1998 Kia Sephia

Documented records held locally from official US and Canadian sources. Each record shows its official identifier so it can be confirmed at the source; nothing here is a score or a prediction.

Vehicle coverage

Find your car

Choose a vehicle to see the official records held for it.

Coverage held for this vehicle

  • OFFICIAL ACTION 6 US Recalls
  • MANUFACTURER COMMUNICATION 19 Manufacturer Bulletins
  • INVESTIGATION 12 Investigations
  • CONSUMER REPORT 491 Consumer Complaints
  • CANADIAN RECALL 0 Canada Recalls

These are counts of distinct official records held locally. They are not combined into any score, and a record count is not a failure rate. A zero means no record is held here, not that none exists.

US Recalls

NHTSA Recall US

  • 02V216000 2002-08-16

    Recall 02V216000

    ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, THE SAFETY BELT BUCKLE MAY "FALSE LATCH" AND EXPOSE THE DRIVER TO UNRESTRAINED MOVEMENT DURING A CRASH.

    Recorded model years: 1998

  • 02V207000 2002-07-29

    Recall 02V207000

    ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES WITH 36,000 MILES OR LESS AS OF JULY 15, 2002, AN ELECTRICAL CONTACT PROBLEM MAY HAVE DEVELOPED IN THE HAZARD SWITCH WHICH COULD RESULT IN INOPERATIVE HAZARD LIGHTS AND/OR INOPERATIVE TURN SIGNALS.

    Recorded model years: 1998

  • 00V175000 2000-07-17

    Recall 00V175000

    VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. MANUFACTURING CHANGES WERE MADE TO THE ORVR SPRING FORCE AND FLOAT WIRE LENGTH REDUCING THE VALVE ANGLE. CERTAIN VALVES CAUSED FUEL SHUT OFF BEFORE THE TANK REACHED 95% OF NOMINAL CAPACITY.

    Recorded model years: 1998

Showing 3 of 6 records held. The full set is available from the official source named above.

A further 7 records exist for the Kia Sephia where the source stated no model year. They are not counted above and appear on no year page.

Campaign applicability can depend on build date, equipment and market, and a remedy may already have been completed. Confirm any campaign against the official record using the VIN.

Manufacturer Bulletins

NHTSA Manufacturer Communication US

  • 10201529 2021-09-13

    TSB_BOD055_R1

    TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: INFORMATION FOR HEADLAMP CONDENSATION AND MOISTURE - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. This bulletin provides information relating to some Kia models that may exhibit fogging, condensation, and/or moisture inside a headlamp assembly. Generally, a fogging condition is considered…

    Recorded model years: 1998

  • 10133170 2018-03-02

    PS539

    PITSTOP - ENGINE COMPONENT RE-USE GUIDELINES - In general, parts and components removed during engine repairs should be considered serviceable, and should be thoroughly cleaned and transferred to the new engine.

    Recorded model years: 1998

  • 10109812 2017-01-18

    TSB-GEN085R1

    TSB: MANDATORY REPLACEMENT OF LOCKING/SECURITY HARDWARE - By design, certain fasteners, which are designed to lock into place once fully attached, are utilized in various Kia models and are strictly intended for ?one time use.? Some examples are: axle shaft nuts with stake collar, cotter pins, washers with locking tabs and other similar hardware, including threaded fasteners with pre-applied ?thread-locking…

    Recorded model years: 1998

Showing 3 of 19 records held. The full set is available from the official source named above.

A further 24 records exist for the Kia Sephia where the source stated no model year. They are not counted above and appear on no year page.

A manufacturer communication is service guidance issued to dealers. It is not a safety recall, and its existence does not mean this vehicle has the described condition.

Investigations

NHTSA Investigation US

  • EA04004 2004-02-03

    REFUELING SPIT BACK

    BASED ON THE LOW RATE OF FUEL SPIT-BACK INCEDENTS (14.3 INCIDENTS PER 100,000 VEHICLES SOLD), A LOW WARRANTY CLAIMS RATE OF 0.02 PERCENT, AND THE LACK OF ENGINEERING INFORMATION THAT WOULD SUPPORT THE PRESENCE OF AN ENGINEERING DEFECT, A SAFETY-RELATED DEFECT TREND HAS NOT BEEN IDENTIFIED AND FURTHER USE OF AGENCY RESOURCES DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE WARRANTED.ACCORDINGLY, THIS INVESTIGATION…

    Recorded model years: 1998

  • RQ03006 2003-08-15

    REFUELING SPIT BACK

    IN JUNE 2000, KIA NOTIFIED ODI OF A DEFECT CONDITION IN APPROXIMATELY 100,000 MY 1998-99 SEPHIA PASSENGER VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM OCTOBER 17, 1997 TO MAY 16, 1999, THAT COULD RESULT IN FUEL SPIT BACK WHILE REFUELING (EA99-034, RECALL 00V-175).ACCORDING TO KIA, MANUFACTURING CHANGES MADE TO THE ONBOARD REFUELING VAPOR RECOVERY (ORVR) VALVE COULD CAUSE FUEL SHUT OFF BEFORE THE TANK…

    Recorded model years: 1998

  • EA02016 2002-08-06

    NON-CRASH ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES

    ODI GATHERED FIRE DATA FROM VARIOUS SOURCES AND INSPECTED SUBJECT VEHICLES TO ASSESS THE SCOPE AND FREQUENCY OF NON-CRASH ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES CAUSED BY STARTER CABLE CHAFING.ODI'S ANALYSIS FOUND THAT MOST OF THE SUSPECT FIRES OCCURRED AFTER THE VEHICLE HAD RECEIVED SERVICE REPAIRS IN THE AREA OF THE SUBJECT CABLE.CONSUMER COMPLAINT DATA INDICATE THAT THE PROBLEM EXPERIENCE HAS DECLINED SINCE…

    Recorded model years: 1998

Showing 3 of 12 records held. The full set is available from the official source named above.

A further 15 records exist for the Kia Sephia where the source stated no model year. They are not counted above and appear on no year page.

An investigation records that a regulator reviewed a suspected defect. It is not itself a finding of defect and not a recall.

Canada Recalls

Transport Canada Recall CA

No matching records were found in the currently integrated dataset. This does not mean none exist for this vehicle — always check the official source using the VIN.

See all model years Go to the Kia Sephia page

A further 2 records exist for the Kia Sephia where the source stated no model year. They are not counted above and appear on no year page.

Canadian campaigns are recorded separately from US campaigns and do not imply one another.

Consumer Complaints

NHTSA Complaint US

491 complaint records in the dataset for this vehicle and year.

Outcomes stated in those reports

  • reports mentioning a crash 32
  • reports mentioning a fire 15
  • reported injuries 19

Outcomes as stated by the person who filed the report. They are not verified, not adjudicated, and carry no exposure denominator, so they cannot be turned into a rate.

By system

  • Brakes306 (31.9%)
  • Electrical system131 (13.6%)
  • Engine78 (8.1%)
  • Powertrain (transmission & drivetrain)69 (7.2%)
  • Fuel system65 (6.8%)Official recall records for this system: 2, covering model years 1998–1999.
  • Visibility (glass, wipers, mirrors)34 (3.5%)Official recall records for this system: 1, covering model years 1998–1999.
  • Exhaust & emissions control32 (3.3%)Official recall records for this system: 1, covering model years 1998–1999.
  • Air bags (restraint system)31 (3.2%)

Other / uncategorized: 29 classifications (3.0%) were not assigned to a specific system by the source. They are counted but not treated as an issue area.

A single report can name several systems, so these figures overlap and must not be added together — their sum is larger than the report total above.

A further 1,679 complaint records exist for this vehicle where the source stated no model year. They are not counted above and appear on no year page.

These are owner-submitted allegations, not confirmed defects. Counts are record counts in the dataset. No exposure denominator exists, so no failure rate or reliability score can be derived from them.

Back to the Kia Sephia page