2000 KIA SEPHIA — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 260 complaints · 1 recalls
Most-reported system: SERVICE BRAKES (62 complaints · 23.9%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 40
  • Fires 3
  • Injuries 36
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1999 →
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 62 of 260 owner complaints (23.9%) in this vehicle snapshot. SERVICE BRAKES: 62 complaints, 23.9% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 62 · 23.9% · 8 crash reports ENGINE: 31 complaints, 11.9% of reports ENGINE 31 · 11.9% · 1 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 31 complaints, 11.9% of reports POWER TRAIN 31 · 11.9% · 1 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 27 complaints, 10.4% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 27 · 10.4% · 2 fire reports AIR BAGS: 25 complaints, 9.6% of reports AIR BAGS 25 · 9.6% · 22 crash reports SEAT BELTS: 10 complaints, 3.9% of reports SEAT BELTS 10 · 3.9% · 4 crash reports VISIBILITY: 9 complaints, 3.5% of reports VISIBILITY 9 · 3.5% STEERING: 6 complaints, 2.3% of reports STEERING 6 · 2.3% · 1 crash reports STRUCTURE: 6 complaints, 2.3% of reports STRUCTURE 6 · 2.3% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 217 complaints, 83.5% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 217 · 83.5% · 30 crash reports 2 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 62 23.9% 8 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 31 11.9% 0 crashes · 1 fires
POWER TRAIN 31 11.9% 1 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 27 10.4% 0 crashes · 2 fires
AIR BAGS 25 9.6% 22 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 10 3.9% 4 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 9 3.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 6 2.3% 1 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 6 2.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 217 83.5% 30 crashes · 2 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 Jul 1999; the first recall shown was reported in Jun 2004. 1999-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2000-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2000-Q2: 15 owner reports 15 2000-Q3: 17 owner reports 17 2000-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2001-Q1: 18 owner reports 18 2001-Q2: 15 owner reports 15 2001-Q3: 14 owner reports 14 2001-Q4: 12 owner reports 12 2002-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 2002-Q2: 17 owner reports 17 2002-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 2002-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2003-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 2003-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 2003-Q3: 16 owner reports 16 2003-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2004-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2004-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2004-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2004-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2005-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2006-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2006-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2008-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2010-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jul 1999 Apr 2022 Recall campaign 04V305000 ◆ Recall campaign 04V305000 Investigation PE00026 ● Investigation PE00026 Investigation PE02028 ● Investigation PE02028 Investigation EA02016 ● Investigation EA02016 Investigation RQ03006 ● Investigation RQ03006 Investigation RQ03007 ● Investigation RQ03007 Investigation EA04004 ● Investigation EA04004 Investigation EA04007 ● Investigation EA04007
  • Campaign 04V305000 was reported 1,479 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1999-Q3 Owner reports 1
1999-Q4 Owner reports 3
2000-Q1 Owner reports 6
2000-Q2 Owner reports 15
2000-Q3 Owner reports 17
2000-Q4 Owner reports 10
2001-Q1 Owner reports 18
2001-Q2 Owner reports 15
2001-Q3 Owner reports 14
2001-Q4 Owner reports 12
2002-Q1 Owner reports 10
2002-Q2 Owner reports 17
2002-Q3 Owner reports 9
2002-Q4 Owner reports 7
2003-Q1 Owner reports 10
2003-Q2 Owner reports 9
2003-Q3 Owner reports 16
2003-Q4 Owner reports 6
2004-Q1 Owner reports 6
2004-Q2 Owner reports 6
2004-Q3 Owner reports 7
2004-Q4 Owner reports 3
2005-Q1 Owner reports 2
2005-Q2 Owner reports 2
2005-Q3 Owner reports 5
2005-Q4 Owner reports 1
2006-Q1 Owner reports 5
2006-Q2 Owner reports 1
2006-Q3 Owner reports 4
2006-Q4 Owner reports 1
2007-Q1 Owner reports 1
2007-Q2 Owner reports 1
2007-Q4 Owner reports 3
2008-Q1 Owner reports 1
2008-Q3 Owner reports 2
2008-Q4 Owner reports 1
2009-Q1 Owner reports 2
2010-Q1 Owner reports 1
2010-Q2 Owner reports 1
2011-Q1 Owner reports 1
2011-Q3 Owner reports 1
2014-Q4 Owner reports 1
2015-Q1 Owner reports 1
2015-Q2 Owner reports 1
2017-Q3 Owner reports 1
2017-Q4 Owner reports 1
2018-Q2 Owner reports 1
2022-Q2 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 04V305000
Defect investigation 1 PE00026
Defect investigation 1 PE02028
Defect investigation 1 EA02016
Defect investigation 1 RQ03006
Defect investigation 1 RQ03007
Defect investigation 1 EA04004
Defect investigation 1 EA04007
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (1)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 04V305000

    Report date
    Component:
    SEAT BELTS
    Consequence:
    THE LATCH CAN THEN PULL OUT OF THE BUCKLE WHEN TENSION IS APPLIED.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPLACE BOTH FRONT SEAT BELT BUCKLES. THE RECALL BEGAN AUGUST 16, 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT KIA AT 1-800-333-4542.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
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 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 260 complaints · page 1 of 11

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 2026-08-21
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