After starting car, for first 15-20 mins, all normal. After speedometer go erratic (showing slower than actual speed - or - higher than actual speed) and soon after it just stops working. No check engine light. Dangerous to drive without knowing actual speed. Have to use mobile phone app like Waze or something which shows apx speed. Upon internet search, I found there are many Kia spectra Ex (from 05-09 models) reported similar issues. This situation is dangerous as driver may be following speedometer on highway and ending up driving slower than actual speed. the federal safety agency should issue a recall. Kia - as usual - never acknowledged issue to save money. Dealership recommending me buy a new car rather than fixing the issue or at least attempting to fix it. When declined for trade-in (or buy a new car) they demanded upfront diagnostic charges without telling me what is actual issue.
Kia Spectra check engine light comes on
39 of the 906 owner complaints about the Kia Spectra describe check engine light, most of them for the 2002 model year.
- owner complaints
- 39
- worst model year
- 2002
- typical mileage
- 19,600
By model year
Often reported together
Stalling 10Transmission failure 6Won't shift 3Grinding brakes 3Jerking 2Hesitation 2No deployment 2Wipers 1
Trouble codes mentioned
P0765 2P0760 2P0755 2P0750 2P0442 2P0748 1P0700 1P0455 1
What owners say
The contact owns a 2006 Kia Spectra. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 11V256000 (Fuel System, Other). The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the brake pedal was depressed and went to the floorboard. The check engine and brake warning lights were illuminated. The dealer was made aware of the recall and failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 116,000.
The transmission keeps stalling and jolting the car, we cannot run the air conditioner and it only runs when in 3rd gear. There is definitely something wrong with the car and we don't even feel safe putting our children in the car, because it's not safe, and we cannot run the air conditioner without it stalling or jolting and not accelerating properly. We had the timing belt replaced in september 2018, we've had multiple oil changes and kept up with maintenance. However the problems have only gotten worse, our check engine light has been on since 02/2019 at least and we've put steering fluid in, but the problems keep getting worse. We can't run the air conditioner, our fuses keep blowing and I would like our car checked out and fixed.
When going down the interstate, it feels like I hit something (I did not). My speed decrease so much that it turned off my cruise control. Glad no-one was behind me. It started feeling very slugish with high rpms. I stopped for about 20 minutes. Restarted my engine light came on, and it would not shift out of 3rd gear. I stopped again this time for over an hour. Started my car and drove another 15 miles. It shift fine. Chwck emfine light was still on. Next, morning started my car and drove. I had no problems. 4 days late, driving my car 38 miles and had the same problem. This time with the same issue, take off is very very slow. This is not a constant problem. I never know when the problem will start.
Problem is the check engine light came on/off and on again. Fault codes were p0700 and p0748 as done at autozone. Some type of fault with the transaxle (p0700) or failed transaxle control module/failed linear solenoid valve/open or short cicuit condition in the linear solenoid control. While driving the car shutters hard car shifts fine when engine is cold. When engine warms up (after driving about 10 miles) while cruising in 4th gear, a lurch is felt from the drive train and the trans down shifts to 3rd gear. Shifting to neutral and back to drive doesn't help. The trans stays in 3rd gear. Shutting the car off and let it cool down and it is back to working normal again. Thinking about replacing the shift control module. Fix link.... Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urut3t8uucw http://www.kia-forums.com/cerato-2003-2008-spectra5-2004/72381-2006-spectra-p0750-p0765-p0755-p0760-2.html this needs to be recalled on all kia spectras please advise
Upon entering the highway, the transmission seemed to lag. I could not go over 50 MPH. And oncoming traffic including an 18 wheeler seemed to almost stop or I would have been killed! This problem has developed over the last year where the car gets stuck in 3rd gear and acceleration is poor or the transmission does not change gears. If it sits for a while it has an engine light on and still acts up for a while then finally goes back to working correctly. The problem today was the first life threatening incident and therefore I believe it is a recall! This problem has been reported for 5 model years affected: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, more! This is life threatening and needs to be a recall as it has been found as a software update but others on line say there is a soldering problem in the transmission. This should not be something the public should be spending money on when it is a failure due to manufacture or a software glitch or both!
From the 2nd day after purchasing the vehicle 6/27/2015 when I turned on A/C the car has been hesitating and stalling. Every time I started and stopped at lights or stop signs. And even in traffic . Making the driving experience unsafe.and so ive been complaining ever since. They said if check engine light came on then I wont be responsible for the expense. However the check eng. Never came on.
The kia spectra 2007 engine stalls after refilling. I did not 'top it off' at the gas station, it was simply filled up by the clicking of the fuel pump. The car stalled three times (all engine lights, brake lights suddenly turned on), wheel had weak control in the middle of the road, driving home (roughly 3 mile range). Fortunately, I was at the light every time (with people behind me). If I had been driving 60 miles per hour, I probably would've died, unaware of loss of vehicle control. I turned on my vehicle warning light immediately, and the cars behind me were able to get around me. I just took some time to research this, and apparently it's happening to a bunch of other people as well. Here's a youtube video documenting what happens, you basically lose control of your vehicle. Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdmjj_kqgdu here's a list of other people who have seen this problem: http://www.aboutautomobile.com/complaint/2007/kia/spectra/fuel+system the car is now a death trap for me, I don't even know where to start since driving anywhere could potentially get me killed.
I was driving on the interstate about 65 MPH. All of sudden, the car lost all forward motion power. When I pressed the gas, the rpms increased, but the car did not get any power. The engine continued to run without problem. After stopping on the shoulder, I put the car in park and turned off the engine. After starting again, I put the car in drive, the forward power was working again and the car shifted fine. Transmission fluid was changed at 110,000 miles. Suspecting transmission, I took to a transmission specialist. I was given the following information: error code p0750 shift solenoid; error code p0755 shift solenoid b; error code p0760 shift solenoid c; error code p0765 shift solenoid d. Was given price quote to fix, but encouraged to contact kia dealership about problem as they had seen this before on other similar kia spectras. Called dealership to inform them of problem. Left message, but never got a return call; and the one time I got a person, I was told that they would have someone from service call me back. Never heard from anyone. On may 16, 2015, the same thing happened, only this time turning the car off did not work and the check engine light came on. I was able to disconnect the battery and reconnect, then the car shifted again. Has anyone else had this problem? Is there a recall? Before I spend $2000, I want to know if kia is avoiding my calls because they know there is problem? Did internet search and have found similar complaints.
Engine kept dying on me after I filled up the tank. I have had vehicle or 3 years now and never had this problem before. I don't top off the tank so I don't know how I could have caused this problem. I find it dangerous to drive in these conditions stalling out in rush hour traffic with no warning not even check engine light with 3 kids in the car and gas coming out of the bottom of my car onto the ground. I took it to kia dealer and was told I overfilled the tank and that warranty would not cover damage of charcoal filter and all air and cabin filters filling up with gas so now I am stuck paying $400 that I don't have. It is a known problem to kia but they will not set as recall or help accommodate us with damages and I am a single mom of 3 kid and can't afford this. I did not do anything wrong to cause this and yet we have to pay for it.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Kia Spectra check engine light
Why does the check engine light come on in the Kia Spectra?
Owners who report it most often also describe engine stalls while driving, complete transmission failure and stuck in gear or won't shift, and the codes they mention most are P0765, P0760 and P0755.
Which Kia Spectra years have check engine light problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2002 (8 complaints), 2006 (6 complaints) and 2007 (6 complaints).
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