I have a 99 KIA Sephia (automatic) with God only knows how many miles on it since the odometer stopped working 7 yrs ago. It had 125,000 miles on it then. I have had it serviced regularly. W/in the last year, of course, things have started wearing out. I have replaced the radiator fan, CV joints, starter, alternator, battery, belts. After the alternator and belts being replaced due to the power steering pump spraying fluid all over everything as it died (replaced also), my car ran rough when I got it back from the shop. I thought it might be because of bad gas, so I used a fuel treatment, and that didn’t help. The problem has gotten steadily worse. When I start the car, belts squeal, it runs really rough as if I have a vacuum leak, it hesitates when I put it in drive (but not reverse). Eventually the squealing or chirping stops, it “catches” and the car drives normally. Until I stop. Then the engine shuts off (after the tach drops twice). It starts right up again, but when I am stopped, I have to shift to neutral or park to keep it running. Is this a belt or pulley problem or is the transmission now dying? (Rather than putting a new transmission in, I’d rather just get a newer vehicle.) By the way, the check engine light is not on. Any advice would be appreciated.
125K miles after only two years? If you kept that average up, you’re well past half-a-million miles by now. Whew!!
In any case, the car is old enough and has enough mileage that it’s probably just tired and worn out. Some of what you described is stuff that can be expected to wear out over enough time and distance. Personally, I’d start looking for another vehicle. You could spend thousands of dollars in repairs on this car, and other things would still be cropping up.
Thanks for your advice. I have spent a couple of thousand in the last year replacing worn-out parts that could have gone toward a down payment on a new car! I put those 125,000 miles on the car commuting 120 miles to work and back every day, so they were highway miles. In 2001, I moved w/in 12 miles of my job, but still, I have put a LOT of miles on the KIA’s original motor and transmission. (I put 285,000 miles on the original motor and transmission of a 92 Pontiac Bonneville commuting to my job before I sold it and bought the KIA! I made sure to get the oil changed every 10 to 12 thousand miles, whether it needed it or not! Just kidding!)
Your Kia has by now reached the end of its DESIGN LIFE. From now on you will be basically building a new car on an old body! It’s time to say goodbye and get a newer and longer lasting car.
KIa’s are getting better since Hyundai bought them, but the type of life you get from a Honda or Toyota is setting the new standard. Expect up to 400,000 miles from these cars without being nickled and dimed to death.
The symptoms you describe could be many things, and in fact I suspect at least 2 different things. First, the belt squealing is probably just that, a belt either not adjusted or something putting unexpected load on the belt. That could be as simple as adjusting the belt or as complex as replacing a water pump. Someone needs to look at it and figured it out.
The second issue of stalling and rough idle, again could be many things, but I would think not related to the belt squeal. It could be a bad idle air control valve/solenoid, or a vacuum leak which could be a cracked or loose hose or a leaky intake gasket.
In either case, you need someone to do some diagnostics and give you a clear explanation of what is wrong and how much it will cost to fix. Then you can decide if it’s worth it or not. A few hundred dollars may have it working fine, or it may take a couple thousand. I’d spend a few hundred on this car, but not thousands.
Thanks for your advice. I’m not dead yet but I am out of nickels and dimes and patience with this car!
Thanks! The water pump was also replaced w/in the last year and there is no water leaking as far as I can tell. I keep a pretty good check on the fluid levels and the temp gauge. I’ll give some thought to taking it in one more time to get it diagnosed. But, I’m with you; I’m not spending thousands on a car that is worn out.
run really fast away from any kia my sister in law has had a sephia and is on her second sportage nothing but trouble get something newer [money pit]
you know ,kia stands for…KILL IT ALREADY! i have one too same year,where I got that qoute is on my web page 97 savana more! when thay start to nickel and dime you to death…KILL IT ALREADY