RoadVitals

1996 Kia Sportage Seat belts Problems

Owner-reported complaints naming the seat belt system, filed with NHTSA

Data refreshed

Seat belts reportsComplaints 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.
8
Latest Dec 5, 2003
Share of all reportsThis category as a share of every owner report on file for this model year. One report can name more than one component, so the categories overlap.
14%
of 57 total
Crash or fire reportedReports in this category whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. The reporter's own answer on the NHTSA form, not a verified finding.
1
Injuries or deaths reportedTotals the submitters entered on their own reports in this category. Not verified by NHTSA and not a casualty statistic.
3

What this page shows

Reports naming seat belts, buckles, retractors and pretensioners. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 1996 Kia Sportage submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 8 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.

Owner reports naming seat belt

Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed

Seat belts
Filed Dec 5, 2003

THE REAR SEAT BELT ON THE PASSENGER'S SIDE WILL NOT RELEASE. *AK

NHTSA ID
10050151
Mileage
79,000 mi
Seat belts
Filed Sep 23, 2003

RECEIVED RECALL 02 V 216 000 CONCERNING FRONT SEAT BELTS, BUT REAR SEAT BELT FAILED IN THIS VEHICLE. DEALERSHIP WAS NOT REPLACING THE REAR SEAT BELT UNDER THE RECALL REMEDY.*AK

NHTSA ID
10040370
Mileage
45,000 mi
Seat belts
Filed Jan 4, 2003

THE DRIVER-SIDE SEAT BELT FASTENER WILL NOT WORK. I HAVE CONTACTED KIA, BUT THEY SAY THAT THIS ITEM IS NOT COVERED BY WARRANTY. I HAVE NOT ABUSED THIS PIECE OF EQUIPMENT AND I HAVE NEVER HAD A SEAT BELT FAIL (IN ANY OTHER CAR-- NOR HEARD OF THIS) BECAUSE IT COMES UNLATCHED. I AM REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT THIS AS IT SEEMS I WILL NEED TO PAY FOR THE NEW SEAT BELT FASTENER. TS

NHTSA ID
10000519
Incident
Dec 29, 2002
Mileage
105,150 mi
Seat belts
Filed Sep 20, 2002
1 injury reported

SHORTLY AFTER PURCHASING THE VEHICLE, CONSUMER NOTICED THAT UPON LEANING FORWARD THE SET BELT LATCH CAME UNDONE. THIS HAPPENED TWICE. CONSUMER WAS INVOLVED IN AN AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENT IN MARCH. ANOTHER AUTO HIT CONSUMER PUSHING THE VEHICLE INTO A TREE. THE SEAT BELT UNLATCHED AND CONSUMER WAS THROWN INTO THE PASSENGER SIDE WINDSHIELD. CONSUMER SUFFERED HEAD, NECK AND SHOULDER INJURIES. *JG

NHTSA ID
567553
Seat belts
Filed Aug 8, 2002
Crash reported1 injury reported

VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A FRONTAL COLLISION. UPON IMPACT, AIRBAGS DEPLOYED, BUT LAP AND SHOULDER BELT DIDN'T HOLD. CONSUMER WAS THROWN INTO WINDOW AND SUSTAINED INJURIES. *AK *YH

NHTSA ID
8015876
Incident
Mar 11, 2002
BrakesSeat belts
Filed Nov 20, 2001
1 injury reported

WHILE DRIVING, SEAT BELT DETACHES. WHEN DRIVING MORE THAN 35-40 MPH CONSUMER HAS TO DEPRESS BRAKES HARDER THAN USUAL. *AK CONSUMER STATES THERE WAS AN ACCIDENT AND THAT THERE WERE PROBLEMS WITH THE BELTS DETACHING 2-3 MONTHS PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT, ONE PERSON WAS INJURED IN THE ACCIDENT, CONSUMER DID NOT LIST THE CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT. *SLC

NHTSA ID
899324
Incident
Nov 15, 2001
Body & structureBrakesDriver assistance+3 more
Filed Jul 15, 1999

HELP!! I HAVE TRIED FOR 6 WEEKS NOW TO CONTACT KIA WITH LITTLE SUCCESS, AFTER A MONTH OF TRYING A FACTORY TECH FINALLY CAME OUT TO LOOK AT MY CAR AND DID CONFIRM SOME OF THE PROBLEMS, INCLUDING THE RANDOM ACCELRATION, HE PROMISED TO CONTACT ME WITHIN 4 DAYS AND IT HAS NOW BEEN 3 WEEKS, I HAVE LEFT MESSAGES AND FAXES WITH THEIR CONSUMER AFFAIRS DEPT AND AS OF YET HAVE RECEIVED NO RESPONSE. THESE ARE SOME OF THE PROBLEMS I HAVE HAD: TRANSMISSION REPLACED 3 TIMES, 4 TRANS HAS PROBLEMS, REAR SHOCKS BROKEN - MANUF. REFUSES TO REPAIR, SEATBELT RANDOMLY DISENGAGED, FRONT RIGHT DOOR CONTINUALLY JAMMED, CATALYTIC CONVERTER CAME LOOSE, ENGINE RANDOMLY REVES AND ACCELERATES, ENGINE WOULD NOT IDLE AT ALL, ENGINE IDLES ROUGHLY, MOTOR FAN BROKE LOOSE AND EMBEDDED IN RADIATOR, POWER MIRRORS SWITCH DEFECTIVE, DOME LIGHT INOPERATIVE, LEFT REAR DOOR VERY STIFF, HUB CAPS FALLING OFF, WIND SHIELD MOTOR DEFECTIVE, ANTILOCK BRAKE SENSOR DEFECTIVE, RIGHT REAR WINDOW DEFECTIVE, ECT....

NHTSA ID
708653
Incident
Apr 22, 1999
Body & structureBrakesHeating & air conditioning+5 more
Filed Nov 13, 1996

LEFT FRONT SEAT BELT ANCHOR BELT COVER CAME OFF.

NHTSA ID
511322
Incident
Aug 20, 1996

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.

Other components reported on this vehicle

Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own

Brakes15Engine10Airbags9Transmission8

Elsewhere on this vehicle

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .