7.7

pretty bad
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
5,833 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2004 Kia Spectra seat belts / air bags problems

seat belts / air bags problem

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2004 Kia Spectra Owner Comments

problem #6

Aug 012006

Spectra 4-cyl

  • Manual transmission
  • 35,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Warning light for airbag on the speedometer panel stays on. Dealer and Kia tech first replaced passenger seat cover and drivers side seat buckle because they were shorted out. This did not solve the problem. They then said the problem was because of some fluid spilled on computer under cup holders in the center council. (why would anyone put a liquid sensitive product under a cup holder?) they stated that pin 3 on the computer connector was shorted out. I then pointed out that pin 3 was a ground pin. Kia has had massive failures with their early airbag systems and have refused to fix an item that was the bases for choosing their product. Kia has since introduced a new airbag product that seems to work flawlessly. This new product should be offered at no expense to those of us that were provided a inferior and unsafe product.

- Bakersfield, CA, USA

problem #5

Oct 052004

Spectra 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
2004 Kia Spectra. The consumer states the passenger seat has a feature that has a light that comes on if the person in the seat is less than 90 pounds, stating the airbag is off. This light comes on when there is an adult in the seat. The vehicle has been taken to the dealership, the seat was sent to houston, and it was recalibrated. The seat was doing the same thing, and nothing could be done until the dealership talked to a Kia representative. This problem occurred since the purchase of the vehicle.

- Grand Chenier, LA, USA

problem #4

Mar 152005

Spectra 4-cyl

  • miles
My complaint is not a traditional "failure" as you are accustomed to receiving on your website. My complaint is that Kia has redesigned the airbag module in their newly designed Spectra model, and do not appear to have any plans for retro-fitting the new design to same model Spectras manufactured before Jan 2005. The new design was an improvement to allow the Spectra to raise its "poor" offset iihs frontal crash rating to something better. The new tests of the redesigned module upgraded offset frontal crash results to "acceptable". smaller venting holes in the airbag are described as the primary change. It is stated that the test car was indeed a 2004.5 model retrofitted with the new airbag module. My complaint is that if Kia could retrofit an 2004.5 model at to obtain a new test from iihs, they should be willing to offer that module upgrade free-of-charge to purchasers of the 2004.5 and 2005 models built before Jan 2005. See the links below for more of the specific iihs details. === iihs test with old airbag design resulting in a "poor" rating www.hwysafety.org/vehicle%5fratings/ce/html/0417.htm === iihs test with new airbag design resulting in a "acceptable" rating: www.hwysafety.org/vehicle%5fratings/ce/html/0502.htm. ===

- Canton, MI, USA

problem #3

Jul 032004

Spectra

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

2004 Kia Spectra ex experienced air bag warning light problems. Person in passenger seat system not recognizing them. The consumer was informed that there was nothing the mechanic could do to remedy the problem. The air bag light did not consistently turn on when individuals were in the passenger seat.

- Kihei, HI, USA

problem #2

Nov 012004

Spectra

  • miles
Front air bag light doesn't consistently turn on when an individual is in the passenger seat. The consumer was told by the dealer that the air bag system activates at approximately 125 pounds. The consumer and passenger are both underweight to activate the system.

- Kihei, HI, USA

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problem #1

Jun 302004

Spectra 4-cyl

  • Manual transmission
  • miles
While the passenger seat was occupied air bag sensor appeared on the dashboard. Vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic determined that air bag sensor needed to be replaced. However, the mechanic was unable to locate the sensor. Therefore, mechanic replaced the passenger's seat. The problem recurred. Engineer informed consumer that the problem could not be duplicated. Also, stated that if vehicle was involved in a frontal collision the air bags would deploy.

- Glendale, CA, USA

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