1997 KIA SEPHIA — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 203 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: SERVICE BRAKES (49 complaints · 24.1%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 30
  • Fires 5
  • Injuries 29
  • Deaths 2
Compare with 1996 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution SERVICE BRAKES appears in 49 of 203 owner complaints (24.1%) in this vehicle snapshot. SERVICE BRAKES: 49 complaints, 24.1% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 49 · 24.1% · 2 crash reports ENGINE: 28 complaints, 13.8% of reports ENGINE 28 · 13.8% · 3 crash reports 1 fire reports AIR BAGS: 24 complaints, 11.8% of reports AIR BAGS 24 · 11.8% · 16 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 20 complaints, 9.8% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 20 · 9.8% · 1 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 14 complaints, 6.9% of reports POWER TRAIN 14 · 6.9% SEAT BELTS: 14 complaints, 6.9% of reports SEAT BELTS 14 · 6.9% · 5 crash reports FUEL SYSTEM: 10 complaints, 4.9% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 10 · 4.9% · 3 fire reports STRUCTURE: 10 complaints, 4.9% of reports STRUCTURE 10 · 4.9% · 1 crash reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 5 complaints, 2.5% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 5 · 2.5% · 1 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 167 complaints, 82.3% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 167 · 82.3% · 26 crash reports 4 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
SERVICE BRAKES 49 24.1% 2 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 28 13.8% 3 crashes · 1 fires
AIR BAGS 24 11.8% 16 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 20 9.8% 0 crashes · 1 fires
POWER TRAIN 14 6.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 14 6.9% 5 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 10 4.9% 0 crashes · 3 fires
STRUCTURE 10 4.9% 1 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 5 2.5% 1 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 167 82.3% 26 crashes · 4 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Apr 1996. 1996-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 1997-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 1998-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q2: 12 owner reports 12 1998-Q3: 16 owner reports 16 1998-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 1999-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 1999-Q2: 12 owner reports 12 1999-Q3: 14 owner reports 14 1999-Q4: 15 owner reports 15 2000-Q1: 12 owner reports 12 2000-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 2000-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 2000-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2001-Q1: 11 owner reports 11 2001-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2001-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2001-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2002-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2002-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2003-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2003-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2003-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2003-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2006-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 Owner reports Apr 1996 Jul 2007 Investigation PE02051 ● Investigation PE02051
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1996-Q2 Owner reports 1
1997-Q2 Owner reports 1
1997-Q3 Owner reports 2
1997-Q4 Owner reports 5
1998-Q1 Owner reports 1
1998-Q2 Owner reports 12
1998-Q3 Owner reports 16
1998-Q4 Owner reports 10
1999-Q1 Owner reports 8
1999-Q2 Owner reports 12
1999-Q3 Owner reports 14
1999-Q4 Owner reports 15
2000-Q1 Owner reports 12
2000-Q2 Owner reports 10
2000-Q3 Owner reports 9
2000-Q4 Owner reports 7
2001-Q1 Owner reports 11
2001-Q2 Owner reports 4
2001-Q3 Owner reports 6
2001-Q4 Owner reports 4
2002-Q1 Owner reports 4
2002-Q2 Owner reports 1
2002-Q3 Owner reports 1
2002-Q4 Owner reports 5
2003-Q1 Owner reports 6
2003-Q2 Owner reports 3
2003-Q3 Owner reports 6
2003-Q4 Owner reports 1
2004-Q1 Owner reports 1
2004-Q2 Owner reports 1
2004-Q3 Owner reports 2
2005-Q1 Owner reports 1
2005-Q3 Owner reports 5
2006-Q1 Owner reports 1
2006-Q4 Owner reports 1
2007-Q1 Owner reports 1
2007-Q3 Owner reports 3
Defect investigation 1 PE02051
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (0)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

Zero safety recalls recorded for this model year in official NHTSA records.

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 203 complaints · page 1 of 9

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources