One problem related to starter solenoid has been reported for the 1998 Kia Motor Sephia. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
I own a 1998 kia Sephia and ever since I have had this car it sometimes will not start even the battery is working fine. The dealer remedy for this is just replace the starter. I have replaced the starter several times and this seems to provide a cure temporarily. Just recently I had this happen again. . . I had it towed to a local mechanic that had just again replaced the starter for me. . . This time he took the starter back to the rebuilder and there was nothing wrong with the starter. . . The mechanic did some more searching and found the the solenoid that was designed to need a minimum of 11 volts to start was only receiving 7 volts. . . . The mechanic felt the this was a design fault with the car. The starter rebuilder recommended the use of an alternate solenoid from an early model Ford that only required 6 volts. . . . With this fix the car has been starting very well. . . The problem that I am having is that with all of the kia high paid engineers why couldn't the figure this out. . . .