the owners misuse or the mechanic.

All I can say is I would never buy a Kia product, and if you should be unlucky enough to already own one, don't use any Kia replacement parts, if at all possible, try to find after market replacement parts for things like brake shoes and air flow meters, switches etc. It might be a good idea to convert vacuum control hubs to manual as this can in fact save thousands of dollars in future repairs.

11th May 2011, 20:09

96,000 km.