Owner-reported complaints naming the seat belt system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming seat belts, buckles, retractors and pretensioners. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2009 Kia Spectra submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 9 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
DRIVER'S SEATBELT OFTEN FAILS TO LOCK IN AND POPS OPEN MID-DRIVE. IT IS OFTEN NOT APPARENT THAT THE BELT HASN'T LOCKED UNTIL IT POPS OPEN. THIS WOULD BE ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS IN AN ACCIDENT.
TAKATA RECALL I OWN A 2009 KIA SPECTRA I'VE HAD IT SINCE 2014. I MOVED & ABOUT A YEAR AGO MY AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON THE CAR WAS STATIONARY I WENT TO GET CAME BACK IN MY CAR & NOTICED IT WAS ON. I DIDN'T THINK ANYTHING OF IT BECAUSE WHERE I LIVED YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO DO VEHICLE INSPECTIONS. NOT TOO LONG AFTER MY SEATBELT KEPT LOCKING & IN THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS IT COMPLETELY LOCKED ON ME. I'M IN THE PROCESS OF MOVING & I TOOK MY CAR TO GET A VEHICLE INSPECTION BECAUSE THE STATE I WILL BE LIVING IN YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO PASS INSPECTION. I WAS TOLD I WOULDN'T PASS THE INSPECTION DUE TO THE AIRBAG LIGHT BEING ON & MY SEATBELT BEING LOCKED. I CALLED SEVERAL DEALERSHIPS & THEY ARE TRYING TO MAKE ME PAY ALL THESE DIFFERENT PRICES TO FIX IT THE LEAST I'VE BEEN TOLD IS ABOUT $700 JUST TO INSTALL A NEW SEATBELT. I'M A SINGLE MOM & I CAN'T AFFORD THIS..THIS IS UNSAFE !! I WAS LOOKING UP HOW TO FIX MY SEATBELT & CAME ACROSS A LOT OF INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE HAVING THIS SAME ISSUE & I WANT TO KNOW IF THERE IS A RECALL BECAUSE THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE FOR MY CHILD AS WELL AS MYSELF.
THE DRIVERS SIDE SEATBELT ON MY KIA SPECTRA 2009 LOCKS UP ONCE IN A WHILE SO I CANNOT PUT MY SEATBELT ON. IT WILL LOCK NO MATTER IF I'M PULLING SLOWLY OR FAST. I AM NOT STEPPING ON THE BREAK WHEN IT LOCKS. THE CAR CAN BE MOVING OR STATIONARY WHEN IT LOCKS. THIS HAPPENS 5 TIMES OUT OF 10 WHEN I AM IN THE CAR. IT IS A BIG SAFETY HAZARD!
THE BACK SEAL BELTS STOP WORKING. THEY WILL NOT COME OUT NO MATTER WHAT I TRY. THEY HAVE BEEN DOING THIS SINCE I GOT THE CAT IN 2012. BUT NOW THEY WON'T COME OUT AT ALL. ALSO THE BLOWER FOR THE A/C OR HEAT STOPPED WORKING. I HAD TO SLAM MY HOOD FOR IT TO COME ON BUT NOW IT COMPLETELY STOPPED COMING ON.
I OWN A KIA SPECTRA 2009 AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MONTH THE AIRBAG LIGHT ON THE DASH CAME ON AND STAYS ON. THE AIRBAG LIGHT THAT IS IN THE CENTER CONSOLE FOR THE PASSENGER SEAT (WHICH INDICATES IF ON/OFF) IS NOT WORKING AT ALL. CALLED KIA AND SPOKE WITH A REPRESENTATIVE AND WAS TOLD BECAUSE OF THE MILEAGE THE WARRANTY NOT COVER THIS. TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AND THE COST OF THE SEAT REPLACEMENT IS GOING TO $1637.31. BY THE LOOKS OF THIS IT IS AN ONGOING PROBLEM WITH CERTAIN MODELS FOR KIA. I CAN NOT JUSTIFY THIS AMOUNT FOR THE PASSENGER SEAT REPLACEMENT. WAS ALSO TOLD BY THE REPRESENTATIVE THAT IT WOULD BE FORWARDED TO A MANAGER TO SEE IF ANY ASSISTANCE COULD BE OFFERED FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF THE SEAT. IN THE STATE THAT I LIVE IN THIS VEHICLE WILL NOT PASS STATE INSPECTION. *TR
MY VEHICLE HAS HAD MULTIPLE PROBLEMS OVER A 4 TO 5 MONTH PERIOD TO START AROUND THE START MY PASSENGER SIDE DOOR HANDLE BROKE, NEXT MY SEAT BELT SENSOR SHORTED OUT, AFTER THAT MY AIR BAG LIGHT CAME ON AFTER TAKING IT IN TO THE DEALER I WAS INFORMED I HAD NOT ONLY FAULTY WIRING IN MY VEHICLE BUT THAT MY PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG WAS DEFECTIVE WHEN IT WAS INSTALLED AND TOOK FOUR YEARS TO BE CAUGHT UNFORTUNATELY THIS ALL DIDN'T OCCUR IN MY FIRST YEAR OF OWNERSHIP AND I COULDN'T CLAIM THE LEMON LAW. BECAUSE NOW THE COMPANY EXPECTS ME TO REPLACE ALL OF THE FAULTY EQUIPMENT THEY INSTALLED INTO A VEHICLE THEY TOLD ME WAS "SAFE AND RELIABLE" AND NOW I'M RIDING IN VEHICLE THAT I HAD SOMEONE WHO WORKS FOR KIA TELL WAS "SLAPPED TOGETHER AND I WAS LUCKY MY CAR HADN'T FALLEN APART YET". AFTER LEAVING THE DEALERSHIP THE CD PLAYER IN MY VEHICLE DECIDED THAT IT TO WAS GOING TO SHORT OUT AND NOW THIS IS ANOTHER REPAIR I'M SURE ILL BE EXPECTED TO PAY FOR. *TT
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 KIA SPECTRA. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED THE CONTACT NOTICED THE FRONT DRIVERS SIDE SEAT BELT WOULD LOCK WHEN IT WAS BUCKLED; HOWEVER, THE SEAT BELT WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING WHO STATED THE SEAT BELT BUCKLE HAD TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,000.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 KIA SPECTRA EX/LX/SX. THE CONTACT STATED THAT ANOTHER VEHICLE CRASHED INTO THE PASSENGER FRONT SIDE OF HER VEHICLE. UPON IMPACT THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY AND THE RESTRAINT SYSTEM FAILED TO SECURE HER IN THE SEAT. AS A CONSEQUENCE SHE SUSTAINED SEVERE INJURIES TO THE UPPER AND LOWER PART OF HER BODY. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURES HAS NOT BEEN DETERMINED. SHE HAS A COPY OF INDIANA POLICE REPORT 09022263. SHE FILED COMPLAINT NUMBER K1645446 WITH THE MANUFACTURER. PICTURES OF THE FAILURE ARE AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 9,000. UPDATED 11/04/09. *LJ UPDATED 11/05/09
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 KIA SPECTRA. WHILE DRIVING 50 MPH, THE CONTACT REAR-ENDED THE PRECEDING VEHICLE. THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY AND THE SEAT BELT DID NOT LOCK. THERE WERE NO INJURIES AND A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE HAS STALLED AT LEAST FIVE TIMES SINCE THE TIME IT WAS PURCHASED. THE CONTACT FEELS THAT THE VEHICLE IS UNABLE TO BE DRIVEN AND WANTS A REFUND OR ANOTHER VEHICLE FROM KIA. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 29,000 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 13,000. UPDATED 06/03/09 *BF THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS WORKED INTERMITTENTLY, THE REAR LIGHTS WERE INOPERATIVE. THE CONSUMER STATED THE REAR LIGHTS WERE REPLACED SEVERAL TIMES, BECAUSE THEY WERE SHORTENING OUT,. THE TRANSMISSION STARTED SHIFTING REALLY HARD AND ROUGH. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED. UPDATED 06/04/09.*JB
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.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
Data on this page last refreshed .