RoadVitals

1986 Kia Sephia

Recalls, owner-reported complaints, investigations and safety data

Data refreshed

Owner complaintsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
2
Latest Sep 22, 1999
Safety recallsA safety recall is issued when a manufacturer or NHTSA determines that a vehicle has a safety-related defect or does not comply with a federal motor vehicle safety standard. Recall repairs are free. Whether a specific vehicle is covered depends on its VIN — a recall listed for a model year does not necessarily apply to every vehicle of that year.
0
InvestigationsNHTSA opens an investigation to examine whether a safety defect may exist. An open investigation is not a determination that a defect exists, and many investigations close without a recall. Investigations can, however, lead to one.
0
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
0

Overview

Our database contains 2 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1986 Kia Sephia, most frequently naming the seat belts and transmission categories. 1 manufacturer communication is on file.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

What owners report

Complaints grouped by the component NHTSA recorded

  • Seat belts150.0%
  • Transmission150.0%

Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.

Safety recalls

No recalls in our database for this model year

That does not guarantee a specific vehicle is unaffected — recalls are issued against VINs, and new campaigns are announced regularly. Check a VIN on NHTSA.gov.

Recent owner complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA, shown in the owner's own words

Transmission
Filed Sep 22, 1999

WHEN PULLING OUT OF A PARKING SPACE THERE WAS A LOUD BANGING NOISE, AND VEHICLE STALLED DUE TO TRANSMISSION GOING OUT. TRANSMISSION WAS REPLACED. *AK

NHTSA ID
848405
Incident
Sep 27, 1998
Seat belts
Filed Jul 9, 1996

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CONTINUES TO BLINK ON AND SEAT BELT DOES NOT LOCK . *AK

NHTSA ID
985539
Incident
Feb 5, 1996

Manufacturer communications

A bulletin sent by a manufacturer to its dealers. Not a recall, and repairs are not necessarily free.

KT-2008082201

EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS; EXTERIOR LIGHTING:TAIL LIGHTS; PARKING BRAKE:INDICATOR LIGHT

KIA: ALL MODELS. ARTICLE PROVIDES INFORMATION RELATING TO THE IMPROVED DURABILITY OF BULB LIFE FOR REAR COMBINATION BULB; REAR STOP LAMP/TAIL LAMP BULB UTILIZED ON MULTIPLE KIA MODELS. *PE

Manufacturers file copies of the bulletins they send to dealers with NHTSA. These often describe diagnostic or repair procedures for a known condition. They are not recalls: repairs described in a bulletin are usually only free if the vehicle is still under warranty or the manufacturer has extended coverage.

Compare model years

Complaint and recall counts across every year of this model

Kia Sephia by model year
YearComplaintsRecallsInvestigationsIssue Index
2003200
2002600
20011070349.8
20002661756.9
199942851267.7
199849161263.4
19972051151.9
19961181150.0
1995641151.8
1994161044.8
1993000
1986Viewing200

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers. Older model years have had longer for reports to accumulate.