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So my dad-in-law is trying to fix our Kia Sephia 97 but he doesn't have the manual and it's a foreign car. He doesn't know why it just suddenly stopped running while driving it. It sounds like it is about to start but the engine doesn't run. Anyone know much about Kia's? Any help would be appreciated. Thank you. Posts: 1417 | Registered: Aug 1999
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if it stopped running while he was driving it, that lets out the starter. and if it makes noises as if to start, that lets out the battery, and the alternator.
When was the last time it had a tuneup? And does it have a carburator? If so, it probably could do with replacing.
<pretends to know something about cars when she doesn't even own one> I think I'll go away now. Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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I am a car idiot, however I had a similar thing happen once and found out that car was equipped with a safety device that cut fuel flow if the car was suddenly jarred. It was in the trunk with a toggle switch.
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<scratches head> oh yeah, that's what replaced the carb. Um, are the fuel injector nozzles clogged? That happened to me with one of my cars.
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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But she said the car stopped working while it was running. That lets out the starter. And it makes noises when they try to start it, so that lets out the battery being dead, which lets out the alternator.
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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If it will crank but not start, or start and immediately die, it could be the fuel filter or the fuel pump.
Posts: 262 | Registered: May 2004
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Yeah, I was going to say fuel pump, but it could also be an electrical problem or timing... Really there's a bunch of things it could be.
Posts: 1431 | Registered: Aug 2003
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Quidscribs, that's a really unusual (to my ear) speech pattern you've got going on there. I don't think I've ever heard "that lets out" used to mean "that eliminates". Interesting! Is that a Canadian thing?
Unicornwhisperer, I'm going to be hanging out tomorrow with a friend of mine who is a staggeringly gifted mechanic. I can ask him for ideas. Can you give me a little bit more information though? What happens when you turn the key, exactly? Did it stop while it was in motion, cruising down the street, or did it kind of cough and die while stopped at a light or something, or what?
Have you checked all the fuses, including any that might be located under the hood? How new is the alternator?
If there is a Kia dealership in your area, you can probably order a new manual for your car, BTW.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Um, Noemon, I dunno. I just say it. Like a lot of people I know say it. But are they members of my own family or others I'm related to or Canadians in general, I don't know. Probably my relatives. It's probably a direct translation from plautdeutsch to English. . . Long story. Let's just say that I learned how to speak English using Plautdeutsch grammar and syntax. Sigh.
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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edmunds.com has owner forums for just about every car out there. There are mechanics that hang around and answer questions. Chances are someone else has had the same problem and has brought it up. There might be solutions or good advice. I've found it quite helpful on occasion.
Posts: 5957 | Registered: Oct 2001
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I'm going to go with previous posts and say it's the fuel pump. If the timing were off, you would have gotten a lot of "cachunk"ing right before it broke down, would have stalled a couple times, then just broke down completely (This happened to me, was a Nissan, but engines are engines). So you're lucky there (If the timing is off enough to break down the car, you've busted some valves, and the engine would have to be rebuilt). Electrical problems usually creep up on you, since the fuse will blow if something shorts out (prevents damage to the circuit when excess voltage goes through it), so check your fuses. At any rate, I've heard parts for Kias are harder than heck to get (one mechanic in town had one in their shop for about 3-4 months and still couldn't get a part, even from the dealer), so you're probably going to have to hope and pray you can get a part for the thing. Kias are cheap, but you get what you pay for.
Posts: 3003 | Registered: Oct 2004
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This Kia Sephia was used and is a 97. It did not come with a 10 year warranty. The miles are more than 100,000.
Noemon sorry I didn't get back to you before you saw your friend. I was out of town on the weekend and my parents have dial-up *shivers* To answer your questions. While I was driving the Kia just stopped it did not sputter or anything! I would of thought it was out of gas but it was almost full.
The Fuel being clogged may be it... my father-in-law has another mechanic friend checking it out and it might be fixed in a couple days.
Thanks for the website link robots!
Thank you for all your help and I'll keep you all posted. ps I think our Kia is too young to have a carborator.
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So it took me forever to update all of you.. sorry. You probably forgot all about this too! Well we finally got it fixed around December and by one of my father-in-laws friends. He basically found that one of the wires for the computer was loose. I believe that is a very rare thing to happen. I'm going to think twice before buying a Kia again....
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Their quality has gone WAY up over the past couple of years. Kia and Hyundai, but especially Hyundai, have made it to the top of the automotive quality metrics. They beat Mercedes this last year. If I recall, they also beat Toyota.
Now, of course, that's initial quality (JD Powers), but as a Hyundai owner, I can attest to them making at least one car that's lasted 30,000 miles with zero defects.
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*shudder* Hyundai's water pump seals they put in their vehicles are crap. If they get equivalent parts to the quality they buy from our company, I'd never own one. Honda makes their own seals but the big 3 in the US have far better quality control standards than the Korean manufacturers, for seals at least.
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<grin> Well after the day I've had I could rant on how UL is scamming manufacturing industries, considering how little consumers actually care about the UL mark, but that is a different story.
But lets just say that Hyundai gets what they get because they don't want to pay for better quality.
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Actually, our Kia (unicornwhisperer and I) had a bad computer part, not loose wires. It was a $1300 part, before labor. Fortunately, my dad had connections. Not only did he find a used one for about $30, but he had someone come in and find out that this was the cause of the problem, for free, even though it took him all day.
By the way, when you say "shorn bolt", are you talking about a lug-nut bolt? If so, they found one on our Kia, too, and had to replace it.
Posts: 684 | Registered: Aug 2001
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