Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!

Kia Sportage 2005 and newer

189111314

Comments

  • artgpoartgpo Member Posts: 483
    Since the new Sportage has been in the US for less than a year you are asking a question with no answer. Using history one would buy the Toyota. My wife's '05 Sportage is coming up on 10,000 miles after 8 months and it has been excellent. She loves this car. It has, however, been the subject to three recalls including two for reprogramming the ESC. Would we buy another Kia? Absolutely. Is is as good as the Toyota? ?? So far it has been every bit as good.
  • psapsa Member Posts: 5
    Which trim level do you have? 4 cyl. or V6; MT or AT; 2WD or 4WD. What are your average MPG. Thanks for your help.
  • artgpoartgpo Member Posts: 483
    My wife has the V-6 EX 4WD. She keeps a running tab of mileage. Right now it stands at 20.8 in mixed city/freeway driving. My wife is a very conservative driver. :D The 4WD is really not needed here in Dallas but it was the right color and price at the time.
  • psapsa Member Posts: 5
    When driving have you noticed the transmission searching for the right gear? I would imagine if it does it would do it under load. My wife and I are going to test drive after Christmas. I am excited about really checking this car out very carefully. As with yours this will be my wife's car. She is not an aggressive driver. But, of course I want a safe and dependable car that we can use weekend road trips.
  • hfxnshfxns Member Posts: 74
    I checked this out yesterday. My RPM was at 2900 or 3000 while travelling at a steady rate of 75 MPH on flat highway.

    At 80 MPH the RPM ranged between 3000 and 3200.

    HFX NS
  • hfxnshfxns Member Posts: 74
    Consider also that, Kia is now owned by Hyundai, and that Hyundai has among the highest reliability ratings in the industry. The Elantra which the Sportage and Tucson are based on is ranked as the most reliable vehicle in the world in a recent test.

    HFX NS
  • hfxnshfxns Member Posts: 74
    I have noticed this a couple of times, but I am not sure that its a matter of finding the right gear or lack of low end torque. I counteract this by using the steptronic shifter, which allows you to control shift points, access more torque (higher RPMS) and allows you to slow the car down using engine braking.

    HFX NS
  • hfxnshfxns Member Posts: 74
    Your first few oil and filter changes are free which is nice, and the schedule doesn't look particularly expensive. It peaks out at $150 or so, at the 30 or 60K mark.

    HFX NS
  • hfxnshfxns Member Posts: 74
    Steptronic shifters are pretty useless on powerful expensive cars with high quality transmissions, but they are useful on relatively underpowered cars like the Tucson or the Sportage.

    HFX NS
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    You will be lucky to find a 60k service for only $150. Maybe if you don't go to the dealer you could get it for that, but 60k is a very extensive servicing.
  • hfxnshfxns Member Posts: 74
    Check out Kia Canada's accessories website.

    http://www.kia.ca/accessories.asp?lang=en&plate=sportage#
  • artgpoartgpo Member Posts: 483
    I have not noticed the searching you describe. I can say, however, the transmission is very smooth. The car seems peppy until I drive it after driving my '06 Odyssey. Not an issue for us.
  • hfxnshfxns Member Posts: 74
    Is yours a I4 or a V6?
  • hfxnshfxns Member Posts: 74
    It wasn't me who started the thread about the V6 searching for the right gear, I was responding to someone else. I am not sure what he was talking about, but I think he is referring to the lack of low end grunt. Do you use the steptronic at all? If so, how do you use it?
  • mikem10mikem10 Member Posts: 4
    If you haven't already taken it in for service, I did. It was a loose vacuum hose. Not only fixed the problem, the overall acceleration is much better - I always thought it lacked zip, but this made a difference. If you haven't taken it in, do so. It makes quite a difference.
  • artgpoartgpo Member Posts: 483
    My wife's Sportage is an EX 4WD V-6. I used the manual shift mode twice just to see how it works. I have not been in a manual shift situation. My wife will never use it that way.
  • roanvnroanvn Member Posts: 1
    We bought our 2005 Kia Sportage Diesel in August this year and absolutely love it. My wife drives it in and around town most of the time and i do, when going away over a week-end. It is very economical at 10km/l in town and 12.5km/l on the open road.

    We have the same problem with wind noise and found it to be coming from the left-side mirror.
  • jacquesjacques Member Posts: 34
    winter is here now in Montreal.. Canada

    No problems yet with my Sportage which works excellent in snow, won't slip and slide, traction excellent with 4 winter tires. ( my previous post about heater seats not working was due to blown fuse in the 12v plug of both heater seat pads - kia exonorated!!) :-)

    One problem.... All I get is 100 Km ( 60 miles) on the first half of the tank... about 12 miles to the imp. gallon(160 oz.) or 9.6 miles per US gallon (128 oz.)
    in liters... about 25 liters per 100 L ;-(

    I don't like this one bit !! If things don't improve ..if dealer gives me the usual and silly .."it's normal" no more kia's for me !! ..and I trade my 2004 Sorento for this ???

    my brother has a GM 2500 HD pick-up and does better milage than me.
  • 72dolfan72dolfan Member Posts: 2
    Hi all,

    I bought my 2005 Kia Sportage (EX 4WD) in August. I have around 4500 miles on it so far and love it. I have a question regarding rebates. The dealer I bought it from recently sent me a letter in the mail asking me to sign it stating there was no rebate on the vehicle (I'm assuming their talking about when I bought it). Since they don't seem to be very open about it when I ask them, do any of you know if there were any rebates on this vehicle that I wasn't aware of when I bought it, and maybe they're just trying to cover themselves by getting me to sign this form? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!
  • bethnlabethnla Member Posts: 4
    My Sportage did the same. I put the key in and it wouldn't turn. After several attempts,I called Kia Assistance but they were no help. My sister told me to turn the steering wheel, which I had, but I did it again, this time harder. the key finally turned. Has this happened to anyone else?
  • bethnlabethnla Member Posts: 4
    Thanks for the info.I will check it out ASAP.
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    This has happened to me before on other cars, so it is not specific to the Sportage.
  • new2kianew2kia Member Posts: 1
    I'm not sure if this is the same as the "transmission searching for the right gear" thread above. It just started two days ago. The transmission makes a whining sound in the low gears. Doesn't increase the RPMs, just makes a whining sound. It doesn't start right away, but after the car is on the road for about 20 minutes. I have a V6 LX 4WD, bought it August and just hit 10,000 miles. No problems at all up to this one. I was notified of the ESP recall and had that fixed before Christmas.
  • hfxnshfxns Member Posts: 74
    That doesn't sound right, mine doesn't get great mileage but its better than that. I get about 300-325 KMS to a tank in primarily city driving. It is much better on the highway - getting 400-475KMS.

    Cheers,

    Dan
  • hfxnshfxns Member Posts: 74
    I have personally never experienced this, I find the engine very quiet at low RPM - you can barely hear it. It does however make a fair amount of noise at 4000-5000 RPM. I have the same car - LX V6 4WD.

    HFX NS
  • hfxnshfxns Member Posts: 74
    This has also happened to me in other cars, usually moving the steering wheel side to side works.
  • jacquesjacques Member Posts: 34
    Took in my Sportage this morning for the idiotic 9.6m/us gallons (25 l/100KM) I was getting in winter city driving in Montreal Canada.

    Aside from a near confrontation with a first tech. who made me feel I was disturbing him because my Sportage "only had 3600kms" ...another technician walked over and showed the first technician they had just received a service bulletin from KIA Canada on the need to reprogram the compuetr controlling the motor and the transmission to reduce gas guzzling.

    I peeked over ... it looked like service bulletin #017

    They reprogrammed the CPU to specifications. I filled up the tank hadin back home and will report later on any effect this bulletin & reprogramming has achieved.
  • jacquesjacques Member Posts: 34
    AT 3/4 full I am at 35 km on the trip odo. If trend keeps up I will hit 70kms on approx. 25 l of gas or 6.75 miles on a US gallon. (8.4 miles per CDN gallon)

    The service bulletin adjustments last Monday did nothing or worsen the situation it seems . If this keeps up Greenpeace will be hounding me for destroying a natural resource !

    I am not happy at all with this :mad: :mad: :mad:

    When I hit 100KM I will refuel to the rim like I started with and report back.
  • hfxnshfxns Member Posts: 74
    Jacques, Thanks for the tip, the gas guzzling is definitely an issue - even though it sounds like yours is doing worse than mine. Clearly, nobody is getting the EPA mileage estimate. I am going to book an appointment with my dealership tomorrow to have the same thing done.

    I appreciate your help. I will track my mileage once I have it done also, and then we can compare.

    Cheers,

    HFX NS
  • hfxnshfxns Member Posts: 74
    Jacques, I wouldn't made calculations on a partial tank. What are you getting for a full tank in city driving - that is the key issue? Are you getting better mileage from highway driving.

    Cheers,

    Dan
  • jacquesjacques Member Posts: 34
    Agreed but "stupid say's stupid is" ... my dealer argues that the only way to measure consumption is to fill to the rim run a 100KMs and refil to rim "

    Me I like to run the tank dry and refill then do the math. (Liters / (kms /100)) to get a better average ove a tankfull

    I think my dealer can't do divisions so it is easier for him to run 100kms and fill-up & read the pump ! :)
  • hfxnshfxns Member Posts: 74
    Sorry maybe I confused things. I have the same car, LX V6 4WD, and I haven't heard the whine you are talking about. Is it the engine making the noise. I have 8,000 KMS on mine.
  • hfxnshfxns Member Posts: 74
    Test both ways, compare the results.
  • hfxnshfxns Member Posts: 74
    Jacques,

    I was talking to my dealership service department, and he said that he was planning to do the service bulletin reprogramming of the engine at my 8K service. So he knew exactly what I was talking about when I mentioned the service bulletin. I hope it improves the mileage, but it doesn't sound like its improved your situation much.

    Thanks, Dan HFX, NS
  • jacquesjacques Member Posts: 34
    Got better milage lately about 150km on 25 l ( 50% improvement !!) or so but I think temperature helped. Montreal temp. is crazy -20c to +6c in 24 hours :confuse:

    I also ran some highway miles which surely improved the stats. :D

    I will have to refill to the rim and stick to urban miles before I can realy assess the true effects of bulletin 017 !!
  • hfxnshfxns Member Posts: 74
    By the way I did get my engine re-programmed as you suggested. So far I haven't seen a big difference - but I will report back if it has changed. The one thing I have noticed is that my highway mileage is really quite good, have you done a test on the highway?
  • dreamcruiserdreamcruiser Member Posts: 2
    My wife and I are moving to the U.S. Virgin Islands, and we are giving serious thought to buying a slightly used 2005 or new 2006 Kia Sportage. We have not decided whether we will buy the car stateside and have it shipped, or instead whether we will buy the car from the Kia dealer on the islands.

    St. Thomas is very hilly and some of the grades are fairly steep. I read a favorable (internet) magazine review of the 2005 Sportage which had this to say about the 4-cylinder automatic transmission model:

    "Driving up the hilly streets in downtown San Francisco we found the four-cylinder Sportage LX was fine as long as you pushed the gas pedal all the way to the floor and didn't mind listening to a high-revved four banger. The Sportmatic automatic transmission lets the driver shift manually when desired, allowing him or her to keep the engine revving in one gear. From a performance point of view the four-cylinder engine is fine if you drive solo and spend most of your time around town."

    I am wondering if anybody on this forum has experience with either the 4-cylinder manual or automatic Sportage in hilly terrain, and whether the performance of the car is adequate. 80% of the driving will be solo; 20% will be with two adults who collectively weigh about 360 lbs (220 + 140). We would not need the four-wheel drive, and I believe the four-wheel is about 200 pounds heavier than the front-wheel drive.

    My inclination is to buy the manual transmission, because: a) the manual has five speeds versus the automatic's four; b) a manual lets you stay in one gear longer, and thus would give the 4-cylinder a bit more power than the automatic in certain situations; c) the manual helps brake the car while driving down inclines; and d) the gas mileage with the manual may be a couple of miles to the gallon better. (I don't know much about the clutchless manual option on the Sportronic, but even if it has most of the advantages of a manual, it still only has four gears.)

    If the manual was available in the 6, we would probably purchase it, but it is not. Any thoughts on the advantages/disadvantages of the manual 4 versus the automatic 6 for hilly terrain would be much appreciated.
  • hfxnshfxns Member Posts: 74
    Its up to you, but I would consider the V6, because I have heard some complaints about the lack of HP and torque in the I4. I like the V6, I do use the sportmatic quite a bit for engine braking and quick upshifting. You definitely don't need the 4WD. Probably worthwhile to try them both out. My issue is that I have my wife and I and two kids, and all of our junk (strollers, etc.), so the I4 wasn't an issue.

    The good thing about the I4 is that it has better gas mileage, and its nice to have a stick. Plus you are not going to be doing much highway driving - which is where the V6 really shows its advantage over the I4.

    Good luck.

    HFX NS
  • mercado4mercado4 Member Posts: 1
    My control for the fan blower for heat & ac. only works on speed 4,,1-2 and 3 don't work,,,.I already change the switch to one tha I got from the yunk yard and still does the same thing..I need some advice,, Thank you.
  • dreamcruiserdreamcruiser Member Posts: 2
    Thanks for the advice. Maybe I wouldn't miss the stick in the six cylinder because the Sportmatic will serve most of the purposes of a stick. I've just never driven a car that had an automatic with the clutchless shift option. (Mitsubishi has one that I think they call the Sportronic, and I believe Porsche introduced one many years ago called the Triptonic.) I did find a professional review of the Kia Sportage that was very favorable, but that did not care much for the manual transmission in the 4 cylinder Sportage. The reviewer preferred stick shifts to automatics generally, but said that the Kia stick did not really make the drive more enjoyable, as sticks in other cars do.
  • hfxnshfxns Member Posts: 74
    I have been to the BVI's, beautiful area - fantastic sailing. I am keen to get down there again to charter sailboat again. Are you sailors?
  • fbk4fbk4 Member Posts: 3
    Use the door handle built into the armrest on the inside of the door.
  • fbk4fbk4 Member Posts: 3
    I am getting a slight rattle from the right front which the dealer acknowledges but cannot remedy. He said he spoke to the factory and they claim it is a known problem which they are working on. Related or not, I also get a "onetime" clunk from the same wheel after backing out of the driveway and attaining a forward speed of about 10 mph... this happens whether the car is in drive or neutral. Otherwise the car has been fine. Has anyone else experienced this problem. :confuse:
  • jacquesjacques Member Posts: 34
    Well things got better highway milage wise. I ran 160 miles on 8 imp. gall or 20 miles/gal

    much better than 12 !!

    So much for highway miles.

    My most recent fill-up has been more city driving & pointing to better than 12 miles/imp. gal but nothing to brag about.

    Winter is weird this year and comparing appels to appels is proving a challenge in itself.

    I would say things have improved slightly city milagewise...just slightly

    I think this baby need warm air to feel better and suck less gas!

    I will try another run and report back latter.

    Suffice to say I still am not please with gas milage on my kia Sportage because it is no better than my previous 4000 pound Sorento! :mad: and it should be :mad:

    32 more payments and... bye bye Sportage for me if things don't improve.
  • gascgasc Member Posts: 2
    I live in the Ottawa area, have a 2006 Sportage V6 and get between 420 to 440 Km per tank (mix of city and highway roughly 60/40 split). You should be getting a little better mileage than you are if it is all highway driving.
  • bethnlabethnla Member Posts: 4
    I've had to jerk the wheel hard twice now because of this problem. I make sure the wheels are straight when I put the car in park, and try not to pull on the wheel when I get in or out of the car. I am noticing an area on the steering wheel around the key insert is coming loose. I am planning on talking to the service dept. about this problem this week. Does any of this sound familiar to anyone else? :confuse:
  • hfxnshfxns Member Posts: 74
    Jacques, Ditto - I just got 320KMs on my last tank - 100% city driving. So it looks like the reprogramming worked to a certain extent.
  • hfxnshfxns Member Posts: 74
    Gasc,

    I have noticed better mileage since my recalls were performed and since they reprogrammed my engine. I got 320KMs on city driving. I think I could get close to 500 if I drove purely on the highway.

    I used to live in Ottawa, and its pretty flat compared to Halifax which might make a bit of a difference. Although the colder weather would reduce fuel efficiency in Ottawa. I am driving to Ottawa in May actually. I will check out my fuel efficiency on that trip. I am trying not to lead foot it these days.

    Dan HFX NS
  • hfxnshfxns Member Posts: 74
    No, but it used to happen on my old 1984 Mustang.
  • hfxnshfxns Member Posts: 74
    I have started to hear a whine in my car. I am not sure if it is the AC/Heating system or the engine. My guess is that its the AC/Heating system. I am going to look into it during my next appointment. Try turning off your heat or blower - and see if they whine subsides.

    Dan HFX NS
Sign In or Register to comment.