2003 Kia Spectra: complete transmission failure

5 of the 90 complaints about the 2003 Kia Spectra describe complete transmission failure.

owner complaints: 5
of this car's complaints: 6%
typical mileage: 55,500
recalls: 0

Is there a fix? 1 service bulletin covers this area of the car. See below

Complete transmission failure by model year

2005
2
2004
2
2003
5
2002
7
2001
2

What owners say

Filed Mar 1, 2012 · Transmission · 91,375 miles · AL

My mother bought this car brand new couple years back. Haven't had any problems till now. On my way to work im going around a curve and transmission went out. Thought for a second I accidentally put it in neutral. My transmission never slipped, shifted hard or any other signs of problems. This is crazy, not sure yet if kia is covering they promised warranty.. I really hope so..

Filed Sep 12, 2011 · Transmission · 55,500 miles · WA

In april of 2009 my transmission went out without warning right in the center lane of heavy traffic as I was leaving my home, I had to have the car towed to a transmission shop just to find out that kia would not honor the warranty and the costs ($1550) came out of my own pocket. The repairman told me that this problem occurs quite often with the 2003 kia spectra but there was no safety recall. Now it is september of 2011 and the transmission is going out again! With this vehicle at less than 70,000 miles the transmission should not be going out twice already!

Filed Nov 29, 2006 · Transmission · 71,000 miles · GA · 1 injury

I bought my 2003 kia spectra brand new,kept up with oil changes and maintenance,my transmission went out at 71,ooo miles. I had the so called 100,000 mile warranty on it. They did not cover any of it they said because I live in ga it gets hot,so the warranty wont cover it. Also,I was recently in a fender bender and my air bags did not deploy,and we have also had several trips to the kia place because of minor stuff such as the air not working and the check engine light continually staying on. The 2003 kia spectra's are a joke and if you live were it gets hot or too cold your warranty is of non effect.

Filed Dec 9, 2005 · Acceleration, Engine · 48,000 miles · KS

Dt: the contact stated when stopping at a stop sign or while braking or pulling into a parking lot vehicle revved and lurched forward. The vehicle was taken to the dealership numerous times. They were unable to duplicate the problem. *ak updated 1/11/2006 - the transmission line had come off and cause coolant to leak. The line was repair and transmission was flushed but transmission slipped. The transmission was replaced. The check engine light illuminated three times and the dealer replaced the throttle position sensor three times. The engine light illuminated again and this time the dealer replaced the gene pulse assembly. The engine control module was reprogrammed. The engine ran rough intermittently. The dealer replaced the idle speed actuator.

Filed Aug 20, 2004 · Transmission · 13,500 miles · WA

At 13,500 miles transmission failed.