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When I purchased Kia Sedona, the dealership told me that I need to keep "SEVERE" maintenance schedule, because I live in Los Angeles area. Is this be true?
"AutoPacific, Inc. is North America's largest, exclusively automotive marketing and product consulting firm."
They have been in business since 1986.
Oh...and it doesn't hurt that their analysts are quoted in such publications as:
The New York Times
The Orlando Sentinel
The Chicago Tribune
USA Today
The Dallas Morning News
The Detroit News
The Plain Dealer
The Christian Science Monitor
The Baltimore Sun
Need I go on? Hardly obscure, I'd say.
As far as Edmunds and Consumer Reports picking the Odyssey #1, that is fine and no doubt deserved. However, AutoPacific bases their information on feedback by actual owners who live with the vehicle day in and day out...not a couple of people who drive a borrowed vehicle for a couple of hours or days, notate a few opinions for publication, and then toss it aside and move on to the next car to review.
That IS why you lurk on these boards, isn't it, to see what other OWNERS are saying about their respective vehicles?
C.G.
Steve
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
If you do a lot of highway driving in moderate temperatures, you would be just fine to follow the "normal service" maintenance schedule.
I've never heard of a manufacturer recommending the severe service schedule simply because of where you live. However, because of the smog problems in L.A., perhaps this is a valid recommendation. There's only one other reason I can think of why your dealer is recommending the severe service schedule: they want you to visit their service department more often and give them more business!
The service manager told me it was the oxygen sensor which may have gotten nicked in the accident, or might have just been bad, since he said they have been replacing a variety of sensors/solenoids/sending units that have caused check engine lights to go on. I think that's been commented about in this forum already.
Anyway, bottom line was $6200! Glad I have State Farm!
On her way from picking our son up from soccer last night, my wife said that the headlights weren't properly adjusted, so I guess I'm taking it back in next week.
While we were waiting I did email Mr. Stapleton and received the rear floor mat (purchased ours Feb. 9, 2002).
The thing that was the coolest about Mr. Stapleton is that I emailed him on a Friday night, he emailed me back on a Monday, apologizing for it taking so long to get back to me! We had the mat on Wed. via fedex. Wow!
I purchased 2002 Sedona EX model in a dealership in Cerritos, Los Angeles/Orange County, California.
They had advertisement $3,000 discount from MSRP for all EX models in stock. I bought one with the exact discount. With ABS, Sunroof, homelink, leather...purchase price was $20,735.
Actually I did not want sunroof nor homelink. However I cannot find one with ABS, Leather but no sunroof. I believe it is not a bad deal.
I also got 3 year 0% financing too.
Some people may be interested.
Perhaps the model year-end discounts are already upon us, for Sedonas anyway. Granted, it seems about 3 months early since '03 models won't be coming out until late summer/early fall.
Store Bought Waxes Part II (No Zaino Posts)
Zaino Car Polishes/Products--Your Experiences (Part 2)
(When you check out the Zaino discussion, you'll better understand my evil grin, LOL).
Steve
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
Hopefully it won't be ancient. Btw steve, i posted on aanother group discussion on oil, can't remember how to get to it, any help would be appreciated.
Synthetic motor oil
and
Engine Oil - A slippery subject Part 2.
There are others that can be found with a Board Search.
(btw, one can of Meguires paste wax has lasted me 3 years now <g>).
Steve
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
The Kia salesperson also said that new Sedonas are not arriving with the 3rd row floor mat.
I took my Sedona EX in for an repair estimate. The Sedona had the right rear bumped gashed and the taillight and quarter panel dinged by a inconsiderate person that backed into our parked vehicle (and took off). The estimator said that the Sedona was not showing up in his system so I have to wait to get pricing. I did find pricing for the parts off of Kia's website: about $400 for the bumper and $90 for the just the light reflector.
Just some FYI to pass along to everyone. Have a nice day!
Dear Mr. Voll:
Thank you for your correspondence. We are sorry to inform you but your vehicle was sold prior to the date we have set to ship the mat to. We will only send a mat to those customers who purchased their Sedona vehicle on or After February 1, 2002. You may contact your local Kia Dealership to purchase one if you like.
Sincerely
Kia Motors America
Maybe my dealer will nice enough to give me one, after all we did pay for them did'nt we????
I received 2 door lock remotes when when I purchased my vehicle.
In all fairness, I signed a sales contract for a vehicle that did not have a third row floor mat. I am also paying 2.9%, while others got 0% the day after I bought mine. Such is the free market economy.
I think a dealer/salesperson might agree to pass it along at cost based upon a discreet discussion on the merits of doing so.
Each buyer got only what Kia had promised at the time of that particular sale. The 3rd row mat thing was a little iffy, and I think that's why people who were denied by Kia's web-based customer service (i.e. Paul Stapleton) are so frustrated/disappointed. But it's been made clear to us when the mat should have been / was part of the deal and when it shouldn't have been.
Often, manufacturers make significant changes to a vehicle in mid-model year. E.g. buyers of "1998" Ford Contours got a much more content-rich package than the unlucky/uninformed folks who bought the "1998.5" Contours.
I know this is frustrating for people, but I really think you should not blame Kia for its handling of things.
I got new 2002 Sedona EX model last weekend. I am quite satisfied so far.... However, I cannot figure out the "RR HTR" button. When I push the button, the "rear heater" shown below rear fan knob.
Due to the lack of description in the owner's manual, and poor dealership sales persons knowledge, I still cannot figure out what would happen with this button.
I'll describe my assumptions below. Please correct me, if I am wrong.
- In the front, the air temperature is controlled with red/blue knob. The A/C switch to control on/off air conditioning for the front.
- For the rear seat, the control know with (rear/0/1/2/3/4) knob in dashboard to control rear fan. Rear air conditioner and temperature is controlled with same knob for the front seats.
- The control knob in the rear seat can control fan speed, when front one is set at "rear". A/C and temprature control by the main knob in dashboard.
- The ""RR HTR" button, per salesperson, is diverting heated or cooled air thru floor duct, in liew of ceiling mounted vent. (But the maual was not very clear..)
Thank you very much for help.
If you want warm air from the rear vents, you must press the RR HTR dash button. The air comes out of a vent in the right rear of the vehicle, above the right rear wheel well. From most owners' experience, it blasts some pretty large quantities of warm air on the 3rd row passengers' feet!
If you want cool air from the rear vents, make sure the RR HTR button is NOT pressed. The cool air comes out of the 4 vents along the outside of the headliner (there is one vent above each of the 2 middle row seats, and above each of the 2 outboard 3rd row seats).
For a while, I thought the rear heater in our van didn't work. I couldn't get any warm air to come out of the upper vents. Through discussions on this forum, I realized that the warm air doesn't come out of the upper vents; it comes out of the single big lower vent, and you must have the RR HTR button pressed in order for this to happen.
Hope this helps clarify things.
You'd really want a T&C over a Sedona? Too many potential problems with a Chrysler minivan, in my opinion.
Not only would I not have been caught dead in my own Kia, but a couple years ago I wouldn't have recommended ANY Kia to ANYBODY.
As for the T&C, your views are fair enough. Personally, power rear liftgate and power sliding doors are of dubious value to me; I can open my own, and the manual versions are less likely to break. I'm sure the T&C is MUCH more luxurious and feature-packed, plus it's much larger. It would be difficult to resist those charms, but in the end I'd rather have something that I expect to be more reliable. And believe it or not, in the past 4-5 months I have developed the opinion that the Sedona is pretty well built and is gonna hold up over the long haul.
Not having driven the T&C or anything with that 3.8L, I'm guessing it would be a wash vs. the 3.5L in the Sedona. I know it has something like 215hp, but isn't the T&C's 3.8L fairly low-tech?
When we bought our sedona, it was dark when we left the dealership and all sales persons were gone, we had the same problem, except the real problem was, we were unfamiliar with the instrument panel lay out.
We had to pull over because we couldn't see the dash, 15 mins. later, finally and with the owners manual, we were on our way with dash lights.
On page 2.3 of the sedona's owners manual, is a diagram with the switch layouts.
On the lower left of steering wheel beside the rear wiper switch is the instrument panel illumination knob roll it up or down to illuminate the dash.
Hope this helps.
Your slipping bluedevil.
How did you get 2 keyfobs, and do both work, i've got to hear this.
I am a keyfob fanatic, our previous vehicle had 2 fobs, and i'm not much into making sure i don't scratch the paint up trying to get the key in the hole, you know that takes it toll on that paint on the door after a couple hundred times of repetitive locking and unlocking.
My wife has the fob and i have the key.
Just a thought.
You can always lay something on the dash sensor to make them come on. I know that kind of tacky, but it works.
I was also disappointed that we didn't have daytime running lamps, i thought we did for a while, unless ours doesn't work, i couldn't find anything about it in the manual.
But sometimes the stuff they right in that manual is bizarre.
But who knows, sound4him got 2 keyfobs, so anything is possible.
You surely can't beleive everthing a salesmam says
I would think kia would not overlook that safety feature.
I will probably turn it around and put it in the rear cargo area.
In addition, the review on Edmunds by Karl Brauer states that there are four power ports, including one in the cargo area. I've only found two in dash and one in the rear seating area. Does anyone know where the elusive fourth power port is located?
Any info would be appreciated!
After you get the second fob, make sure you check both fobs right away to see if BOTH of them work.
So far, having only one key fob is the only thing I find annoying about our Sedona. It's pretty embarrassing to Kia, if you ask me.
excelent3: I do plan to ask my dealer about this, but I just haven't gotten around to it. In 2.5 months of ownership, the only thing I need to take the van back for is a slight left pull. And that hasn't been enough for us to make the 45 minute drive each way. The van just hasn't had anything, even minor, go wrong!
If you bought your Sedona after Jan. 31, 2002, you should have received a factory floor mat for the 3rd row. If not, you can follow up with your dealer or with Kia customer service at ca@kia.com. Paul Stapleton will surely FedEx you a mat pronto, as he has done for several folks on this board (including me).
As far as I've heard on this board, there is not a factory-installed cargo area floor mat.
As a side note, I have gone to the NHTSA website to check for any TSBs or Recalls for 2002 models and there are none on the Sedona. There are several for the DC vans and TSBs for every other minivan.