2001 Kia Sephia: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 158 complaints
158
Total Complaints
18,000mi
Median Mileage
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
Top Issue
31
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

12,690 25th Percentile
18,000 Median Mileage
55,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
16
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
14
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
9
STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR
5
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION
5
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
5
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
5
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
4
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
4
AIR BAGS
4

Severity Assessment

31
Crashes
3
Fires
33
Injuries
3
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"THE FIRST DAY DRIVING THE VEHICLE, I DROVE APPROX. 3 MILES AND THE "ENGINE" LIGHT CAME ON AND THE "OVERDRIVE-OFF" LIGHT KEPT FLASHING OFF AND ON. THE DEALERSHIP TOLD ME IT WAS A DEFECTIVE SHIFT LEVER BUSHING AND THEY HAD THE CAR FOR 3 DAYS TO REPLACE THE PART. A WEEK LATER THE ENGINE LIGHT AND O/D ..."
"WHEN CONSUMER BOUGHT VEHICLE BRAND NEW SHE NOTICED THAT VEHICLE HAD A BURNING SMELL LIKE RUBBER. ALSO, VEHICLE WILL HESITATE, AND WOULDN'T MOVE AT ALL. DEALERSHIP WAS AWARE OF PROBLEM. *AK"
"WHEN ATTEMPTING TO MAKE AN EMERGENCY STOP IN TRAFFIC THAT CAME TO A SUDDEN HOLT, ANTI-LOCK BRAKES DID NOT RESPOND. PEDAL WAS APPLIED, AND VEHICLE JUST BEGAN SLIDING, HITTING ANOTHER VEHICLE IN REAR. AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY, AND SEAT BELTS DID NOT RESTRAIN. KIA HAS BEEN CONTACTED. *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