10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
46,383 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.

2005 Kia Spectra steering problems

steering problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2005 Kia Spectra:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2005 Kia Spectra Owner Comments

problem #8

Oct 012019

Spectra

  • 160,000 miles

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

Bad shaking in steering wheel and sounds coming from front end. Only when driving on highway

- Hartford City, IN, USA

problem #7

Jul 312018

Spectra

  • miles
The contact owns a 2005 Kia Spectra. The contact stated that the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver and the brakes seized. The contact had no control over the vehicle's direction and crashed into another vehicle. The front passenger side of the contact's vehicle was damaged. None of the air bags deployed. There were no injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was driven back to the contact's residence and parked. The vehicle was not diagnosed by a dealer or an independent mechanic. The insurance company was made aware of the failure. The manufacturer was notified. The contact stated that the manufacturer issued one steering recall for NHTSA campaign number: 05V183000 (steering) and one tsb for the air bags, but there were no brake or air bag recalls. The failure mileage was not available.

- Scott City, MO, USA

problem #6

Jan 102015

Spectra

  • 49,900 miles
The contact owns a 2005 Kia Spectra. While driving at 20 mph, the steering wheel started to pull to the left. The failure recurred multiple times. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The vehicle was diagnosed, but not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 49,900.

- Middle Village, NY, USA

problem #5

Jun 202009

Spectra

  • 90,200 miles

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

The contact owns a 2005 Kia Spectra. While driving 25 mph, the contact heard a popping sound coming from the front end of the vehicle. While attempting to make a right turn, she lost control of the steering. The manufacturer towed the vehicle to the dealer. She examined the vehicle and noticed that the tie rod snapped. Two weeks prior to the failure, the contact heard a clunking sound every time she made a turn. The current and failure mileages were 90,200.

- Kimberly, WI, USA

problem #4

Nov 092007

Spectra

  • 24,000 miles
The contact owns a 2005 Kia Spectra. While driving 40 mph, the contact felt the vehicle pulling drastically to the right. The dealer stated that the tie rods were faulty and the tires would not wear. She stated that the tires have been rotated every 3,000 miles for the last 46,000 miles on her vehicle. There was a recall on the 2005 Kia Spectra, which was identical to the failure she was experiencing. The manufacturer stated that her VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign id number 05V183000 (steering:linkages:tie rod assembly). The contact also stated that every 20,000 miles the tires need to be replaced; however, the tire life states that this should occur every 60,000 miles. The failure mileage was 24,000 and current mileage was 46,250.

- Blythe, CA, USA

problem #3

Jul 082008

Spectra

  • 45,000 miles
While driving a windy mountain road our 2005 Kia Spectra steering locked up as if the car was in park. A Kia service department in victorville was unable to figure out what was wrong and they returned the car to us. A few months later the same event happened and the key would not come out of the ignition when the car was in park. The car was under factory warranty however, the service center claimed an adjustment was needed which was not under warranty and we paid $240 to have the adjustment made. Yesterday, the steering locked up again a windy mountain road nearly sending us over the edge of a cliff. Per the Kia dealer, vehicles that were manufactured one month after our vehicle's production date had a recall for the same steering problems but that the recall does not apply to our vehicle only those manufactured 30 days after the manufacture date of this particular car.

- Big Bear City, CA, USA

problem #2

Dec 052005

Spectra 4-cyl

  • Manual transmission
  • 314 miles
Vehicle was driven 70 miles before passenger airbag system failed, 1400 miles before I determined the stalling problem was not operator error, and about 90 days before driving at highway speeds and finding a shake in the steering. The vehicle has been taken to the selling dealer 20 times with the airbag problem and steering shake un-repaired. SC0055 on the airbag issue, reprogramming the sensor(s) and replacing the seat bottom has not eliminated the problem or failures. 7 new tires have been installed and balanced, to include road-force balancing 3 times without correcting the shake in the steering. Vehicle has been test driven hundreds of miles at the dealers request.

- Salisbury, MD, USA

problem #1

Jul 272005

Spectra 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 1,651 miles
We bought a Kia Spectra 5 on 06/18/2005, a 2005 model. On 06/19/05 the transmission went out (we were the first owners, less than 100 miles) our Kia dealership replaced the car after two weeks of trying to repair the problem, on 07/27/05, my husband stopped at a stop sign and turned right, the car would not come out of the turn (husband said nothing on the car would work, steering froze and brakes failed) he then ran up on a curve car sustained over $2800 dollars worth of damage to undercarriage, wheels, drive shaft etc. Husband suffered bruises and concussion ( I am an rn he did not see physician) reported to insurance co, insurance appraiser also aware of circumstances and dealer notified, nothing was done. None of the airbags deployed.

- Tupelo, MS, USA

Not what you are looking for?