6th Dec 2005, 18:37

Thanks so much for your reviews, I think you all just made my decision for me.

20th Jan 2006, 18:02

To the graduate student with the KIA, I was once in a similar situation insofar as I was a graduate student who felt it was a hardship to come up with 50 bucks for car repair. Luckily, I had very good luck with the car I was driving. My advice would be that if you own the car outright, you should sell it for whatever you can get, even if it's only 8 or 10 grand (or perhaps I am being too optimistic?). Then at least you would recover some of your savings and have a good emergency fund. This might be a come down, but at this point in your life as a graduate student with little money, I would buy a "beater" strictly for transportation, no frills. Something for well under $1,000 that will just get you the 10 miles to school and work each day. And then with your recovered savings, if something goes wrong that needs a $150 repair, you'll be able to afford it without racking up credit card debt, which is probably where you're headed next with that KIA.

6th Feb 2006, 18:15

I also made the mistake of wasting my hard earned money on a KIA I have had nothing, but problems with windows door locks, alarm, coil, and engine light. Just this week I had to change my fuel filter for the second time in 6 months, ran out of power, and was also told by the kia people, sorry we don't know whats wrong. So 500 dollars later I still have the same problem. SAVE YOURSELF!!! DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY!!!

19th Feb 2006, 20:06

I have a 2001 Kia Sportage EX 2WD and with minor exceptions, it has been performing wonderfully.

Last year, while still under warranty, the alternator died. My local Kia dealership was able to quickly replace the alternator (at no cost to me). The engine, despite my lack of diligence in maintaining it properly, has performed extremely well. I have over 70,000 miles on it now, and just recently changed the plugs. The old plugs had typical expected wear and could likely have gone several thousand miles more (albeit with slightly decreased performance, as expected).

The 2.0 DOHC engine is built very well, provides peppy power to the vehicle and is very durable. Being mostly aluminum it is highly resistant to the elements. With the exception of the Alternator I have had no drive-train problems.

The only other problem encountered recently was a transmission fluid leak on the interchange cooler, which is a loop of aluminum tubing that sits below the radiator behind a steel plate. Salt corrosion had put a small nick in the tubing, and the heat and pressure of the automatic transmission fluid system created a bad leak. However, despite having virtually no fluid in the system the car still managed to get me nearly 20 miles to my home. After a quick and simple replacement of this part (under $70 at my Kia dealership, warranty was expired) and a flush and refill of the fluid, it was good to go. Not many automatic transmissions can handle that kind of problem so well.

The body is completely rust free, even after five New England winters, and just the typical occasional car wash. The under carriage is also in remarkably pristine condition. The doors and rear hatch are all still solid, open and close smoothly and latch securely.

I am thoroughly impressed with the engine design and quality construction of this vehicle. I wish mine were a 4WD model, but it isn't. As such, being 2WD rear wheel, it is not an exceptionally stable vehicle, but then again, no rear wheel drive vehicle is, especially when sitting high and having little to no weight on the rear axle.

I am aware that many people have had problems with Kia vehicles of various models and years, but this particular car has met or exceeded my expectations. I would also add that Kia, specifically my local dealerships, have been very helpful in providing parts, service and assistance whenever needed. That in itself is somewhat rare.

20th Feb 2006, 11:57

I have owned a 97 Kia Sportage for over three years now. With proper maintenance and care, it has run beautifully almost the entire time. Currently there are over 130,000 miles on it, and as such, several original parts are beginning to wear out. This is expected on ANY vehicle over 80,000 miles. It was amazing that the timing belt lasted nearly 100,000 miles before breaking. Though time consuming, the repair was not that difficult, and I was able to do it myself on one Saturday. I am no mechanic, I am a single mom, and the only mechanic know-how I have is the ability to read a manual. Too many people automatically blame the makers of cars for any problems they have. Have you maintained your vehicle correctly? Stopped driving it when something happened? Taken the time to solve the problem yourself instead of griping about mechanics costs? If not, your arguments are unfounded, and illogical. Take the time to learn how to treat your vehicle before presuming that car manufacturers must be responsible for owners' ignorance.

11th Aug 2006, 06:24

OK then, I bought my sportage back In 2002 and have no problems with it, I love it. So far the only problem I have had was needing to change an Fuel Filter. I am very happy with it.

11th Aug 2006, 18:59

Older KIA's are more reliable in my experience, like 1999-2002. The newer ones seem prone to problems.

23rd Aug 2006, 14:57

I've had a 2001 Sportage for over three years now and I've been very happy with it so far. I did have a problem with the check engine light coming on and I ignored it because I didn't want to be without my car for any period of time. Bad choice, because it finally died somewhere between Denver and Lymon, Colorado. Thanks to Kia's Roadside Assistance, I got a tow back to the dealer in Denver and they had my car fixed by the next day without any of that costing me a cent. Since then I haven't had a single problem and I treat my car pretty badly. I go 6-7,000 miles between oil changes, drive it too hard, don't do any kind of preventative maintenance, and my Sportage keeps on going. I bought it with just under 17,000 and now I'm almost at 61,000. The only bad thing that I have to say is that it's interior isn't finished as nicely as other cars that I've owned... but it's also much cheaper than those cars, so that should be expected. I've recommended Kia's to people in the past and will continue to do so because of my good experiences with this quality automobile.

1st Feb 2007, 09:36

I purchased my KIA Sportage 2000 model just this year. I bought it second-hand. I did not really know what the common problems for this car were until I read some comments on this site.

If only I had read this in advance, I won't buy this kind of car again. There were no problems immediately after I bought the car, but suddenly, there were many problem I encountered at once. It would over heat, and when that happens... you can no longer use the car. I had to change the whole top of the engine and it cost a lot. The sensors won't tell the exact measurement of heat as so with the gas sensor.

When I fill my gas tank, the meter still indicates half full.

Hard starting so it shortens the life of your battery, strong grasping sound in the transmission. I checked with my KIA mechanics, but they said there is not something wrong with my car, and it just a usual sound of KIA cars.