This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
For @ 6 months the car jerks when I am driving. When I press the accelerator it will do 2-3 jerks that are strong enough to jerk you forward in your seat. It feels as if the car has forgotten what gear it is in and it is searching to find it. Or you could describe it as though it is not getting fuel where it is needed even when you have had even pressure on the accelerator. This has mainly occurred while doing about 40 mph going up an incline but it has also occurred on level driving areas while doing around 40 mph. Most recently the car has been jerking in top gear. I have taken it to the dealer 3 times. Just yesterday I picked it up from the dealer who had it for a whole 7 days!! they were able to recreate the problem but can't figure out what it is because it doesn't register on the obc. They had me do a $450 maintenance on it to see if it would help and of course it did not. They said they reprogrammed it but that did not help either. Due to this problem, I have either been without a vehicle for days or have had to rent a very costly rental car for a whole week. The dealer claims they took the car to their residence to test drive it, (approx. 80 miles) but when picking the car up yesterday they were rude enough not to replenish my fuel. When I asked them about it they said it was necessary to do the road tests. As a consumer with a car still under warranty they should have replaced the gas and pay for my car rental. But there has been no help with this situation at all. Now I am scared to drive my car and I depend on it for my profession.
Several times, including today the car has jumped forward or backward in reverse when putting it in gear without stepping on the accelerator. It has occasionally moved very slowly after being put into drive as if the transmission was in fourth gear. Then when pushing further on the gas pedal to get it to move it will suddenly jump into first and take off. Visits to the service area were fruitless due to their not being able to duplicate the event. Therewas apparently nothing stored in the computer, yet it kept happening to us. It was severe enough to cause an accident. There was a problem with Kia's drive by wire system, and it should be fixed before someone would be injured.
I bought my 2005 Kia Amanti in Oct 2005. On four occasions when going from reverse to drive.....a hesitation took place and the car would not accelerate until the accelerator is pushed all the way down....then the car would accelerate at top speed. If this ever happened in traffic could cause injury or death. Mentioned this situation to the dealer and nothing can be down unless the "so called" hesitation happened at the time when it was in the shop.
The vehicle has had sporadic problems with 'jack rabbiting', when pressing the accelerator pedal. With a light touch to the gas pedal, the jars literally jumps forward. In each case, it takes about three touches to the gas pedal, to get to 'normal driving. It is a fast acceleration, which causes the tires to 'screech' sometimes and the car to jump forward. The second item that started happening is that the car appeared to be stuck in first and would not shift. The car would not accelerate. This has now caused me to also get run over twice, due to not being able to accelerate. Another problem appeared yesterday. I applied the brake and the car would not immediately stop. The engine revved up, not fast, but it was enough to keep the car moving for a short distance, before it stopped. It scared the hell out of me. I have never experienced something like that with a vehicle.
I never know when my car will start jerking. The car will run fine then out of the blue when I am backing up the car will start jerking. I put it in drive and press all the way on the gas -but there is no power. I press again and the car will start jerking. I have brought it back to the dealer three times, even left it there for 3 days but they are unable to duplicate the problem. This problem has happened more than two dozen times. There is no warning when it will happen. I almost hit a car twice when I was backing up- you are powerless and you can not control the jerking. I pulled out in traffic and the car behind almost hit me because the car would not go. I sure heard his horn blasting at me. There is also a blue flash of light on the dashboard when driving at night. It is a quick flash-then it is gone. I have also brought the car to the dealer about this problem - they can't duplicate it. Something is drastically wrong. I wrote to Kia- but did not receive an answer.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Portland, TN, USA