1996 Kia Sephia: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 203 complaints
203
Total Complaints
40,000mi
Median Mileage
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Top Issue
10
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

17,000 25th Percentile
40,000 Median Mileage
66,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
18
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
12
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
12
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS
9
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
9
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:ROTOR
7
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:PADS
7
STRUCTURE
7
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY
7
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
6

Severity Assessment

10
Crashes
5
Fires
17
Injuries
1
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"VEHICLE BRAKES HAD FAILED THREE TIMES. PLEASE DESCRIBE. *AK"
"ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON AND THEN VEHICLE STALLS OUT, REPLACED IGNITION SWITCH TO NO AVAIL. *AK"
"VEHICLE'S ABS BRAKES FAILED THREE TIMES, MAKE GRONDING NOISE/DIMMER SWITCH OVERHEATED/REPLACED RUSTED MUFFLER/GAS ACCELERATOR TOO CLOSE TO BRAKE PEDAL/ VEHICLE BUCKS AND HESITATES AT LOW SPEED/NOISY LIFTERS. *AK"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28