I bought a 2002 Kia Sportage in June 2008 from the Kia dealer in redding. Since that time the automatic door locks have started locking on their own at various times. They lock at random times while I am driving and after I have turned the car off. It has gotten so bad now that I have to keep the keys with me or leave the door open when I get out of the car and am going to get right back in. This happens every time I drive the car now. There have also been a couple of time the locks have stuck and I could not get them unlocked while I was in the car. I had to press the unlock button on the automatic key lock to get the door unlocked. I live in an area where it can get over 120 degrees in the car in the summer and if this happens and I can't get out of the car or if the doors lock when one of my grandchildren is in the car or one of my pets it could be disastrous. I am having it looked at next week at the dealership. My mother also owns a Kia but hers is a 1995 Kia sephia which she bought new. She has had the same type of problems with her door locks and eventually took the door panel off so she could get out of the car as she was locked in. She has made the door so that it will not lock at all because she was afraid she would get stuck in or out of the car. This happened several years ago and there was no dealership near where she lived to take it too. She still has the car. She has also met another lady in redding who owns a Kia sephia (I believe a 1990's model) who has the same problem. She had to climb out of her window to get out of the car at one time. I believe this problem with the lock system needs to be checked as it poses a safety factor if a child gets locked in or even an adult who can't get out the window.

- Redding, CA, USA