1996 KIA Sephia problems
Owners have filed 203 complaints about the 1996 KIA Sephia with NHTSA. Service brakes, hydraulic account for 23.2% of them — the clear leader, ahead of electrical system at 12.3%.
Complaints203
Crashes10
Fires5
Injuries17
Deaths1
What owners report breaking
Service brakes, hydraulic 23.2% · 47
Electrical system 12.3% · 25
Engine and engine cooling 9.4% · 19
Unknown or other 8.9% · 18
Power train 7.4% · 15
Seat belts 7.4% · 15
Structure 6.9% · 14
Air bags 5.4% · 11
Severity
Of those complaints, 10 describe a crash, 5 describe a fire, 17 report an injury and 1 report a death.
Reading the numbers
Across the 7 model years of the KIA Sephia in this data, 1996 draws comparatively few complaints; 1998 is the outlier year.
Filings have fallen off, 16 in the last three years against 42 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 40,000 miles.
In owners' own words
In march 24, 1998 because of the malfunction of brake system , I had an accident. The brake inspection by KIA authoized mechanic revealed, that the car had factory defect in the brake system. Until now there has been done a numerous amount of repairs and adjustments for the brake system, but without any succesful results.Car have lots of deferent problems and factory defects. It is a lemon. Service brakes, hydraulic
I have had the brakes repaired at least 10-12 times and the problem still is not fixed. The brake pedal becomes hard and doesnt depress, making stopping slow. The front wheels of the car become black,covered with the dust from the brake pads.. And at times the brakes stick and resistance is felt from the vehicle and the front tires begin to give off smoke. Service brakes, hydraulic
Consumer had the brake repaired and they failed again 6299 miles later, they had the brakes removed and taken to a specialist who informed them that the rotors were the oringinally installed rotors at the time of manufacturing. Consumer feels the the brake job done prior was never done or the new brakes installed were defective. Nlm Service brakes, hydraulic
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…
Other KIA Sephia years
1995 104 complaints · 16.3% power train 1997 375 complaints · 22.9% service brakes, hydraulic 1998 994 complaints · 30.9% service brakes, hydraulic 1999 749 complaints · 27.0% service brakes, hydraulic 2000 461 complaints · 19.7% service brakes, hydraulic 2001 158 complaints · 16.5% engine and engine cooling