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.
Kia Sephia door locks problems
30 of the 1,696 owner complaints about the Kia Sephia describe doors won't lock, open or latch, most of them for the 2000 model year.
- owner complaints
- 30
- worst model year
- 2000
- typical mileage
- 45,799
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.
By model year
Often reported together
Won't start 2Wipers 1Water leak 1Stalling 1Seat belt 1Jerking 1Headlights 1Fire or smoke 1
What owners say
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
2000 kia sephia door latches do not work when weather is freezing and dashboard curled up not allowing defrost of front windshield.
I just take over a 2001 kia sephia from my brother in-law and he warned me not to lock the car if I lock the car doors I might not get in or out some times, to day when I started the car but I could not close the door, then I tried to press the lock switch and slammed the door, the door was closed, and I drove the car to a coffee shop I parked my car there but I could not open the door, lucky me I can opened from the passenger side door and I got out from there. After I left the coffee shop I had to get in from the same door when I got out, when I got home I can open the door and the door locks seemed to be working properly, but after I left it for about 2 hours and it happened again the weather outside was about -6 degree, I went online checked there were many complaint with the same problem and same type of car that I had , I think this is a safety issue that should be pressured to kia let them recall all of the model which had the same problem to correct it!
Tl*the contact owns a 2000 kia sephia. When the temperature dropped below 25 degrees none of the doors latches function properly and its difficult to close the door. The failure mileage was 25000 and the current mileage was 41000. Updated 03/01/10 *bf the consumer stated when temperature dropped, the door locks did not latch. The consumer stated she has to hold door while driving. Also, the dash board was falling apart. Updated 08/20/10.
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.
Right front (passenger) door will not open. Door latch will not unlock. First time it happened, I had to cut a hole in the inside door panel to access the interior of the door. The lock mechanism was rusted due to a poorly designed window seal that drains into the interior of the door--right onto the lock. This is dangerous-- many complaints about this on bulletin boards all over the net. There is a tsb (625894) that deals with latches, but I have not checked it yet with the dealer. I understand kia has some cover or something that shields the lock. Perhaps the tsb is for the shield.
Both lower control arms have gone at the same time...at 65,000 miles...which when I checked with repair shop is highly unusual that at this low miles one would go let alone both...he said it is a quality issue. Kia says its not covered...when went to get out of drivers side the door handle snapped off. An electrical problem with heater/air conditioner...took to kia east syracuse, ny they said they don't make them any more because so many problems.
The driver's door latch /freezes up in winter, and the door cannot be closed. Once the weather warms up, the door closes.
When the weather is cold, the doors on my kia's don't close. You have to have a person bump the door close from the outside. My door and the passenger door opened while I was driving. I'm very fearful of driving during in the winter, especially with my kids.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Kia Sephia door locks
Which Kia Sephia years have doors won't lock, open or latch problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2000 (13 complaints), 1999 (5 complaints) and 2001 (5 complaints).
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