2005 KIA SPECTRA — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 102 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: AIR BAGS (33 complaints · 32.4%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 23
  • Fires 1
  • Injuries 17
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2004 →
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 AIR BAGS appears in 33 of 102 owner complaints (32.4%) in this vehicle snapshot. AIR BAGS: 33 complaints, 32.4% of reports AIR BAGS 33 · 32.4% · 12 crash reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 11 complaints, 10.8% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 11 · 10.8% · 3 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 7 complaints, 6.9% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 7 · 6.9% POWER TRAIN: 7 complaints, 6.9% of reports POWER TRAIN 7 · 6.9% STEERING: 7 complaints, 6.9% of reports STEERING 7 · 6.9% · 1 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 6 complaints, 5.9% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 6 · 5.9% · 2 crash reports STRUCTURE: 5 complaints, 4.9% of reports STRUCTURE 5 · 4.9% FUEL SYSTEM: 4 complaints, 3.9% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 4 · 3.9% SEAT BELTS: 4 complaints, 3.9% of reports SEAT BELTS 4 · 3.9% · 2 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 50 complaints, 49.0% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 50 · 49.0% · 6 crash reports 1 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)
AIR BAGS 33 32.4% 12 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 11 10.8% 3 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 7 6.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 7 6.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 7 6.9% 1 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 6 5.9% 2 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 5 4.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 4 3.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 4 3.9% 2 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 50 49.0% 6 crashes · 1 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 2005; the first recall shown was reported in Apr 2005. 2005-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2005-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2006-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2006-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2006-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2007-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2007-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2009-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2009-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2010-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2010-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2011-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2011-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2011-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2012-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2012-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2013-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2014-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2015-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2015-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Apr 2005 Oct 2020 Recall campaign 05V183000 ◆ Recall campaign 05V183000 Recall campaign 11V256000 ◆ Recall campaign 11V256000
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2005-Q2 Owner reports 1
2005-Q3 Owner reports 4
2005-Q4 Owner reports 5
2006-Q1 Owner reports 6
2006-Q2 Owner reports 5
2006-Q3 Owner reports 2
2006-Q4 Owner reports 7
2007-Q1 Owner reports 3
2007-Q2 Owner reports 2
2007-Q4 Owner reports 1
2008-Q1 Owner reports 2
2008-Q3 Owner reports 3
2009-Q1 Owner reports 1
2009-Q2 Owner reports 4
2009-Q3 Owner reports 1
2010-Q1 Owner reports 2
2010-Q2 Owner reports 2
2010-Q3 Owner reports 3
2011-Q1 Owner reports 2
2011-Q2 Owner reports 5
2011-Q3 Owner reports 3
2012-Q1 Owner reports 1
2012-Q2 Owner reports 5
2012-Q3 Owner reports 1
2012-Q4 Owner reports 1
2013-Q1 Owner reports 1
2013-Q2 Owner reports 2
2013-Q4 Owner reports 1
2014-Q2 Owner reports 4
2014-Q3 Owner reports 1
2014-Q4 Owner reports 1
2015-Q1 Owner reports 2
2015-Q2 Owner reports 3
2015-Q3 Owner reports 1
2015-Q4 Owner reports 1
2016-Q1 Owner reports 1
2016-Q4 Owner reports 3
2017-Q4 Owner reports 2
2018-Q3 Owner reports 2
2018-Q4 Owner reports 1
2019-Q1 Owner reports 1
2019-Q4 Owner reports 1
2020-Q1 Owner reports 1
2020-Q4 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 05V183000
Recall campaign 1 11V256000
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (2)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 05V183000

    Report date
    Component:
    STEERING
    Consequence:
    IF THE ROD CRACKS OR FAILS, LOSS OF VEHICLE STEERING CONTROL MAY OCCUR WHICH COULD RESULT IN A CRASH.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE STEERING RACK ASSEMBLY, WHICH INCLUDES THE TIE ROD COMPONENTS FREE OF CHARGE. OWNERS WERE NOTIFIED BY TELEPHONE ON APRIL 8, 2005. AN ADDITIONAL LETTER WAS SENT TO OWNERS WHO HAD NOT TAKEN THEIR VEHICLES IN FOR REPAIR. THIS LETTER WAS MAILED MAY 20, 2005. OWNERS MAY CONTACT KIA AT 1-800-333-4542.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 11V256000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER
    Consequence:
    THE FUEL TANK CAN FALL FROM THE VEHICLE AND STRIKE THE GROUND WHICH COULD CAUSE A FUEL LEAK. LEAKING FUEL CAN CREATE A FIRE HAZARD.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FUEL TANK STRAPS AND ATTACHING HARDWARE WITH NEW ZINC COATED PARTS. THIS SERVICE WILL BE PERFORMED FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JUNE 6, 2011. OWNERS MAY 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 102 complaints · page 1 of 5

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