2004 Kia Spectra problems
The 2004 Kia Spectra has 92 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (28%) concerns air bags. Next are transmission (16%) and cruise control (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 92 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 28% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 20 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 12 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 19,000 miles 71 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 38 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 9 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 7 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 5 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 1 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 6 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 2 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 1 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 71 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 19,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 33,000 miles (18 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 20 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 12 injuries reported; 1 death reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 91% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2004 ranks 6th most-complained-about out of 10 model years of the Kia Spectra with enough data (71 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Dt: the consumer's attorney stated that during a frontal crash the airbags did not deploy. There was a front end collision into three cement culverts. There was a police report filed. The consumer's son was driving and he passed away. A lawsuit was filed against the manufacturer, but they did not have any information as to why the airbags did not deploy.
We were involved in an accident our seat belts and airbags failed to work. We were both thrown into the windsheild . Suffered injuries to back, head and neck. Transported to hospital by ems. Our vecicle 2004 kia septra 4 door was a total loss.
On 10/27/06 (@ 30,048 miles) I purchased 4 tires (sumitomo htr h4; p195-60-r15; 87h m+s). Rotation of these four tires occurred @ 34,917 miles. On 7/27/07 a driver's side tire went flat and was replaced where I originally purchased them. Driving off the freeway damaged the tire into two pieces (sidewall still attached to rim), so determining what caused the flat was fruitless. Next service occurred @ 41,640 miles and included rotation and alignment.
After parking my car I could not open the driver side (left front) door. The inside door handle no longer opens the door. I now have to roll down the window and open the door using the outside door handle. I feel this is a safety issue. In an emergency I could become trapped inside. The electric windows won't work unless the car is running or the key is in the "on" position. Also it has a manual transmission with a stick shift so trying to exit through the passenger side really is not an option.