KIA Mini-Van

I drive a 99 Ford Windstar mini-van and am looking to purchase a new or up
to 2 years old mini-van. I would like to hear from KIA mini-van owners
their likes, or dislikes, about the KIA mini-van. Any particular problem
areas, such as the Windstar manifold problem (OBD-II P0171 and P0174 codes)
and intermittent ABS light, with KIA mini-vans?

Thanks for your time and information.

Ford Driver wrote:
> I drive a 99 Ford Windstar mini-van and am looking to purchase a new or up
> to 2 years old mini-van. I would like to hear from KIA mini-van owners
> their likes, or dislikes, about the KIA mini-van.

These are problems I have or have had with my 2002 Kia Sedona minivan
(currently mileage: 106,000 and holding since it's currently a lawn
ornament) :

Acceleration - Sometimes the vehicle runs only at idle speed
regardless of how far the accelerator pedal is depressed.

Engine - The motor periodically jerks (or stalls) hard. Even though
it continues to run, the Check Engine Light illuminates.

Oil consumption - The vehicle leaks or, more likely, burns about ¾
of a quart of oil every 3,000 miles.

Air bags / Passive restraint - After going through an automatic
carwash, the airbag light lit up and has been glowing consistently ever
since.

Interior door handles - The interior door handle on the drivers side
broke into two pieces making it impossible to open the door from the
inside. Additionally, it is often difficult to open the passenger door
from the inside.

Sliding doors - On the left sliding door, the plastic bushings on the
rear support bracket broke and fell out, causing the door to bind while
being opened and closed.

Windshield wipers - For some time the front windshield wipers had a
lot of slack. So, while being used, they would flop past the edge of
the vehicle. Finally, they stopped working altogether.

Air conditioner - When the air conditioner worked, it did not work
well. Air was not as cool as it should have been and the speed of the
cabin fan was too slow to be fully effective.

Paint - The paint beneath rear window is peeling. Clear coat paint on
piece above license plate is "alligatoring" or "checking."

Body - The metal dents extremely easily.

Fuel gauge - After filling up with gas, the fuel gauge immediately
moves to half but takes about five minutes to move from half to
(nearly) full. It fails to read accurately. While driving, it slowly
drops as would be expected). The problem here is, it shows only ½ a
tank of fuel when it's really ¾ full.

Digital display - The trip computer (clock, temperature,
time-to-empty, etc.) in the overhead console failed. The display for
the various functions is wrong. For instance, it'll show time as 3:69
p.m. and the temp readings are preceded by a small L.

Instrument cluster warning lights -- The warning ("idiot") lights for
the charging system and brake fail to illuminate even though the bulbs
and fuses are good.

Charging system -- The alternator and/or other parts of the charging
system have failed. The vehicle will run only until the battery is
drained. Then, it stalls. To replace the alternator requires
dismantling of significant portions at the front of the vehicle
including a portion of the air conditioning system.