1996 Kia Sephia: raw data

Every record we hold for this vehicle, as plain tables, with nothing added. The consumer page shows the same records with the maintenance schedule, price ranges and nearby shops around them.

vehicle	1996 / kia / sephia
known issues	7 clusters (reviewed 2026-10-08)
complaints	161 on file (1996-05-24 → 2005-10-07)
recalls	0
investigations	0
fars	not identifiable in FARS
indexed	yes
license	CC BY 4.0 (derived)

Known Issues clusters all years →

Dashboard lifting, peeling and separating from frameSTRUCTURE15 complaints1999-05 → 2005-10sephia-1996-dashboard-lifting

10067482 DASHBOARD IS SEPARATING FROM THE FRAME OF THE INTERIOR OF THE VEHICLE
10005770 DASHBOARD HAS CURLED UP IN FRONT (AGAINST WINDSHIELD). BECAUSE OF THIS THE DEFROSTER WILL NOT DEFROST THE DRIVER SIDE OF THE WINDSHIELD
10053627 THE DASHBOARD IS RISING AND THE DEFROSTER DOESN'T WORK, CAUSING POOR VISIBILITY TO THE DRIVER

Brake pad and rotor replacement, warping and noiseSERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC13 complaints1997-08 → 2001-04sephia-1996-brake-pad-rotor-wear

874702 EVERY 5000 MILES NEEDS BRAKES/ ROTORS, CONSUMER FEELS ROTORS ARE WARPING FAST, AND THIS IS A MANUFACTURER'S DEFECT.*AK
530938 BRAKE CALIPERS, ROTORS AND PADS HAVE BEEN REPLACED FOUR TIMES IN TWO YEARS
836176 BRAKES ARE DEFECTIVE, PADS AND ROTORS, MAKE A LOUD SQUEALING NOISE

Brake pedal to floor and loss of brakingSERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC9 complaints1998-04 → 2004-11sephia-1996-brake-pedal-loss

844238 WHILE CONSUMER WAS DRIVING AT 45 MPH VEHICLE LOST BRAKING POWER
824630 BRAKE PEDAL GOES TO THE FLOOR, SEEMS TO BE AIR IN BRAKES
10099333 ABS BRAKING LIGHT APPEARED ON THE DASHBOARD AND REMAINED ON

Seat belt buckles unlatching or failing to latchSEAT BELTS6 complaints1998-02 → 2002-12sephia-1996-seat-belt-buckle

853234 WHEN THE OCCUPANT MAKES A SLIGHT MOVE IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT BELT BUCKLE COMES LOOSE, LEAVING THE OCCUPANT UNPROTECTED IN CASE OF CRASH
860817 DRIVERS SIDE SEATBELT WILL LATCH, BUT IT COMES LOOSE ON ITS OWN
821112 WHILE DRIVING THE CAR THE SEATBELT BUCKLES CAME LOOSE

Wiring harness failure, engine fire and stallingELECTRICAL SYSTEM7 complaints1997-09 → 2002-11sephia-1996-wiring-harness-fire

552709 WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE CAUGHT FIRE UNDER THE HOOD DUE TO WIRING HARNESSES FAILURE
816283 WHEN DRIVING VEHICLE THE ENGINE JUST STOPS WITHOUT WARNING
861168 WAS DRIVING VEHICLE & NOTICED SMOKE COMING THROUGH THE VENTS

Air bags not deploying in frontal collisionAIR BAGS6 complaints1997-11 → 2003-01sephia-1996-air-bag-no-deployment

546275 NO DEPLOYMENT OF DRIVERS AND PASSENGER AIR BAG DURING FRONTAL COLLISION CAUSING FACE TO HIT STEERING WHEEL
841813 CONSUMER WAS INVOLVED IN 35-40 MPH FRONTAL COLLISION IN WHICH THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY, CAUSING THE OCCUPANT TO SUSTAIN INJURIES
10002254 CONSUMER STATES THE SEAT BELT NEVER LOCKED AND BOTH AIRBAGS NEVER DEPLOYED

Engine stalling and power loss with check engine lightENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING8 complaints1996-05 → 1998-12sephia-1996-engine-stalling

831911 CONSUMER COMPLAINED OF ONGOING PROBLEM WITH VEHICLE STALLING INTERMITTENTLY
814481 ENGINE: CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON AND VEHICLE STALLS RIGHT IN THE STREET WITH NO WARNING AT ALL
826893 WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE WILL LOSE POWER

NHTSA complaints (summary) all years →

count	earliest_date	latest_date	crash_flagged	fire_flagged	top_components
161	1996-05-24	2005-10-07	9	4	SERVICE BRAKES:40; HYDRAULIC:39; ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:21; UNKNOWN OR OTHER:18; ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:17

Recalls all years →

none listed

Investigations all years →

none listed

FARS occupant deaths all years →

not identifiable in FARS (absent, not zero)

Cite this

Derived data is CC BY 4.0. Link back to the page you used. Text and BibTeX below.

Wrench.Pro (2026). 1996 Kia Sephia vehicle data [dataset]. https://www.wrench.pro/data/vehicles/1996/kia/sephia

@misc{wrenchpro_1996_kia_sephia_2026,
  author = {Wrench.Pro},
  title = {Wrench.Pro vehicle data: 1996 Kia Sephia},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {\url{https://www.wrench.pro/data/vehicles/1996/kia/sephia}},
  note = {Derived from NHTSA public records. CC BY 4.0.}
}

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