Kia Sephia 2000

• Recall 56369 [USA]: The latch can then pull out of the buckle when tension is applied.
  On certain passenger and sport utility vehicles, the front safety belt buckles may emit a "click" sound during the buckling process that is similar to the sound emitted when a buckle is being latched, when it is not.
  dealers will replace both front seat belt buckles. The recall began august 16, 2004. Owners should contact kia at 1-800-333-4542.
  kia recall no. Sc039.Customers can also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-dash-2-dot (1-888-327-4236).

  Show Content

• Recall 2004294 [Canada]: Seats and restraints
  On certain vehicles, the front seat belt buckles may not latch properly, even though they emit a clicking sound during latching. Improperly latched buckles would not provide passenger restraint and could pull out at any time, especially during a collision. Correction: dealers will replace the front seat belt buckles.

  Show Content

• Recall 2000095 [Canada]: Other
  Certain vehicles do not comply with regulation 6 - statement of compliance. The outer circle of the national safety mark was omitted and the vehicle type was not stated in both official languages on the compliance label. Correction: a correct national safety mark will be affixed to affected vehicles. An adhesive label, which indicates the vehicle type in both french and english, will be affixed to the permanent compliance label.

  Show Content

To ensure accuracy and for your safety, it is recommended to do a free VIN recall check here or here [USA] - UK - Canada.

Bulletins are notices put out by manufacturers in conjunction with the NHTSA to notify the public of manufacturing issues or changes.

• Seat belt buckle false latch/malfunction investigation # EA04007

  There is no summary currently available
  

  Show Content

• Refueling spit back investigation # EA04004

  Based on the low rate of fuel spit-back incedents (14.3 incidents per 100,000 vehicles sold), a low warranty claims rate of 0.02 percent, and the lack of engineering information that would support the presence of an engineering defect, a safety-related defect trend has not been identified and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.Accordingly, this investigation is closed.The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by nhtsa that no safety-related defect exists.The agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.For additional information, see the attached closing report.
  

  Show Content

• Seat belt buckle false latch/malfunction investigation # RQ03007

  Information received and analyzed during this rq disclosed that my 1999 and 2000 kia sephia and sportage vehicles were equipped with modified versions of the same safety belt latch assembly as those recalled in campaign no. 02v-216.These latch assemblies were identified as type a97. Odi analyses indicate a continuing trend of consumer complaints following a series of design modifications made by kia to improve the a97 latch assembly.My 2001 and 2002 subject vehicles were equipped with different design latch assemblies (type db-6 or autoliv) and exhibit a much lower complaint count.This rq has been upgraded to an ea in order to further investigate this matter for the subject vehicles equipped with type a97 latch assemblies.
  

  Show Content

• Refueling spit back investigation # RQ03006

  In june 2000, kia notified odi of a defect condition in approximately 100,000 my 1998-99 sephia passenger vehicles manufactured from october 17, 1997 to may 16, 1999, that could result in fuel spit back while refueling (ea99-034, recall 00v-175).According to kia, manufacturing changes made to the onboard refueling vapor recovery (orvr) valve could cause fuel shut off before the tank reached 95% of nominal capacity during refueling.Kia stated that if the consumer then attempted to add more fuel to the tank, fuel spillback or spitback from the fuel filler neck could occur.Kia replaced the orvr valves in the recalled vehicles.Odi has received 16 complaints of fuel spit back on vehicles that have received the recall and 5 complaints on vehicles that were not covered by the recall.Kia has identified 2 fuel spit back complaints on vehicles that were recalled and 8 complaints on vehicles not covered by the original recall.Kia has also provided warranty information showing 191 claims potentially related to fuel spitback on non-recalled vehicles. Odi has upgraded its investigation to an engineering analysis to further assess the scope, frequency, and trend of the fuel spitback risk associated with the alleged defect in the subject vehicles.
  

  Show Content

• Non-crash engine compartment fires investigation # EA02016

  Odi gathered fire data from various sources and inspected subject vehicles to assess the scope and frequency of non-crash engine compartment fires caused by starter cable chafing.Odis analysis found that most of the suspect fires occurred after the vehicle had received service repairs in the area of the subject cable.Consumer complaint data indicate that the problem experience has declined since a peak in late 2001.The most recent known event occurred in november of 2002. Kia will perform a service campaign beginning in late 2003 to inspect subject vehicles built prior to january 2000 for cable damage and will replace damaged cables as necessary. Given the declining fire rate and kia?S service campaign, further expenditure of agency resources is unjustified in this matter.The engineering analysis is therefore closed.The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by nhtsa that no safety-related defect exists.The agency will take further action in the future if warranted. Further details may be found in the attached closing report.
  

  Show Content

• Battery cable chafing investigation # PE02028

  
  

  Show Content

• Incorrect battery jump-start investigation # PE00026

  Allege battety may explode if owners attempt to jump-state the vehicle by following the owners manual diagram
  

  Show Content

The stupid passenger door wont close this just so darn frustrating it's also very dangerous and i am not a very happy person right now. You should make cars more safe if some one had been hurt with that stupid door i would have sued youi

I 🅾wn a 2000 kia sephia & the front drivers seatbelt retracts slow& does not lock. The passenger seatbelt does not retract @ all. Additionally, the passenger front door lock does not lock as if the lock actuator has seized up.

The seatbelt pretensioners is locked up & they (both driver/passenger) seatbelts "do not" reel back 2 provide securement of the passenger(s). Also, the electrical issue is the horn does not work even when there's a new fuse & horn. There's a defect in the steering wheel horn button.

The locks freeze up in cold temps, enough to twist and bend my key. Even trying to force it open from the inside does not work. I almost broke my thumb trying to force it open unless you put a heater in the car for a long time. *tr

Nearly fatal car accident, air bags did not deploy, the breaks did not lock up. *tr

Tl* the contact owned a 2000 kia sephia. While driving approximately 40 mph, another vehicle crashed into the contact's vehicle causing significant damage to the front end. The air bags failed to deploy. The driver suffered injuries to the right shoulder, head, and jaw bone. The front passenger sustained injuries to the right shoulder, head, and neck injuries. The rear seat passenger suffered a neck injury. All the occupants were transported to the hospital. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 86,000.

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 kia sephia. The contact stated that when she depressed the accelerator pedal, the engine would race first and then the vehicle would move forward. The over drive light stayed on and the engine light would blink. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealership where the dealer changed the sensors for the lights. However, the over drive and check engine lights were constantly illuminated. The failure mileage was approximately 162,000. The current mileage was 162,384. Updated 11/03/10. *lj

My wife owns a 2000 kia sephia,we were in a head on collision at 40mph and the airbags did not deploy. I was asked to mail pictures of this accident to kia and just received a phone call back saying the impact was too high for airbag deployment,are you kidding me,the whole frontend of the car is totaled and that's the best answer you can give me,oh yeah he said he was sorry. *tr

In normally opening the driver's side door from the inside in cold weather, the plastic door handle broke became inoperative. The only way to open the door was by rolling down the window and operating the door using the outside door handle. Obviously this is a safety problem if the car needs to be exited quickly. *tr