Transmission housing exploded,company refuses to back warranty.
The worst 2000 Kia Spectra problems
Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.
- Airbags9
- Engine7
- Brakes4
- Acceleration2
- Transmission2
Problems by type
Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.
- Airbags9
- Engine7
- Brakes4
- Acceleration2
- Transmission2
- Electrical1
- Locks1
- Seat belts1
- Steering1
- Suspension1
Recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Defect investigations
Seat belt buckle false latch/malfunction
The manufacturer has initiated a safety related campaign to recall the subject vehicles for correction of the seat belt buckle defect.the corrective action is to replace the seat belts/buckles.this safety recall program has been assigned the federal safety agency campaign no. 04v305.
EA04007
Refueling spit back
Based on the low rate of fuel spit-back incedents (14.3 incidents per 100,000 vehicles sold), a low warranty claims rate of 0.02 percent, and the lack of engineering information that would support the presence of an engineering defect, a safety-related defect trend has not been identified and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.accordingly, this investigation is closed.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by the federal safety agency that no safety-related defect exists.the agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.for additional information, see the attached closing report.
EA04004
Non-crash engine compartment fires
Odi gathered fire data from various sources and inspected subject vehicles to assess the scope and frequency of non-crash engine compartment fires caused by starter cable chafing.odi's analysis found that most of the suspect fires occurred after the vehicle had received service repairs in the area of the subject cable.consumer complaint data indicate that the problem experience has declined since a peak in late 2001.the most recent known event occurred in november of 2002. Kia will perform a service campaign beginning in late 2003 to inspect subject vehicles built prior to january 2000 for cable damage and will replace damaged cables as necessary. Given the declining fire rate and kia?s service campaign, further expenditure of agency resources is unjustified in this matter.the engineering analysis is therefore closed.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by the federal safety agency that no safety-related defect exists.the agency will take further action in the future if warranted. Further details may be found in the attached closing report.
EA02016
Technical service bulletins for the 2000 Kia Spectra 12
Bulletins tell dealers how to fix known problems. A warranty extension means the manufacturer pays for that repair for longer.
- Information for headlamp condensation and moisture
- Pitstop - engine component re-use guidelines
- Mandatory replacement of locking/security hardware
- Mandatory replacement of locking/security hardware
- TSB - use of aftermarket USB charging cables in USB/12V ports
- Automatic transmission fluid application guide - this bulletin provides information relating to the...
- Kia: doors locking intermittently without driver input from the rke transmitter or key switch may be...
- Kia: all models. article provides information relating to the improved durability of bulb life for rear...
- Charging system upgrade. tt
- Automatic transaxle diagnosis. certain models including all rios. slc
What 2000 Kia Spectra owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
My wife was driving our 2000 kia spectra when the clam shell (steering column cover) came apart while she was making a turn. The top piece pull a wire loose causing the air bag indicator to come on, and it also prevented her from completing the turn that she was trying to make. She eventually had to come to an abrupt stop in the middle of the street. We had just picked up the car that same day from having the air conditioning unit serviced and the radio replaced (2nd time for the radio), and then the service manager and tech came out to our house after my wife finally was able to drive it home. We were going to have it towed back to the dealer but it was too late in the day so they came over and drove it back themselves. Service manager stated that the part needed to be replaced and I would have to pay for it because it was not covered under our extended warrentee which was still in force at the time. I also rented a car for the 3 days that they had our car, and that too was not to be covered. He said that I could tape it up and it should be fine if I did not want to spend the money. The service manager also said that most automobiles had this part attached with screws holding the 2 pieces together, but this one had only push tabs and the same problem could eventually happen with the replaced part. That is a safety concern and to me is poor workmanship, and I should not have to tape up my car and or pay for something that is the manufacturers fault. Also, if this happened to my car, it might happen to the others as well, at least the other 2000 kia spectras. Right now, I do have tape holding it together, and I intend on getting it replaced, but actually I don't want to replace it with the same thing is it could occur again. (I've had the car exactly 5 years with 50,000 mile on it.)
Brakes make noise and feel low, car took time to stop when braking. The dealer adjusted the brake at the first time. Second time they replaced the switch .still having problems with that noise at the moment. On august 2000 I was driving on a highway at 55mph and all of the sudden the weatherstrip just few inside the car and it looks just li a snake and I almost crash. The car had 1729 mileage.folowing week the rear door windshield trim came off.the passenger side window won't work because of a cut wire.everything in this car is falling apart.I didn't expect a new car to be like that.I feel so unsafe in this car specially the smoke that coming from under my steering wheel at times.pleas help me befoe I get killed in this unsafe car.
Problem with the exhaust and muffler. Lots of noise coming from under the car.they replaced the silencer the first time, gasket-exhaust pipe, the second time they replaced the silenner,,gasket-exhaust pipe, nuts
Engine overheats a lot.when I start the car at time smoke came from under neat of the steering wheel. Ac line frozen . Cooling fan not working. First time they replaced junction block, second time they replaced the water pump,,,gasket and third time they replaced the relay....replaced cooling fan.
Engine overheats a lot.when I start the car at time smoke came from under neat of the steering wheel. Ac line frozen . Cooling fan not working. First time they replaced junction block, second time they replaced the water pump,,,gasket and third time they replaced the relay....replaced cooling fan.
The air bag light keep coming on after starting the car. First time I was told it's the clock spring,second time it was the air bag module ,third time I was told it was the clocky spring module again.
Silencer pipe split which is no cause or damage from consumer, this was a defective part, my car has made an excessive exhaust noise for quite some time, which at first was diagnosised as the catalytic converter, later to discover from an authorized kia dealership that that was not the case the silencer pipe had split due to poor production. This I believe in turn also has affected my performance of my car and caused the purge valve that I must also replace to have failed leaving the check engine light on and when registeration comes due my car will not pass smog. I have had every scheduled maintanence outside the dealership no one could diagnosis the problem. Everyone can not afford to go to the dealership with their outrageous charges but I had to breakdown and go to pay 82.00 for a diagnosis for at least 420.00 worth of service that I must pay to get the problem corrected 315.00 to replace silencer pipe that was already defective from manufacturer and 90.00 for the purge valve these charges according to kia dealership include labor. Already losing the 82.00 for the diagnostic. My car has only 57493 miles within the 4 years I have had it. I have had to also had the air bag module control replaced that had been defective from manufacturer on 6/21/01 and continue to have the same problem but my car is no longer under warranty thus I have to pay for another defective issue from kia, which was of no charge the first time but used my warranty?
The oil pan plug fell off of the oil pan and I was not aware of it until I had driven the vehicle at least 20 miles. I had to pay for a tow to the kia dealer, eventhough, I was told that the vehicle was still under warranty.(5 yrs or 50,000 miles) I took it back to the dealer to complain about it still leaking oil and was told that I would need to take it to the service department. I did buy the vehicle used three weeks ago and have had nothing but problems.
While traveling on the highway without prior warning, the vehicle would vibrate and the check engine light would illuminate on the dashboard. Please fill in additional information. Dealer was made aware of the problem.
Compare the 2000 Kia Spectra
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Questions about the 2000 Kia Spectra
Is the 2000 Kia Spectra reliable?
Owners have filed 23 complaints about the 2000 Kia Spectra, fewer than a typical Spectra model year.
What is the most common problem with the 2000 Kia Spectra?
Airbags, with 9 complaints. Next is engine (7).
How many recalls does the 2000 Kia Spectra have?
No recalls on record.
What year does the Kia Spectra have bad airbags?
The Kia Spectra model years with the most airbags complaints are 2009 (76 complaints), 2008 (61 complaints) and 2007 (56 complaints).
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