My steering on my 2002 Kia sedona had become kinda sticky and almost like it was diving without power steering. I spoke with the dealership who wanted $100 just to look at it and even posted the question here and got some great advice. I also went to Youtube about a sticky steering for a Kia and found a guy who had the same issue and said that in winters with heavy snow and salting a buildup occurs on the linkage of the steering right next to the firewall. He showed on Youtube where it was and to just coat it with either oil or WD 40 and that would solve the problem. He stated he brought this to the attention of KIA who basically poo pooed him and said they doubted that would solve the problem. Well I tried it on mine and WHAM the steering is back to normal and no need to replace or repair anything. However I do plan on having the fluid changed in it, but was glad to save a few hundreds.
Thanks for reporting back about it and glad that you got it fixed. Was this the video?
If so, take the guy’s advice on lubing the joint, but please do not put any power steering fluid into the brake master cylinder. He didn’t do that, but referred to the MC as where you fill the PS fluid. Ouch.
He did but down in the comment section he corrected himself. At first that kinda threw me off but figured it out and thankfully saved me a boat load of money.
Sounds like a design problem to me. With the exception of my stint in the Army…I’ve lived in the North East my whole life. I’ve NEVER heard of a vehicle having this problem. Glad the WD-40 worked.
According to the video, “Kia knows about it, but has done nothing about it”.
I wonder if Hyundai ever acknowledged it.
After all, this vehicle design began its life as the Hyundai Entourage.
After a few years of declining sales after word got around that the reliability of the Entourage was…very bad…it was resurrected as the Kia Sedona, with likely the exact same design & quality issues.
I too am unfamiliar with the problem, but I think you sincerely for letting us know. I’m also glad to hear your problem is solved.
That’s the problem with online videos. One has to be very careful. I don’t think novices without any understanding of how cars work should be doing many of the things I’ve seen in YouTube videos.
I bought my sedona in 2010 and it had 133,000 miles on it. Since then it has run very well. I have had to have “normal” mileage work done on it like belts, brakes, starter and rear shocks but nothing out of the normal. I am now at 167,000 miles on it, and the hope is to get to around 200,000 and then get a replacement. IF I can do that, I don’t think my cost of it ($3500) was that bad.