2005 Kia Amanti: jerking or lurching

Filed Aug 16, 2018 · Airbags, Driver assistance · 70,000 miles · FL

Ever since I have owned the car, the airbag light has been on and does not go off until the car is off. The RPM gage has always been erratic when driving at normal speeds. The car lurches forward when at a stop light and while accelerating. The engine smells as if wires are burning and it seems increasingly hot, but the gage stays normal. The gas tank cannot be filled quickly, I have to trickle gas into the tank brake pads wear down constantly. I have already filed a complaint about the brake light switch being defective and this should be addressed before someone gets killed.

Filed Jun 13, 2016 · Acceleration, Suspension · 169,999 miles · AL

Just 2days ago my car started jerking real bad and also my transmission felt like it was stalling and the car was loosing acceleration power.then after a short hesitation the vehicle,while backing in the driveway accelerated and was hard to stop.today I noticed a small tremble in the transmission and my car almost went in traffic if I had'nt put the vehicle in neutral and applied force to the brakes,my vehicle was in motion on both incidents,I'm not afraid of my vehicle, but I don't want to cause or be in an accident.

Filed Jul 12, 2015 · Airbags, Electrical · 126,000 miles · MO

Since purchasing my 2005 kia amanti air bag light has been on; the vehicle has never experienced an impact which would cause the airbags to deploy neither have any of the airbag components ever been tampered with. The throttle control of the vehicle is extremely sporadic and often causes hesitation, lurching, no acceleration, and even loss of all power. I have had the dealership update the ECM and the tps replace but the problem still persisted. I noticed the throttle body plate was extremely difficult to actuate so I then purchased another throttle body and replaced my older one. Everything functioned as should be expected up until approx. 3 months ago the issues started back up again. I noticed the throttle body motor had started to become increasingly hot to the touch indicating an excessive amount of resistance within the motor circuit. Being that the problem is recurring, I feel the issue is located either within the engine wiring harness or the engine control module and it, as well as the ruined throttle body motor, need replaced at the cost of the kia motor company. The issue can, and has, caused numerous accidents, stalling in heavy traffic as well as lurching and speeding away of vehicles. A major safety issue is present and needs to be addressed.

Filed Jul 14, 2014 · Acceleration, Engine · 131,000 miles · KS

When driving the engine suddenly quits, the car jerks, and the accelerator does not work. I have to coast to the side of the road and restart the car. This is a huge safety issue since there is no warning before this happens. Another issue is the engine revving upon starting. I have to hold the brake firmly because the car will intermittently lurch either forward or back without warning. I have also had the car try to lurch forward at a stoplight. I have to keep the brake firmly depressed since it is an intermittent problem. I cannot believe this model has not been recalled. It is a definite danger to driver, passengers, and others. I have read many complaints online with regard to this problem, but still no recall. I would participate in a class action suit. I talked with the dealer and kia and they are no help.

Filed May 17, 2014 · Engine · 96,000 miles · NV

Engine loses power as though accelerator cable broke, also on start up car often lurches forward as if in gear. Took car to kia today and they state it is a known problem with their electronic accelerator hose, the housing that connects it to the engine melts and is no longer clipped to the engine often causing power loss because the connection is tenuous. The only fix they said would be to replace the part, but the cheap plastic they use will still melt and break off, causing another replacement needed in the future.

Filed Dec 28, 2013 · Acceleration, Engine · 30,000 miles · FL

On numerous occasions since I bought car in 2006 ,the car suddenly slows to 10-15 MPH, you get no response from the gas pedal, then suddenly lurches forward at full throttle. Every amanti owner I have spoken with has this issue! A driver could be easily involved in a fatal incident with this issue. This also occurs upon startup when parked. If there is a car in front of you in a parking lot, you would hit it. One owner said he had the control module "flashed" and it solved his problem. Could we please get some action on this? Kia is well aware of the problem. I tell the service advisor about it every time I'm at the dealer. I will file a giant lawsuit if I'm involved in an accident and survive. I'm in on a class action suit if anyone has one going.

Filed Jul 26, 2011 · Acceleration · 35,000 miles · NM

2005 kia amanti: occasionally the accelerator will barely move the car even though it's floored, then there is a sudden severe lurch forward. My dealer is unaware of any recall, or problem with this. This occurs 4 or 5 times a year, and could cause an accident. There are hundreds of reports of this online, why no action?

Filed Mar 24, 2010 · Acceleration · 42,000 miles · TX

While attempting to apply pressure to the accelerator pedal the vehicle hesitated. This occurred intermittently car appeared to be stuck in first and would not shift. The car does not accelerate smooth in lower gears - also, car lurches when stopped at intersections - rpms are erratic dealerships say they cannot replicate this has been ongoing for over one year cannot afford to drive this car / cannot afford trade in- researched on internet found hundreds of similar complaints at just one site - http://www.kia-forums.com/archive/f-221.html

Filed Oct 31, 2008 · Fuel system · 35,663 miles · CO · 1 injury

Car jerks uncontrollably when proceeding from any stopped position.. The car jerks causing great potential for a fatal accident. It only happens on hotter days.. Ridiculous kia dealership in thornton, co wants me to only fill the tank up half way to avoid this problem, this car is under full warranty & was only 3 months of use before first reported problem. They call it "vapor lock" which sounds ridiculous.. It isn't vapor lock.

Filed Sep 16, 2008 · Transmission · CO

My 2005 kia amanti has a problem as when driving it will lurch and lag "bump". It has been in the dealers shop many times for a total of 38 days. The dealer did replace the transmission with a rebuilt unit. The problem still exists and the dealer says he cannot duplicate the problem. So he cannot fix it. A web site has many complaints of this nature and the same problem exists; the dealers cannot duplicate the problem; so they cannot fix it. A mechanic at the shop said that kia knows they have a problem; but does not know how to fix it. The problem occurs when backing out of a parking space and when the car is driving at about 40 MPH. The lurch has occurred at stop signs and causes the car to jump and if I had not been alert I would have hit the car in front of me. The same problem occurs when backing out of a parking place and the rear view is blocked by the vehicle and if a peron or vehicle is in the blind spots; injury could occur.

Filed Feb 28, 2008 · Acceleration · NY

Pulled out into a busy intersection - car crawled - did not respond to acceleration - lurched quickly into traffic almost causing an accident. Drove further down the road at 40 MPH, car acceleration died almost completely, service engine light came on. I pulled off road, called my local kia dealer from whom I bought the car. They were no longer handling kia, had to have car towed an hour away and was told the throttle wire assembly was cleaned out and repaired. This was in january, 2008. February 2008 I took car to shop to have brakes checked - tech took it out for test drive. When he came back he asked if it had a problem with severe hesitation. I told him it was fixed last month (under warranty). He said he pulled into busy traffic twice and the vehicle failed to accelerate, almost causing 2 accidents. I drove the car back to work, acceleration failed once again and check engine light came on and stayed on. Going to have to have it towed an hour away for them to look at it again - meanwhile I'm without any form of transportation ( cannot get loaner) once it's fixed I will have to pay someone to drive me an hour away to pick it up! They need to figure out the problem - I have seen numerous complaints on the internet about this. It's causing me to be paranoid about even driving it, not knowing when it might happen again!

Filed Dec 20, 2007 · Transmission · TN

For @ 6 months the car jerks when I am driving. When I press the accelerator it will do 2-3 jerks that are strong enough to jerk you forward in your seat. It feels as if the car has forgotten what gear it is in and it is searching to find it. Or you could describe it as though it is not getting fuel where it is needed even when you have had even pressure on the accelerator. This has mainly occurred while doing about 40 MPH going up an incline but it has also occurred on level driving areas while doing around 40 MPH. Most recently the car has been jerking in top gear. I have taken it to the dealer 3 times. Just yesterday I picked it up from the dealer who had it for a whole 7 days!! They were able to recreate the problem but can't figure out what it is because it doesn't register on the obc. They had me do a $450.00 maintenance on it to see if it would help and of course it did not. They said they reprogrammed it but that did not help either. Due to this problem, I have either been without a vehicle for days or have had to rent a very costly rental car for a whole week. The dealer claims they took the car to their residence to test drive it, (approx. 80 miles) but when picking the car up yesterday they were rude enough not to replenish my fuel. When I asked them about it they said it was necessary to do the road tests. As a consumer with a car still under warranty they should have replaced the gas and pay for my car rental. But there has been no help with this situation at all. Now I am scared to drive my car and I depend on it for my profession.