Owners have filed 752 complaints on the Kia Spectra, covering 2000–2009. The system named most often is Air Bags (286 reports). Worst years by volume: 2007, 2008, 2006; cleanest: 2000, 2001, 2004. 142 reports describe a crash, 19 a fire, 5 a death. On average the car was 4.9 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Kia Spectra
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 752 Spectra complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Air Bags 286 Read
The contact owns a 2009 kia spectra. The contact stated while driving 25 mph he was involved in a head on collision and the air bags did not deploy. There was a strong burning odor coming from the air bags. The vehicle was destroyed. Both the manufacture and the dealer have not been notified. The approximate failure…
My brother was in a automotive accident. He lost control of his vehicle hit a concrete median, his brakes stop working and his air bags didn't deploy. This is all stated in his police report. He was air lifted to the hospital where doctors inform the family he broke both his legs and arms. He had to have an operation…
While traveling about 50mph on the highway hit a curb. And lost control of vehicle and then hit a telephone pole. Upon impact, dual airbags didn't deploy. Ts
Electrical System 60 Read
No indication of any problems with car or battery noticed whatsoever upon entering and starting the vehicle.. The complaint incidence occurred after driving approx 2 blocks and parking and turning off car and upon getting out of car noticed smoke coming from front driver side corner of hood. Since there was a baby in…
The contact owns a 2008 kia spectra. While traveling at 20 mph the contact noticed black smoke coming inside the vehicle from the air ventilation system. She pulled over to the side of the road and shut the engine off. A loud clicking sound could be heard coming from the engine. After examining the front end of the…
The contact owned a 2008 kia spectra. While driving at approximately 40 mph, there was an abnormal noise and suddenly there was smoke inside of the vehicle. The contact veered to the side of the road and the vehicle became engulfed in flames. The fire department was able to extinguish the fire. A fire and a police…
Power Train 52 Read
The contact owns a 2007 kia spectra. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 mph, the vehicle began to decelerate. The vehicle began to shake and the contact noticed a smell similar to burning rubber. The police reported to the scene and assisted in moving the vehicle onto the shoulder of the road. The…
The gear shift slipped out of drive into neutral and pulled to the right striking a parked car. Extensive damage to both cars, no injuries however. In october of 2004 the transmission slipped out of drive as a truck was approaching while making a left turn. The car did move by putting gear shift into neutra as the…
Randomly while driving at highway speeds (55 - 70) the car will downshift violently with a sudden jerk, it will remain in that gear until you pullover, turn off the car and restart it in order to resume normal driving
Service Brakes 46 Read
In mid-sept10 I experienced 2 brake failures on my 2007 kia spectra ex. Each time after driving approx 800 miles to & from northern ca. Brakes failed to engage when exiting off of ca99 to ca4 (angels camp). Was able to steer car to far right shoulder where emergency brake was deployed. Thereby not hitting car in front…
The contact stated while approaching a stop driving 15 mph, the brakes failed to stop the vehicle. The brake pedal was depressed, let off and pressed again, the vehicle then surged forward, and this caused a rear end collision. Seatbelts were in use and no injuries were sustained. There was no police on scene and a…
On the afternoon of the 25th day of may in the year 2006, my wife and myself were driving down I-5 sb to mamc for her hospital appt. We were then involved in a multi-car accident off next to the off ramp of exit 123. We tried to slow down in time before noticing the just wrecked vehicle in front of us and my ABS in my…
Vehicle Speed Control 44 Read
The contact owns a 2008 kia spectra. The contact stated the vehicle failed to stop after the brake pedal was applied and instead the vehicle suddendly accelerated crashing into a building. The air bags failed to deploy and the air bag light illuminated on the instrument panel. A police report was not filed. The driver…
The contact owns a 2007 kia spectra. While driving 15 mph, the contact attempted to stop the vehicle and heard a revving noise coming from the gear shifter. Shortly after, the vehicle accelerated across the street. She attempted to steer the vehicle to avoid driving into a ditch. The rear passenger side wheel struck…
The contact stated while stopped in a parking lot with brake pressure applied, the vehicle was put in reverse, and lurched backwards, crashing into a tree stump without warning. There were no injuries, and the contact was wearing a seat belt. The vehicle sustained minor damage to the rear. The police were alerted, and…
Engine And Engine Cooling 43 Read
The contact owns a 2009 kia spectra. While driving 50 mph, the contact rear-ended the preceding vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy and the seat belt did not lock. There were no injuries and a police report was filed. The vehicle has stalled at least five times since the time it was purchased. The contact feels…
I owned a 2007 kia spectra 5 sx the car had around 36,000 mile on it. We have never had any problems out of the car then on the 10th of jan 09 my husband drove the car to run some errands. He was sitting at a red light when the engine compartment caught fire for no apparent reason and completely destroyed the car.…
2006 kia spectra with stalling problems customer states that she had an accident due to the car stalling**cc the consumer stated on august 7, 2007 the vehicle lost all power and stalled, the consumer contacted the dealer scheduled an appointment for maintenance. A few days prior to the maintenance the consumer stated…
Fuel System 31 Read
On feb 25, 2009 my husband was driving the 2007 kia spectra smelled strong odor of gas pulled car over on side of road opened hood and the motor was on fire called 911. Car was a total loss
I purchased a kia spectra and reported to the dealership southwest kia that my gas pedal was sticking. I re-injured my right hand. I took the car to the dealership for inspection. But the peddle kept sticking. I also purchased a insurance that will pay your car payments when you are unable to work due to a medical…
1. The check light on kia spectra 2008 remained on startup. 2. Took the car to don beyer kia in falls church, va. They ordered a part 31435-1ea00 sensor - fuel and installed it. 3. Now cannot put fuel in gas tank
Steering 27 Read
The contact owned a 2008 kia spectra. While driving approximately 35 mph, the contact applied the brakes while approaching a red light. The engine shut down, and the steering and brakes failed. The vehicle crossed the intersection and crashed into the rear driver side of another vehicle. The brake and steering lights…
On my way to work I took the same route that I always take. I was going about 25mph and all of a sudden all of the lights came on ( check oil, battery, emergency brake, tire pressure, airbag, and check engine) the steering wheel completely locked up causing my car to swerve right into a community mail box. My…
The car caught fire due to the tubing that carries the fluid burst and the oil splattered all over the engine and caused a fire. The vehicle was being driven down a major route road leading to the highway
Spectra 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 | Air Bags | 10 | 1 | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 18 | 3 | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 14 | 7 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 24 | 2 | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 20 | 1 | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 15 | 1 | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 6 | 1 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 20 | 2 | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 11 | 1 | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 4 | — |
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 | 268 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.8 |
| Worst single series | 11 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 4.9 years |
A model average of 2.8 hides a worst series at 11. 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
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- 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 Spectra?
By complaint volume, 2007, 2008, 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 Spectra years are the cleanest?
2000, 2001, 2004 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Kia Spectra have?
752 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2000–2009. Of those, 142 describe a crash and 19 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.