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Wagons Kia Spectra/Spectra5 Kia Spectra Engine Issues
125 messages, Last post on Jul 31, 2009 at 4:38 PM
You are in the Kia Spectra/Spectra5 Forum. Your Host is kcram
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Replying to: kentuckyranger (Jul 13, 2006 5:55 pm) |
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I recently purchased a used KIA(13,000 miles.) I did a lot of research before buying a car and had it narrowed down to two used vehicles that I found: The 2005 Spectra5 and a 2005 Vibe. My decision was made by four things: price, air bags, warranty and stereo. The Vibe was a base model and had no CD player, it was more expensive, had fewer air bags and no dealer warranty. Well, I had my Spectra5 for one day when I realized the CD player was broken. Confident that it was under warranty, I went to the dealer, who was great and said I did need a new stereo and it would be in by the end of the week. That was two months ago. Now I am told the stereos are back ordered indefinitely by KIA. I filed a consumer complaint with KIA, to no avail. I don't think KIA has any intention of honoring this warranty. Now I am having a bad vibration in the front and I can see that the tires are wearing improperly, but I'm afraid to bring it in because I have no confidence that they will fix it. If every part under warranty takes more than two months to arrive, KIA saves a lot of money, doesn't it? I can't believe even if there is an issue with the particular stereo in the Spectra5 that there is no other stereo that could be put in my car. I think KIA just doesn't want to replace it. Has anyone else had problems with their KIA stereo? Did KIA honor the warranty? 
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The good news: I purchased my Spectra5 when in reality I was shopping for a Toyota (again). I have not regretted buying the Spectra 5. Outstanding value and pricing. Thought-out practicality. Good fit & finnish. Quite ride under normal conditions. Good back seat leg room. Great body styling. Great driving dynamics on the twisties & turns. The so-so news: I need to be aware of tire stops or curbs when parking the vehicle. The paint is a little thin. The engine is constantly searching for the right gear when going uphill. The seat belt chime is a little annoying when I'm cleaning the interior and listening to the CD. The engine looks better without the funky plastic engine cover (but I appreciate it as a sound barrier). The Twilight Zone news: At 3,000 miles, I took the Spectra5 in to Glendale KIA dealer (L. A. Calif.) for: 1) Oil change (I know, I know). 2) Slight vibration on the right front tire. 3) The car wants to pull slightly to the right on the open highway. The oil change went without drama. But when it came to the alignment and balance, Oh My God. The service manager tried to convince me that the steering pulled to the right because the pavement was paved at an angle for rain run-off. If that's the case, it should pull to the left. And my improper tire pressure (28 front & 30 rear) is the cause of the right front vibration. Needles to say, I felt uncomfortable with Glendale KIA's service manager's incompetence and left in haste. At 8,000. I took the Spectra 5 to El Monte KIA dealer (hoping for service) for oil change and right front vibration. Oil and filter changed, tire balanced, life is good. All went well until I drove out of the dealers driveway. It felt like they accidentaly removed the struts. I checked the tire presure (while still in the driveway and tires cold). Lo and behold, 55 psi on all 4 corners. The reason I say 55 psi is because my tire guage only goes up to 55 psi. I will not return to El Monte KIA. In retrospect: Great car for my needs and purpose. Great price and finacing. Better looking than the 08 model. The light window tint all around on my red KIA looks and feels cool. Attention KIA Motors USA, I thuroughly enjoy my Spectra5 for what it is and how it gets me there. KIA Motors in Korea make a great product. Dealers in L.A. County are: 1) Hiring high school grads as automotive mechanics. 2) Don't understand the "Return business" credo. 3) Have no intentions of resolving normal automotive issues (under warranty) in an effort to reduce cost. KIA Motors, Irvine, USA, wake up. Enjoy the ride. HV |
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As I look through all of this I noticed there isn't much about the '07 Spectra5 yet; that makes sense. However, I also noticed a good amount of information about Bad shop experiences for repairs and/or warranty claims. "Spectra" above (#44) does a great job of giving us that what's what but I wondered whether it wouldn't be a good idea to begin a thread for people who want to share their Good experiences: Where are they and what dealership did they visit? What year is their car? What was the issue? How long did the repair take? How about total experience time? Who gave them great service? (Name, contact info?) Was the problem satisfactorily corrected or, if the owner had to compromise, does it seem fair? I feel this kind of information would be really, really helpful to new car owners and two those who are beginning to experience warranty-covered issues. Just my two cents. Thanks, mods! 
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I've got 80,000 miles on it so far. All I have done is get the oil changed at the recommended interval, replaced the original tires at 52,000 miles (I rotated the tires every other oil change) and I had the timing belt changed at 68,000. I've replaced the stock radio with a new pioneer head unit and installed an 8 inch subwoofer in the back. Everything works on the car as it should and it appears to be holding up well under heavy daily use. I average about 900 miles a week on the car. I should mention that paid $9100.00 after trade and that it is fully loaded minus ABS. I opted for the 5 spd. manual tranny. |
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Bought my brand new 2007 Kia Spectra5 just 4 days ago. The check engine light came on and I hooked a OBDC-II to it and the code report it as an EVAP (small) emissions control problem. I owned a (2006)Kia Spectra for about 4 months until I got it totalled in a car accident(not my fault). Decided to go with a Spectra5. I loved the old 06 spectra. Had no problems with it at all. In four months I put on 15k miles!! Followed KIA manual with out fault. Now I get the check engine light under 1k on the Spectra5 !!! Checked Gas cap and check under hood for obvious hose or loose line problems. I love the car. I choose the Manual Tranny with Electric Orange Color. It is great !!! Bringing it to dealer first thing on monday. troy
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the check engine light may still turn off on it's own. Just checking that you've clicked the gas cap on enough times is sometimes all it takes to turn the light back off(and it'll stay off). I have needed a new gas cap on one of my two Kia's before, too. You're under Warranty and if you feel more comfortable taking it in, do that, and let them check out your gas cap(among other things, if they need to). For some reason sometimes they're not made right and don't provide a tight enough seal for you. I think you'll like your Spec5 too and that is an awesome color choice. Do report back what you find out, OK? |
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Replying to: troynall (Aug 12, 2007 12:46 pm) they pulled the car to service bay. i asked for all paper work. tech reported that they "re-tightened" gas, drove car. and "cleared" on-board computer. if problem re-occurs then i will re-post. but i did exactly what the tech did, except i did not "clear" the computer. The dealership only had my car in the service bay for 8 minutes. plus 4 minutes for the test drive. I was out in under 15 minutes !!! Way to go KIA of Baton Rouge !!!(Allstar KIA) THINGS I HAVE LEARNED - GOOD THINGS #1 - Our sales person Tara wanted to put us in a alternate car right away !!! #2 - Tech talked straight forward to me. #3 - Tell someone your "keeping" a folder of incident and start writing names down AND the wheels of progress start moving faster. BAD THINGS #1 - Service guy(RYAN) does not know SH*T. so IMHO dont even talk to these guys. All they do is paper work and thats it. #2 - KIA does not want a responsible "buyer", such as myself to have access to "diagnostic" print outs. WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE CHANGE ? #1 - I really wanted that ERROR LOG printout from the diagnostic computer to compare to my own readings. #2 - New Service Guy. Ryan sucks. |
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I agree. So it was just your gas cap needing to be turned enough times until it clicks 5 or 6 times? If so I am very used to this with both of my Kia's. To get that error log would be nice. It's possible it won't tell you much of anything, though. But to be able to read it in it's entirety would be helpful. Your dealer should be interested in helping you. After all, you've spent a lot of money on one of their cars. You deserve to have a great running rig with no problems. Keep up the desire to probe for more information. Good fortune to you and report back how your check engine light situation goes, OK? I remember those lights coming on and I felt better driving my Kia's when that dumb engine light was off. What's weird is it's for information and the car always ran well even with that light on every now and a then.
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