2004 Kia Spectra: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 92 complaints
92
Total Complaints
19,150mi
Median Mileage
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Top Issue
20
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

8,000 25th Percentile
19,150 Median Mileage
56,975 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
13
AIR BAGS
13
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
7
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE
6
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
6
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
6
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
4
SUSPENSION
3
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
3
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
3

Severity Assessment

20
Crashes
1
Fires
12
Injuries
1
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED AND NO WARNING THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION, WILL NOT SHIFTING PROPERLY WHEN VEHICLE IS CHANGING GEARS. DEALER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *NM"
"WHILE THE PASSENGER SEAT WAS OCCUPIED AIR BAG SENSOR APPEARED ON THE DASHBOARD. VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION, AND MECHANIC DETERMINED THAT AIR BAG SENSOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. HOWEVER, THE MECHANIC WAS UNABLE TO LOCATE THE SENSOR. THEREFORE, MECHANIC REPLACED THE PASSENGER'..."
"WITHOUT ANY NOTICE AT ALL, AND WITHOUT ANY WARNING, WHILE DRIVING AT ANY USUAL CITY SPEED, THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION WILL NOT SHIFT GEARS PROPERLY, CAUSING THE CAR TO STOP GAINING SPEED WHILE IN TRAFFIC. THIS SEEMS TO HAPPEN MORE WHEN IN STOP-AND-GO TYPE TRAFFIC. ALSO, THE TRANSMISSION IS VERY RO..."

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