Is Kia Junk?

[shockz]

Whats the deal on Kia? Are they junky/unreliable? I've never heard someone have major problems with their cars, but then again I don't know anyone who owns one.

They have a great warranty... 10 years/100,000 miles...

Anyone have experiences with them?

[redvamp128]

Well -I can say in one case a friend was involved in a head on collision where the driver ran a stop sign and hit her. The engine came out of the car and she walked away with bruised ribs and some knee pain plus a few cuts on the face when the air bag deployed.

She was doing about 50 and the guy was doing about 55 when he ran the sign kind of made a T upon impact. That is about all I can say about them. I think her model was a Rio and it was about 3 years ago. The dozen or so times I rode in the car before the accident it seemed like it was a good car. She only had to replace the battery the 2 years she had it.

[VIVIsectVI]

We have a 2006 Kia Sedona, which we got because we'd read all these reviews on how wonderful and safe they are, blah blah blah. The POS has been in the shop more than we've had it at home...and supposedly, the Sedona is one of their better vehicles.

Good thing they come with a great warranty...if you get one, you'll need it.

[revvo]

Go with a Hyundai. Even though they own Kia, I'd advise against one. You never hear anything good about them except the initial MSRP.

[Sikh]

The Kia's are crap. I dont own one personally and never will. But from a automotive point of view, WTF. A car cant give you 30+ mileage if its a Sedan and NOT A HYBRID. There cars give you REDICULOUS mileage, but look at it this way, there reducing a LOT of power.

I know a friend whos mom owns a kia Sedona. Its an 06 too. Ive riden in it. Its a nice car and all for how cheap they are. But no power. And POWER is always improtant in a car. It had no pickup, it had no go if you had to step on it(going from ramp onto highway took us awhile, she had to step on it half way thru the curve just to get to 50 by the time she hit the highway off the ramp).

The car does ok in city driving, which is what it was made for. But if you dont maintain it, it will become a problem real fast.

I say stay away from kia, buy a good known brand. Chevy, Ford, etc. If you buy Luxury(Audi,VW) you do pay a LOT but look at this way, you buy it once, you hardly maintain it. Yeah when you do maintain it, it costs a lot but thats becuase it goes forever. Besides oil / brakes, the car goes for a long time. Someone I work with got a Jetta before he started college. Its an 05. Now he's about to end college and the 4 years he had it, he keeps up on oil($30) and brakes($70 for front/back) and he did the work himself with a buddy. So thats where he saved the money. Also a tuneup once a year, so plugs/air filter, etc and thats it. No REAL problems. Like water pump and blah blah blah.

The thing is thou, he said that when he does a tuneup the spark plugs they put stock / they recommend when you buy some from a auto parts store, can last up to 2 years. when he pulled the stock plugs, he saw they were hardly used, and he drove it everywhere to work and back to home then school. Now work is about 30 miles away and school is 10. The thing is, he changed plugs every 1 1/2 year with air filter and fuel filter and etc and its been running fine.

In winters he will literally start up and go, and within 2 minutes, its warm. and he doesnt STEP ON IT, he just puts it in drive and pulls away, so he's not a im gonna step on it kind of a driver. He just gives it as much as it needs to go, nothing more. But even if he waits for it too warm up(which is what i do with my car and recommend for any car in cold weather EXSPECIALLY negative weather) it would warm up around 2-3 minutes and in the worst weather like negative degrees 5 minutes and it was warmed up.

So if your looking for a good stable car, VW/Audis are good for that plus when you do maintence on them it lasts forever but the thing is, when it comes time to maintain it DO MAINTAIN it. I know people who neglect it and then it sounds like **** and they blame the makers. Em no, maintain it right away it goes forever. He's a college kid and his VW is better then some adult parents I know. Its sad really.

[Sensayshun]

I would never buy one, or let any of my family buy one. Purely because of how unsafe they were when they first came out, and i'm not entirely sure they've improved that much. I may be wrong on this one, but from the ones i've seen/been in they're underpowered, cheap and flimsy.

I think they'd be alright as a get around town kind of car, but not for any real driving.

[Zickar]

When it comes to safety I don't think they are very safe ... Or so I hear but they aren't one of those cars that need constant maintenance, They are one of those cars you get for your company or work to get around .. Cheap , Economical and low maintenance but like most said not very safe or powerful .. I suggest a Nissan Sunny , Not the slickest looking car but is solid, Cheap , Economic and its one of those cars you buy and forget about , I say that from personal experince we got a Sunny three years ago its a 2004 model and it was a Used car nevertheless for three years now we haven't had to fix anything major in it , Just the regular brakes and tires every now and then ... I got a Renault Megane myself a fe months back , One of the most elegant llooking cars in and out but one that needs constant maintenance ... If you are a working young man like It would drain you out of your money

[Joel]

I was happy with my Hyundai. You get so much more for the money than you would with a Kia.

[ew2x4]

I have to second the Hyundai. I got an 06 Sonata about a year ago with plenty of warranty left. It's a very solid car. I will probably buy another Hyundai whenever my wife's 03 Civic dies.

[Frank]

I don't have personal experience with Kia's but I think the majority of cars are about the same. All car manufacturers will have a bad year, a bad model and sometimes just a bad car off the line. Most people will have different experiences with them.

My mom bought the high end Hyundai 8 years ago and she had nothing but problems with it... where my Sister bought a Sante Fe, put 190K miles on it in 5 years and never had any issues with it.

People will say "There is a reason why they have such a good warranty on them... it is because you will need it". If that is the case.... you would think they would put as little of a warranty on the product as possible. I think the reason why these companies started to push the 100K mile warranty is because they were looked at as "Junk" and wanted to show that their products are just as good (sometimes better) as the big boys and they will stand behind their vehicles.

If you find a Kia you like, do the research on the net at sites like Consumer Reports and see what they are saying about the particular year/model. If you like the car, then go with it. If you don't like the car... then don't. That about all the advise I can give ya!

The Kia's are crap. I dont own one personally and never will. But from a automotive point of view, WTF. A car cant give you 30+ mileage if its a Sedan and NOT A HYBRID. There cars give you REDICULOUS mileage, but look at it this way, there reducing a LOT of power.

When you don't have experience with it, please don't speak on it like you do.

I have a Toyota Camry that gets 32+ MPG. Lots of room and has PLENTY of power and I am pretty sure it is in the Sedan category.

[MightyJordan]

Kia seems to be just Hyundai in a crap badge. The cars cost roughly the same price, but the Hyundais look better, and you get more inside them.

[Sensayshun]

I have a Toyota Camry that gets 32+ MPG. Lots of room and has PLENTY of power and I am pretty sure it is in the Sedan category.

Not wanting to start a 'who can get the best mileage' but I thought his post was ridiculous too.

We have a mondeo estate that gets 60mpg on a run. Can see 65mpg if you stick it in 5th at 30mph.

I don't know 32mpg US translates as though....about 40ish mpg UK?

[BinaryFragger]

Now that Kia is owned by Hyundai, their cars are nearly mechanically-identical to Hyundais, which isn't a bad thing (Hyundais are now pretty good cars).

Kia Rio - Hyundai Accent

Kia Optima - Hyundai Sonata

Kia Spectra - Hyundai Elantra

Kia Sportage - Hyundai Tucson

Kia Sorento - Hyundai Santa Fe

Kia Sedona - Hyundai Entourage

We have a 2006 Kia Sedona, which we got because we'd read all these reviews on how wonderful and safe they are, blah blah blah. The POS has been in the shop more than we've had it at home...and supposedly, the Sedona is one of their better vehicles.

Good thing they come with a great warranty...if you get one, you'll need it.

Because of course, anecdotal evidence is so accurate. Any car, regardless of brand, can potentially be a lemon.

[redvamp128]

I did ask some people at work about a Kia- one said her daughter had one and had to after one year get the Computer replaced (which was under warrenty) They initially didn't want to replace it because the car had signs of improper Jump Starting. Which they did decide to replace it. Turns out those cars you have to use the Positive to Positive and the negative (from the jumping car) to the Grounding bolt which is labeled with a sticker that says - Put negative here for jump starting vehicle.

Other than that she didn't have anymore troubles with the vehicle- That was a 2007 model Sportage.

So you may want to read up on your manual to see if it lists proper jumping procedures.

[MR_Candyman]

Turns out those cars you have to use the Positive to Positive and the negative (from the jumping car) to the Grounding bolt which is labeled with a sticker that says - Put negative here for jump starting vehicle.

So you may want to read up on your manual to see if it lists proper jumping procedures.

Umm...that's the proper jumping procedure for ANY car. It is VERY unsafe to do a negative to negative. I have personally witnessed one blowing up on somebody from doing that. It is not a pretty sight.

[cork1958]

My brother in law has 2 kids that have Kia's. One is a girl, the other is a boy. The girl is more like a boy than the boy, but they both drive like absolute raving maniacs!! The girl is on her second Kia. She traded the first one for the second one. First one had around 150,000 miles on it. I've never seen or heard of either having to work on their vehicles and neither takes very good care of them.

Both cars have over 200,000 miles and still running very strong. If they weren't so puny, I could think of getting one.

[Joel]

Turns out those cars you have to use the Positive to Positive and the negative (from the jumping car) to the Grounding bolt which is labeled with a sticker that says - Put negative here for jump starting vehicle.

You may want to check that procedure; what you just described is the only way it should be done. They even put that on the bags the cables come in. There's an order to the procedure also.

[kombolcha]

I had to drive the Rio for a week...

i hated it soooooooooooo much i jumped over side walks and dips and hard turns and accelerated as fast as i could even though there was absolutely no power. i was mad at enterprise for giving me that car.. american express covered my rental insurance.

**** kia

[chconline Veteran]

Yep. Hyundai/Kia pays a lot of advertising dollars... and despite what the press says how they are the next auto lord now with super ultra pwnzorous cars, in the end they've used the same formula as ever: good car 'because it is cheaper'. I took a Hyundai Genesis Coupe Premium 3.8L V6 6MT and I came away unimpressed about what the press has all to say about it.

Anywho, to answer your question, I would say yes. I am not going to argue on reliability, but IMO they're still cheap junk that are significantly unrefined, crap seats, cheap interior, and poor driving dynamics that at least in Canada aren't much cheaper than Honda and Toyota. And the sad thing is after a year or so the Honda would be worth more than twice as much.

[neoraptor]

imho kia ceed is not bad at all

[Beastage]

Whats the deal on Kia? Are they junky/unreliable? I've never heard someone have major problems with their cars, but then again I don't know anyone who owns one.

They have a great warranty... 10 years/100,000 miles...

Anyone have experiences with them?

What model shockz? I doubt they are junky in their segment and definitely not unreliable but looking at their models I can only understand the Optima , Sportage and upcoming Forte as possible purchase candidates the rest are pretty hideous.

These 3 models are the only ones that can compete in their segment.

Yep. Hyundai/Kia pays a lot of advertising dollars... and despite what the press says how they are the next auto lord now with super ultra pwnzorous cars, in the end they've used the same formula as ever: good car 'because it is cheaper'. I took a Hyundai Genesis Coupe Premium 3.8L V6 6MT and I came away unimpressed about what the press has all to say about it.

Anywho, to answer your question, I would say yes. I am not going to argue on reliability, but IMO they're still cheap junk that are significantly unrefined, crap seats, cheap interior, and poor driving dynamics that at least in Canada aren't much cheaper than Honda and Toyota. And the sad thing is after a year or so the Honda would be worth more than twice as much.

You were unimpressed by the coupe? compared to what? Audi R8? I'm not sure I'm following you.

[chconline Veteran]

Compared to critical acclaim? I liked the Civic Si more than that, and it's half the price for fun to driveness. It's not even a close competitor for the Infiniti G coupe. The G is worth every penny over the Genesis, and that's $12k CAD whether it's the interior quality, exterior design, drivetrain refinement, and fun to drive factor. I've never driven the Audi R8 but I doubt I would ever get one... I prefer 4 door vehicles or at least practical coupes like the G.

Anyway, Kia is not as junk as they were but they still have a long way to go in my humble opinion.

[*RedBull*]

I have a 98 Mazda 626 V6 LX, it has given me zero problems engine wise. I've had to change the valve cover gaskets and had some trouble fixing an aircon leak but that's it. Aircon is fixed and cold, the valve cover gasket will need replacing in 5 or 6 years, but wat the hell, it's a great car with lot's of power. I only change the oil once a year with full synthetic, and have flushed the trans once. I've heard of ****ty cars from Mazda as well, but this 626 is a solid car.

I know this thread is about Kia, don't buy one, get a Mazda. (Y)

[Sikh]

...

When you don't have experience with it, please don't speak on it like you do.

I have a Toyota Camry that gets 32+ MPG. Lots of room and has PLENTY of power and I am pretty sure it is in the Sedan category.

How many miles are on it? What year? Its all about how you take care of your car too. My dad has owned a 88 Olds Mobile with 368,000 miles. It didnt die, we put it too sleep(late 07). It gave us 25 mpg city.

We are talking about an 88year olds mobile that had recalls up the *** and it gave us that mileage.

My point was, kia's take care of them or not, there ****ty powerless cars. Ive helped my mechanic with a few and never knew they were kia's. I knew they were a pointless pain in the *** to work on. I recently asked him about it becuase of this thread and he said 2 rios, and 1 spectra. All of them were in crappy condition only after 20k+ miles. Yet managed to give just about the advertised gas mileage minus 3-4 miles becuase of tune up and fuel filter.

Power, it had none. It didnt even need a rev limiter. We reved up the 05 Rio with 42k miles and it sounded like **** at 3 and was struggling to get to 5 where the rev limiter stops it.

Camrys, they have been known for quality. Toyato in general. I like there cars. Now I know what I said wrong. Sedans CAN give you good gas milages with power.

Kia's, CANT. There I think that fixed that sentence.

[shockz]

What model shockz? I doubt they are junky in their segment and definitely not unreliable but looking at their models I can only understand the Optima , Sportage and upcoming Forte as possible purchase candidates the rest are pretty hideous.

I see those commercials for the Soul and they look pretty cool. Way too small for me... but they look like fun.

Seems that every year they sound better and better... was just wondering if the quality has gone up since.