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Kia Sephia stalling problems

139 of the 1,696 owner complaints about the Kia Sephia describe engine stalls while driving, most of them for the 1998 model year.

owner complaints
139
worst model year
1998
typical mileage
60,000
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall for this area of the car. See below

By model year

What owners say

Filed Apr 1, 2022 · Engine, Transmission · 130,000 miles · CO

The contact owns a 2000 Kia Sephia. The contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH and approaching a traffic light, the brake pedal was depressed and the vehicle stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was unable to veer to the side of the road. The vehicle was able to restart after being jumpstarted. The contact continued to drive; however, the failure recurred 5 times while driving and depressing the brake pedal or the accelerator pedal. After each failure, the vehicle was able to be restarted when jumpstarted. The vehicle was taken to a local Pep Boys and diagnosed; however, no fault code was retrieved. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.

Filed Jul 10, 2015 · Engine · 162,000 miles · NY

Tl* the contact owns a 1999 kia sephia. While driving 50 MPH, the vehicle stalled and all the warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was able to restart. The failure recurred seven times. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 162,000.

Filed Jul 17, 2009 · Fuel system · 14,000 miles · TN

Tl*the contact owns a 1999 kia sephia. The contact received a recall notice for the federal safety agency campaign id number 99v317000 (fuel system, gasoline:delivery:fuel pump). He was not experiencing any failures at the time, but he took the vehicle to the dealer and they replaced the fuel pump connectors. In 2003 (three years later), the engine service light illuminated on the instrument panel and the vehicle would sporadically stall at any speed. The vehicle also experienced a no start condition. He took the vehicle back to the dealer and they stated that the fuel pump connector was corroded and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred in 2006. He took the vehicle back to the dealer and they stated that the fuel pump connector was corroded again. The vehicle was repaired again; however, the contact believes that the recall repair is not the correct remedy because the corrosion occurs every three years. The failure mileage was 14,000 and current mileage was 54,000. Updated 08/06/09.

Filed Mar 29, 2007 · Electrical · PA

Tl*- the contact stated that when trying to merge into traffic with the 1998 kia sophia it stalled. When this happened instrument panel lights turned on. The vehicle stalled in heavy traffic, and she had to put the vehicle in park and restart it. The contact stated that the vehicle's current mileage was 70,000 miles. The dealership informed her that she needed a new vehicle. The contact stated that the dealership found nothing wrong with the vehicle. The vehicle stalled intermittently. At times when the vehicle stalled, and she tries to restart it, the vehicle would not restart.

Filed Oct 2, 2006 · Engine · 69,000 miles · LA

Dt*: the contact stated while traveling various speeds, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was restarted and the dealership was unable to determine the problem.

Filed May 20, 2006 · Engine · 127,000 miles · TX · fire

My wife was driving our 1998 kia sephia and the engine began to stall. She pulled into a parking lot and the engine caught on fire. My wife ran away form the vehicle. The whole front of the car was burned up.

Filed Jun 6, 2005 · Electrical · VA

Dt: vehicle engine stalls. Kia 1998 had been recalled. Problem was supposed to be fixed, however, vehicle continues to have problem.

Filed Feb 17, 2005 · Engine · NY

The federal safety agency campaign 99v317000; kia issued an engine stalling recall. This vehicle was included in the recall, but the problem is still occurring even after repair. The fuel pump will not receive enough current to maintain the vehicle on.

Filed Feb 9, 2005 · Transmission · CA

While driving at any speed vehicle stalled. Driver was able to restart the vehicle, and took it to the dealer for inspection. Mechanic determined that transmission needed to be replaced, and replaced it. However, the problem recurred, and the mechanic replaced the control module. The problem recurred once again.

Filed Oct 3, 2004 · Brakes, Electrical · 15,000 miles · AL

The car died while driving down the road repeatedly. Battery leaked. Brakes had to be replaced for the entire car at 60,000 miles. The vents on the dashboard have popped up and broken. Now the defroster does not blow the air on the windshield. This vehicle was stored in a garage. The seams on the seat come undone. The cigarette lighter broke and flops in the dash. The switch to override the transmission lock is broken. The rear brake light broke when replacing the struts which you have to remove the back dash to get to. The board that is under the carpet in the trunk warped. The carpets came up from the sides of the car. The storage bin in the center console broke, twice. The wind shield chips and errodes when in a car wash. I have never seen a windshield in this bad shape before. The back seat does not stay down. The headlights have a bad seal and there is water now in them. The rubber around the doors comes out repeatedly. Gear shifter is continually stuck. Brakes take twice as long to stop my car as any other vehicle I have ever driven. I have to drive 2 & 1/2 hours to get repairs. The gas milage is closer to 24 mpg then the 35 that was marked on it when I bought it. There are noises from the engine compartment that are loud and unpleasant. There is a ground fault wire that is bad they want $75 an hour minimum of 10 hours to repair it. The fuse panel cover broke. The headlights cannot be alligned.

Related recalls

Engine and engine cooling: exhaust system: emission controlReported July 17, 2000 · 100,137 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. Manufacturing changes were made to the orvr spring force and float wire length reducing the valve angle. Certain valves caused fuel shut off before the tank reached 95% of nominal capacity.
Risk
This would cause customers to add more fuel to the tank causing fuel spillback or spitback from the fuel filler neck.
Remedy
Dealers will replace the orvr valve. Owner notification began november 13, 2000. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact kia at 1‑800‑333‑4542.

Recall number 00V175000 · Recall details

Questions about the Kia Sephia stalling

Which Kia Sephia years have engine stalls while driving problems?

The model years with the most reports are 1998 (41 complaints), 1999 (33 complaints) and 1997 (27 complaints).

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