Automatic Transmission problems of the 2001 Kia Motor Sephia

Vehicle had automatic transmission and the gear shift will not stay in park. When parking the vehicle and turning it off vehicle rolled into reverse. Consumer had to use the emergency brake to keep the car from rolling back. Consumer took the vehicle to the dealer on 3 separate occasions. Dealer maintained that the defect was not their problem.

My car has 30,000 miles on it and the transmission has been replaced 2 times. I have never been given a loaner to use while my car was in the shop. This is very inconvenient when you work.

Vehicle does not have any power. Vehicle has been checked by dealer, who has replaced wire harness/ 2 computer chips, and transmission twice. Vehicle was picked up 7/3/02, and broke down again. Consumer has to have pedal floored for vehicle to move.

While driving at any speed vehicle stalled. Driver was able to restart the vehicle, and took it to the dealer for inspection. Mechanic determined that transmission needed to be replaced, and replaced it. However, the problem recurred, and the mechanic replaced the control module. The problem recurred once again.

Before 40,000 miles, had fuel pump changed 2 times, starter changed 2 times, new transmission, ignition control module once, doors replaced due to defect, new paint job due to trash under original paint job, all hub caps and trim were replaced due to fading at 10,000 miles (which faded again a few thousand miles later), ac blower resistor motor replaced, all mirrors were replaced, electrical short in dome light, & ignition switch replaced. I bought my car in oct 2001, and was put in shop for the first time in Jan. 2002 and has been there 55 days since. I have kept up with all required maintenance. Sorry, but this car is junk. And I hate to have had a bad experience buying my first new vehicle.

When vehicle is in reverse there is a clunking and rumbling sound. When vehicle is stopping or standing still it makes a loud whistling noise. When entering highway vehicle will not accelerate over 50 mph, gas pedal has to be pushed to the floor. Consumer feels this is very unsafe.

Engine and lots of others.

-I am the second owner of this 2001 kia Sephia LS 4 door. Here is my complaint. The instruction simply stated "to shift from park press brake pedal". The button ,located in the top left side of the handle,that has to be pressed while applying brake pedal will not go all the way in. Since the date of purchased, everyday when putting gear from park to drive I had to wait 30 minutes or more before the knob can be pushed all the way in. I thought this was normal for an automatic transmission until today (1 June 03). The button was completely paralized. My car had to be towed to the nearest kia service department. They are closed on sundays. Tomorrow (Monday) I will report the problem to kia. I think all 2001 kia Sephia with automatic transmission must be recalled for the malfunctioning that my car had.

Vehicle was parked in the driveway on a slight incline. I made sure that the vehicle was in park, turned off and I removed the key. I went inside and an hour later I was informed by my uncle that my car was sitting at the bottom of the driveway. When we went outside my car was in neutral and had rolled backwards down the driveway. After the vehicle was pulled back up the driveway I tried to take the key out after putting the vehicle in neutral, it would not allow me to remove the key from the ignition. I then put the car in reverse and tried to remove the key, it again would not allow me to remove the key. I then put the car in park, turned the car off, and removed the key. After removing the key, I tried to force the gear into reverse and into neutral, it would not allow me too. I pressed on the brake and pulled on the gear to get it to move and it would not. My father, and insurance agent, had informed me that a while back there was a manufacturer defect in some Ford vehicle's. The result of the manufacturer defect was that the transmissions were throwing themselves into reverse. I have spoken to mechanics and they say that it is possible for a vehicle with a transmission defect to throw themselves into neutral, but when I called around to different kia dealers, they refuse to believe me and tell me that it was human error. There is no way that I could have removed the key if the vehicle was not in park. I am affraid that a child may be playing behind my car, or an individual may be harmed if this were to happen again, so if you could please look into it, and let me know if there is anything else that I can do besides set my parking break. Thank you.