Owners have filed 203 complaints on the Kia Amanti, covering 2004–2009. The system named most often is Vehicle Speed Control (31 reports). Worst years by volume: 2005, 2004, 2006; cleanest: 2009, 2007, 2008. 21 reports describe a crash, 1 a fire, 1 a death. On average the car was 5.8 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Kia Amanti
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 203 Amanti complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Vehicle Speed Control 31 Read
The contact owns a 2006 kia amanti. The contact was driving approximately 10 mph and began to slow down in order to make a turn. When attempting to accelerate there was a low engine power response with hesitation. The accelerator pedal was applied numerous times, and then suddenly an excessive acceleration occurred…
I have an '05 kia amanti. This car has a "sudden acceleration" causing the car to speed forward when applying the brakes. I have been in two rear-end collisions in the last year and have not been in an accident in over 30yrs prior. I have had the car taken to sentry kia to be repaired but, they just say, they cannot…
As I pulled up to park my car behind a parked car, my car surged and crashed into the back of the parked car. I was easing into the space at a very slow speed and actually had my foot on the brake. The motor suddenly revved up, I felt the surge, stood on the brake pedal, but was unable to control the car. Although…
Power Train 29 Read
Smelled plastic like smoke inside vehicle, rolled down window , vehicle accelerated with foot on brake pressing as hard as possible, accelerator pedal went down. Car continued to accelerate until striking a tree and rolling over
When parking and trying to put the car in reverse our 2006 amanti kia lurched forward and accelerated down the street. I was the passenger and had unbuckled my seat belt in preparation of getting out of the car. Seeing that I was not belted in, I leaned over and saw that my husband had his foot on the brakes and not…
When parking and trying to put the car in reverse our 2006 amanti kia lurched forward and accelerated down the street. I was the passenger and had unbuckled my seat belt in preparation of getting out of the car. Seeing that I was not belted in, I leaned over and saw that my husband had his foot on the brakes and not…
Air Bags 28 Read
The contact owns a 2008 kia amanti. The contact stated that while driving 45 mph, the contact crashed into another vehicle. The driver's side air bag deployed however, the passenger's side air bag failed to deploy and the shoulder strap of the seat belt failed to restrain the passenger. As a result, the passenger…
Tl-the contact owns a 2006 kia amanti. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 mph the vehicle began to slide on a patch of ice and then crashed into a guard rail. The driver sustained laceration of both the upper and lower lips, including a bump on the head. A police report was filed of the incident. The…
Was in accident on 03-13-2013 severe left front end airbags did not deploy
Electrical System 18 Read
When pulling into a parking spot and with my foot on the break, the car suddenly accelerated. The car did not react to my breaking. The car kept moving forward over a sidewalk, over the curb on the street, into the back end of a pickup parked on the road I was facing, and started heading across the street toward…
The contact owns a 2008 kia amanti. The contact stated that when the vehicle does not operate everyday the battery will run dead. The sunroof will independently open. The contact also stated that the electronic panel failed to function. The vehicle was taken to two independent mechanic and was diagnosed that a new…
I was driving the car down a 3 lane road. The windows began to open and close, the door locks did the same. Warning lights were flashing on & off on the dash and I had almost no control over the steering wheel. The light ahead was red and when I tried to stop the car, nothing happened. I tried putting the car in…
Fuel System 14 Read
Upon filling the tank of the kia amanti, shortly thereafter, the engine will begin to surge and react erratically without pressing the accelerator. If the brake is not sufficiently engaged the vehicle will lunge forward or backward and cause an accident. If the vehicle is already in motion the accelerator becomes…
Car stalls several times a week now window want roll up
When pulling away from a stop sign or traffic light, car does not respond to depression of gas pedal for 3 or 4 seconds. Then all of a sudden it catches up and tires squeal and the car goes from 5 mph to 30 mph like a dragster. This has happened approx. 18 times from sept. 09 to the present
Suspension 12 Read
Cv axle separated from transmission..updated 11/03/11 *bf the consumer stated she lost control of the vehicle, and it skidded to a stop, crossing into the next lane. There was damage to the front bumper and fender. The dealer found the ball joint and passenger front axle had separated. Updated ivoq 02/29/12
[XXX] This was a persistent problem since the car was new; yet, undiscovered by the dealer after their examination. Continued complaint produced no result. Engineer's analysis: Rear Sway Bar End Linkage is designed to rotate during a (leaning outward) pitched road cornering and the resulting torsional forces on the…
The contact owns a 2006 kia amanti. The contact stated that numerous components have been repeatedly repaired on her vehicle. The front control arm on her tires, which is the suspension on her vehicle, is clicking. The cause of the failure is unknown. The vehicle is unable to be driven and was towed to the dealer for…
Exterior Lighting 11 Read
I've had to replace the low beam halogen bulbs 4x in the last two yeasr. These bulbs are not available in the aftermarket auto parts stores....have to purchase from local dealership. They never have these bulbs in stock, always have to order and usually takes 3-4 days. Just replaced both the left & right on 01/26/15…
The contact owns a 2007 kia amanti. She stated that the check engine light and the check tire sensors were illuminated. She took the vehicle to the dealer to be repaired; however, an hour after the repair was made the tire sensor and the check engine light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to…
The contact owns a 2007 kia amanti. While parked, the contact noticed that the exterior brake lights would not function. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign id number: 09V130000 (exterior lighting: brake lights: switch) but was advised by the manufacturer that the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was…
Engine And Engine Cooling 7 Read
At 65 mph on a busy freeway -without any warning, engine died to idle speed and no power. Try crossing 3 lanes of fast traffic with no power and rapid deceleration ! Fortunately no impacts but some terrible near misses. The check engine light illuminated . The code was p2135 -throttle position switch failed.that…
Car just loses power then has an acceleration of power where it is out of control. This is a 2006 kia amanti and has the problem since we bought it 2 years ago. Kia has not been able to fix it even though we have had it at the dealer's several time. What happens is you try to accelerate and there is no power, then the…
Sudden acceleration. I was slowing for a traffic light I expected to turn red. I had my foot on the floor boards, away from the accelerator, letting the care slow by itself. The light did turn red and I had to apply the brakes. I keep my left foot to the left of the brakes on the floor board. As I applied the brakes…
Amanti years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Electrical System,vehicle Speed Control | 1 | — | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 6 | — | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 4 | — | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 8 | 1 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 55 |
| Average complaints per series | 3.7 |
| Worst single series | 9 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.8 years |
A model average of 3.7 hides a worst series at 9. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
- No ads, on every page
- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Amanti?
By complaint volume, 2005, 2004, 2006 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Amanti years are the cleanest?
2009, 2007, 2008 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Kia Amanti have?
203 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2004–2009. Of those, 21 describe a crash and 1 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.