Kia transmission problems
Across all Kia models in NHTSA's complaint database, 716 complaints involve transmission. The Sephia accounts for the largest share (34%). The single worst model year is the 1999 Sephia with 71 transmission complaints.
At a glance
- Complaints
- 716 about transmission, all Kia models
- Most affected
- Sephia 34% of these complaints
- Typical mileage
- 20,000 miles 295 complaints with mileage
- Crashes and fires
- 35 and 11
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Which Kia models
Worst model years for transmission
- 1999 Kia Sephia71 complaints
- 1998 Kia Sephia62 complaints
- 2000 Kia Sephia45 complaints
- 2011 Kia Sorento39 complaints
- 1998 Kia Sportage39 complaints
Transmission complaints by model year
View the numbers
| Model year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 1994 | 2 |
| 1995 | 14 |
| 1996 | 17 |
| 1997 | 38 |
| 1998 | 101 |
| 1999 | 103 |
| 2000 | 67 |
| 2001 | 68 |
| 2002 | 48 |
| 2003 | 37 |
| 2004 | 41 |
| 2005 | 24 |
| 2006 | 29 |
| 2007 | 20 |
| 2008 | 17 |
| 2009 | 15 |
| 2010 | 7 |
| 2011 | 41 |
| 2012 | 4 |
| 2013 | 1 |
| 2014 | 1 |
| 2015 | 2 |
| 2016 | 5 |
| 2019 | 3 |
| 2020 | 3 |
| 2021 | 6 |
| 2022 | 1 |
| 2024 | 1 |
Among the 295 of these complaints that report mileage, the median is about 20,000 miles.
Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many vehicles each brand sells, so large brands naturally have more complaints.