2002 KIA Sedona

Typical pattern

18.4% of complaints about the 2002 KIA Sedona came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 2002 vehicle — around the middle of the 230 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 2.8 yr in service. The most-reported system is electrical system (57 complaints), typically at 3.3 yr or about 47,857 miles.

Complaints: 310
Median age at failure: 2.8 yr
Median mileage: 46,876 n=177
Crash / fire / tow: 16.1% of reports
Safety recalls: 3

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

System

0y2y4y6y8y10y12y14y

Electrical system

57 reports · 47,857 mi

3.3 yr

21.1%

Seat belts

29 reports · 50,551 mi

2.8 yr

27.6%

Engine cooling

26 reports · 26,000 mi

2.1 yr

3.8%

Service brakes, hydraulic

23 reports · 22,000 mi

2.5 yr

21.7%

Visibility

21 reports · 46,876 mi

1.8 yr

Speed control

19 reports · 37,275 mi

3.3 yr

31.6%

Air bags

18 reports · 84,000 mi

4.8 yr

27.8%

Power train

15 reports · 64,100 mi

2.1 yr

Suspension

15 reports · 15,000 mi

2.8 yr

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

05V013000 2005-01-19

Vehicle speed control:cables

ON CERTAIN MINI VANS, DURING ASSEMBLY, THE THROTTLE CABLE WOULD TWIST ITSELF OUT OF POSITION.

THIS CAN PERMIT THE CABLE TO BE HUNG UP, WHICH COULD RESULT IN A CRASH.

03V135000 2003-04-03

Seats:mid/rear assembly

ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, SOME OF THE SECOND AND THIRD ROW SEAT STRIKERS INSTALLED ON THE VEHICLE FLOOR PAN HAVE BEEN IMPROPERLY HEAT TREATED AND COULD BREAK IN A CRASH.

THIS COULD RESULT IN INJURIES TO OCCUPANTS OF THESE SEATS.

03V017000 2003-01-22

Seat belts:rear/other

CERTAIN MINI VANS FAIL TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 209, "SEAT BELT ASSEMBLIES." THE SECOND AND THIRD SEAT BELT BUCKLE ANCHOR BOLTS DO NOT COMPLY WITH THE STANDARDS.

IN THE EVENT OF A VEHICLE CRASH, THE OCCUPANT MAY NOT BE PROPERLY RESTRAINED.

In owners’ own words

Visibility mileage not reported 0 mo in service

WINDSHIELDS HAVE DISTORTIONS AT EYE LEVEL, CAUSING CONSUMER TO SEE OBJECTS THROUGH WINDSHIELDS WAVY. DEALER REPLACED WINDSHIELD ON 24 SEP 2001, THEN AGAIN ON 29 SEP 2001. BOTH HAD SAME DEFECTS. CONSUMER LOOKED THROUGH OTHER KIA WINDSHIELDS AT DEALERSHIP, ALL HAD THE SAME DISTORTIONS. *AK

Visibility mileage not reported 8 mo in service

WHILE DRIVING ON DRY/STRAIGHT ROAD, AT LESS THAN 30MPH, DRIVER'S REAR WINDOW COMPLETELY SHATTERED WITHOUT WARNING.*AK

Visibility mileage not reported 8 mo in service

WHILE DRIVING ON DRY/STRAIGHT ROAD, AT LESS THAN 30MPH, DRIVER'S REAR WINDOW COMPLETELY SHATTERED WITHOUT WARNING.*AK

Service brakes, hydraulic mileage not reported 4 mo in service

DURING NORMAL OPERATION OF VEHICLE, AT ANY SPEED ABS LIGHT ON INSTRUMENT PANEL WILL INTERMITTENTLY ILLUMINATE. ALSO, WHEN CONSUMER ATTEMPTS TO STOP VEHICLE BY APPLYING PRESSURE TO BRAKE PEDAL IT WILL FALL TO FLOORBOARD, AND BRAKE SYSTEM WILL FAIL TO ACTIVATE. COMPLETE BRAKE FAILURE HAS OCCURRED APPROXIMATELY FOUR TIMES, AND HAS NOT RESULTED IN A CRASH OR INJURY. DEALERSHIP CANNOT REPRODUCE THE PROBLEM TO DIAGNOSE THE VEHICLE. *AK THE ABS LIGHT CAME ON AND THE BRAKES FAILED AGAIN DUE TO BAD SOLENOID AND LOOSE WIRE CONNECTIONS AND BURNED UP WIRES. *YH

Other Sedona model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.