First let me say that Strategic Vision considered the Sedona the best Minivan "Value" not the best Minivan. That being said I still love ours and recommend them. Here's the Main article:
We've discussed tires here a lot lately, however one thing that hasn't been discussed is winter tires. I know most people throw all-seasons on their vehicles and leave it at that, however most don't understand how much of a compromise all-season tires are. They are OK in most conditions, but do not excel in any. All season tires just don't compare to proper winter tires in slippery conditions. This is especially important since your tires are the single most important safety feature on your vehicle.
Another misconception is many people think they need a 4x4 so they can go in slippery conditions. What they fail to realize is a 4x4 helps them go, but doesn't help them stop or turn. Winter tires help in all three areas.
All that being said, I went on a search for the perfect winter tire for my Kia Sedona that meets all of the manufacturer's requirements. This was easier said than done. I only found one!
As has been previously discussed here the factory tires are H rated and have a load rating of 98 which comes out to 1,653lbs per tire. I did some math, which scared me. The van itself weighs 4,800lbs. Throw in 1,000lbs of people and gear, which isn't hard to do, and you are at 5,800lbs. Divide that by the four tires and you are putting 1,450lbs down on each tire. There isn't any margin for error. I didn't want to deviate from the manufacturer's specifications for this reason alone. I am confident now that the reason Kia went with H rated tires was because there was so little room between the tires load ratings and reality.
Now, if you have looked at snow tires you may have discovered that they are almost all universally Q rated, which is substantially lower than the factory tires. They also do not tend to offer the full '98' load rating required, nor do they generally last very long. I did find one tire that is not only fantastic on winter roads, but also meets all of the original tire's specifications. They are H rated, have a load rating of 98, and believe it or not are rated for 50,000 miles. They are not cheap however, but since I live in Minnesota where it snows 6 months of the year, and for the safety reasons mentioned above, I feel the expense is well worth it.
They are Nokian WRs, and are made in Finland where they obviously know winter. Nokian is an offshoot of the cell phone company Nokia, and is a manufacturer of very high quality tires. The reason you won't find these on Tirerack or other mainstream American tires stores is they do not offer a 'cheap' line, which usually are the best sellers. Most people generally shop for tires based on price. What a mistake for such an important safety feature.
In any case. I found Nokian WRs in the Sedona 215/70/15 size for $114.95 each.
I will mount these on separate rims for an easy switch each spring and fall. I will report back later how they do, but can already tell you that they are excellent in snow and ice since I've used the same model of tires on my Saab 9000 for a couple of years. These may be the only winter tires for the Sedona that meet all of the original specifications. I couldn't find any others. And for full disclosure, I have no affiliation with Nokian. I just love their products and enjoy the peace of mind that I made the right decision for winter.
One more note: These tires can be used year around. Nokian calls them all-season tires, however they are heads and tails above traditoinal all season tires in snow. I'm only going to use them half the year and run the Hankook RA07s the rest of the time so the Nokians last a long, long time.
I'm in the process of ordering Nokian WR's from a local dealer here in the Twin Cities. I'm getting mounting, balancing, and road hazard for $500/4.
BTW, I talked to Connor at Tire rack. They located steel wheels for the Sedona for winter use. I ordered 4 which were $36 each plus $32 shipping. They should arrive today or tomorrow, as I got shipping data on Fri. (See post 340 on "Ask Connor at Tire Rack" forum if you are interested.
I decided to put on steel wheels for winter, because I had a devil of a time polishing out the salt marks on Sedona wheels from last winter's light use in snow in VA...and know I'm in for more here in Minnesota. Concur with all you said RE the Noikians and ratings.
BTW, I'm getting two sets of WR's...one for my commuter car, and one for the wife's Sedona. I intend to run the WR's year round on the commuter and only in winter on the Sedona. Very pleased with the Hankook RA 007's original equipment. (Now, if I could only keep bozos from rubbing/creasing its fenders and bumpers in parking lots and not stopping to admit it!)
Yes, most winter-only tires are Q-rated, but this refers to a maximum speed rating of (I think) 99 MPH, not to maximum load. I've had Dunlop Graspic DS-1's on my wife's Sedona for 2 winters, with #3 fast approaching. These tires have a load rating of 1653 pounds. From what I've seen, load rating seems to be more a function of tire size, not speed rating. Of course, the speed rating does provide an indication of how well a tire will handle heat.
I'm impressed with the value it offers but hold back test driving one due to lack of side airbag/curtain safety features, esp. for a family-oriented minivan. Any idea if these features will be standard or option in the newer 05 or 06 model?
I found my remote transmitter floating in my pocket unattached to my key chain. The metal bar that holds the leather strap to the transmitter broke free. The dealer looked at it and said it was covered by the warranty! My 2002 Sedona EX is just over three years old and has 40K miles. Took them about 30 minutes to program a new one and I walked out with a transmitter that works better than the old one. How about that!!
It's been a while sicne I've posted, but I just had a great 30K service on our Sedona. We brought two items to the dealer's attention, and they took care of them no problem. First was the rear lift gate...the plastic interior was cracked. No charge to get that completely replaced. Second was the second row passenger side armrest (Captain's chair), one of the kids had more or less snapped it loose, but they fixed that for us under warranty too. Previously, the dealer had replaced the front passenger seat due to a faulty switch. All done with no problem, in fact, the only delay that they notified us of was that they might have to order the liftgate interior, but they had one available.
In a nutshell, we're still happy with our 2003 Sedona!
I'd like to hear if anyone has high mileage on their Sedona(say over 90,000 miles). Our '02 only had about 30,000 and our new '04 only has about 3000. Other than the gas mileage We're really happy with ours and each time we climb in we marvel at how much vehicle we got for the low price.
These babies sure have come a long way in the last year or so...used to be you wouldn't see a Sedona out there, now ours is rarely the only one in a parking lot. I even had a guy I commute with tell me how great his new one was, before I told him we had one for a year.
Getting Nokian WR's put on steel rims tomorrow. Virtually every tire shop I contacted recommended the Nokians for the Sedona as the best snow tire around. Research indicated there might be a couple of others just as good, but all had either noise or water handling complaints. Will wait until snow forecast to actually put the rubber on the ground.
This might be overkill, as my Hankook RA007's original equipment handled very well in the snow, but I didn't like the salt marks on the alloy wheels, so decided to go with a separate wheel/tire for winter. Will also make the OEM tires last longer. Just went over 32k, and they still look pretty good. One tire seems to like air a little more often than others, but I have a compressor, so not a big deal to air it every 2-3 wks.
Connor at the Tire Rack came through with steel wheels. View my previoius post if you want to order yours. Very reasonable price for new wheels.
Local tire shops all charging about $25 to mount/balance and put in valve stems. A bit steep, but then everything in the Twin Cities is. Could have gone to Walmart and bought tires on line, but in the end, I would have saved about $100 total and had no extended warantee. Now I have a local tire shop, and a reasonable warantee on the tire.
I posted in here a couple of months ago when I first got my new Sedona '04 EX. I just wanted to keep everybody updated. Took the vehicle into the dealer for its first oil change last week at just a bit over 3,000 miles. Seemed sensible being that the dealer is only a 10 minute drive from our house and they charge 19.95 including tax for oil and filter. They did a great job and it took about 20 minutes from pulling in the parking lot to pulling out the parking lot and I did not call ahead. Since then we went on a family road trip and racked up some more miles. Sitting with about 4,000 miles now and NOT 1 PROBLEM (knock on wood).
I'm very pleased with my Sedona and other "new families" I know that are growing are now looking at buying them after our so far so good experience.
I have a Sedona EX. At exactly 5K miles the check engine light came on. I will of course call the dealer on Monday and ask them about it, but I was wondering if this could perhaps be a warning light to have the oil changed. 5K miles is when Kia recommends the first change. I had it changed at 3K, but perhaps something wasn't reset. Anyone else had this happen to them?
So far it's a great van. As good as a Sienna or Odyssey that costs $10K more. Since I've got my van I've talked to other Sedona owners. All are happy with their vans.
One thing to add to my post... I did check the gas cap. I know less than 3 clicks can cause the light to go on. If that was the cause, will it reset on its own, or do I need to have the dealer reset it?
well alot of times the check engine light can go off on its own.... if you don't mind losing your radio presets and what not you can always unhook the power cable from the battery and let it sit for about 30 minutes...
or go to auto zone... the check engine light came on in my sister in law's van the other day over a single cylinder misfire LOL
We are really pleased with the van. It feels so solid and safe on the road. When we went to pick it up, there was one problem. We had picked one out that had leather, ABS, sunroof, tow hitch, and rear spoiler. Apparently when they pulled it off the lot, they found damage to the paint. So they gave us a different one that didn't have the tow hitch or spoiler on it. They have ordered these things, and next week they will give me a loaner for a day while they are installed.
We've put about 120 miles on it in 3 days and we just can't believe all we got for the price!!
Congrats on the Sedona Purchase. I was waiting all weekend for your post as I knew you were getting it saturday.
If you guys are interested in detailing I suggest you go out and get a detailing clay bar as well as some good paint sealer such as Liquid Glass.
First wash the Sedona with Dawn dish soap(you want to do this only now in order to strip all dealer applied wax off the Sedona. You wont use this again after the Liquid glass is applied)
Second, use the detailing clay bar to remove all surface contaminants(you wont believe how slick it makes the finish)
Third apply two coats of Liquid glass(wait 24 hours for the first coat to cure before applying the second layer).
Your Sedona will be so slick and reflective you wont believe it!
Sorry about the late post Craig. Half the people in my house have been sick (including me) all weekend. I have never heard of a detailing clay bar! I'll have to check it out. We have used Liquid Glass on our other cars. It is great.
Bluedevil, MSRP $25,735 Price paid $19,988 before *&$%# Connecticut sales tax of 6% and tags. this included $3,500 in rebates and incentives.
Sounds like a great price on a good van. It's too bad so many people are buying DCX, Ford, and GM minivans with mediocre levels of equipment when they could get more equipment; a better warranty; better crash test scores; and arguably better fit/finish, refinement, and quality with Sedona.
There will be a new product that will be out in the market soon. It is will decode the problem when your check engine light is on. It is called AutoXray CodeScout.
how come Sedona weight so heavy with curb weight of 4700lb? It is not as big as other Competitor! Ody is also heavy compare to Sienna, and Quest, still it is 300 lb less than Sedona!
The Sedona is built solid to achieve a 5 star crash rating. The additional weight from steel is what makes it so heavy however the Van still drives awesome and you really dont feel the weight when tooling around. Gas Mileage suffers a bit because of it but really the difference of a couple of MPG isnt significant to me. I can buy alot of gas even at $2/gal when you consider I saved over $5000 buying the Sedona over the Ody.
craigmri pointed out Sedona uses so much steel, which is heavy. I also like to think that, other factors being equal, it costs more money to make a lighter vehicle than a heavier vehicle. Kia chose to save money by not engineering lighter components. Sure, I wish my 2002 Sedona EX weighed a little less, because that would improve its fuel economy. But I detect no drawbacks in the areas of ride and handling.
The lower fuel economy is the only real drawback I see.
We've own our sedona for more than 3 years now and its average fuel consumption is around 17.5 mpg (mixed city & highway driving) which i believe is not that bad considering how much i paid for it.
Ody city EPA mpg 19, Sedona city EPA mpg 16 the difference is 3mpg
Assume that you travel 12000mile per year Each year you consume Sedona 12000/16 = 750.0 gal of gas Ody 12000/19 = 631.5 gal of gas
The gas you save from Ody 750 - 631.5 = 118.5 gal per year
Sedona are about ~$5000 cheaper than Ody
Assume the gas price is around $2.5 for the next couple years, 5000/2.5 = 2000 gal of gas
2000 gal /118.5 gal per yr= 16.87 yrs
If you are traveling about 12000miles per year and if you want to keep the car for 16.87 yr+, Anytime after 16.87 yr, Ody has a better value (gas consume + base price) over Sedona
But you travel 20000 miles per year, about 10 yrs after, the Ody will have better value over Sedona!
Well, your method takes the depreciation out of the equation and if you don't intend to sell for the first decade or, say, 150,000 miles, most cars won't be worth much, so you may as well stick to calculating gas and repairs.
One of these years I'm hoping the data folks will let you enter your own figures into the TCO tool.
We get much better than our van's 15 mpg city EPA rating (it's a 2002, before the figure was revised to 16 on the newer Sedonas - apparently to acknowledge people were doing better than the EPA ratings). Overall, just under 20 mpg and that is a pretty even mix of city and highway. 80/20 city/hwy, we get 17-18. Straight hwy, usually 22-23 @ 75mph.
I don't know if owners of other minivans tend to do better than the EPA ratings, but that seems to be the case with Sedona.
has anyone changed the fuel filter on your Sedona yet? I haven't checked the owners manual lately to see the recommended change interval, but our dealer just said it is not needed yet on our van (44k miles) and they thought it wasn't recommended until 60k. Our dealer did not have the filter in stock and I think he quoted $106 to do this job, which is at least twice what a fuel filter change typically costs at a non-dealer shop.
I just did a search and I did not find any posts mentioning people having spark plugs changed (except one or two cases in which dealer changed them while trying to resolve a problem).
Some questions:
1. Has anybody changed spark plugs on your Sedona? 2. Who did the job - dealer, other shop, yourself? 3. Which plugs did you use? 4. How much did it cost?
Our 2002 EX has 44k miles and it sounds a little more gruff and noisy at idle and during acceleration -- kinda like it needs a 'tune-up.' I'm thinking new spark plugs may be a wise move at this point.
Not trying to discourage you by no means but dont most auto makers now use Platinum type plugs that are supposed to last nearly 100,000 miles? I havent checked our Sedona owners manual yet but I will tomorrow.
At 45,000 mile my check engine light came on and the van seem to have lost some power and didn't start as easy. Took it to the dealer to have the light checked and was told the scope incidated spark plug misfire. My service manual for the 02 model lists three different plugs, two of them 30,00 miles plugs and one 60,000 mile plugs. Mine had Champion Plugs which were 30,000 mile plugs and eroded quite a bit. I told them I wanted 60,000 mile plugs installed so they put in Bosh plugs. The vehicle runs much smoother and had more power off the line right away. The service manager says a few vans come with 60,000 mile plugs but most have 30,000 mile plugs. Changing the rear plugs requires removing the intake manifold which requires new gaskets so I think its best left up to the dealer to change them. The cost was labor $213.00 and parts $81.00. Took about 3 hrs. I also replaced the front brake pads myself at 46,000 miles since it was due for state inspection. They still had some mileage left but changed them because winter it coming and only have a carport. I got them at Advance Auto parts for $28.99. The service manual says the fuel filter should be changed at 45,000 miles and I plan on doing that sometime soon.
Thanks for the replies. If I recall correctly, our 2002 EX owner's manual shows 2 different spark plug part numbers. It says one should be replaced at 25,000 miles and the other at 100,000 miles. Seems ridiculous that some vans have 100k plugs while others have 25k plugs?! Also ridiculous that they don't actually tell you which plugs your van has.
Nearly $300 for changing the spark plugs is absolutely nuts. $81 for parts?! $213 for labor?! Crazy. I guess I need to start shopping around.
I'd love to change my own plugs, but I can't even remove the plastic cover that lies on top of the engine!! I've practically stripped two of the phillips head screws using my electric screwdriver trying to get them off! And of course my nut drivers don't fit properly ...
I pretty well stripped one of the screw heads on our Sedona's plastic cover. Then I realized a better way - use a socket and ratchet instead of a screwdriver/electric screwdriver/drill with screwdriver bit. I don't recall the diameter, but I think it was 10mm or something. Try that-- you should be able to safely remove the screws even though the top is stripped. Now, if you have stripped the threads, that's a bigger problem.
My van was built in Augest 2002 and had the Champion RC10PYP4 spark plugs in it which are suposed to be changed according to the owners manual at 25,000 miles. They lasted till 45,000 miles before misfireing turned on the engine check light. I had 60,000 mile Bosch plugs installed. The fuel filter is suposed to be changed at 45,000 miles so I need to do that soon. Next high dollar item to be changed is the timing belt at 60,000 miles which the dealer quotes at about $300.00 parts and labor.
How come my service advisor said that i don't have to replace my Sedona's spark plugs until 75,000 miles? But according to him, realistically, i should replace it at around 60,000 miles. He even suggested to do it at the same time i replace my timing belt.
With regards to replacing a fuel filter, is it hard to do? Can i buy the filter from a local auto parts dealer? Thanks.
I don't know what year van you have, in my owners manual the longest milage plugs listed are for 60,000 miles. The fuel filter is located in the fuel tank acessed thru a panel in the floor behind the drivers seat. I think its a special filter only found at the dealer. The service manual says to remove the fuel pump, fuel filter assembly from the tank and replace the filter. I'am going to look online at some parts houses to see if anyone besides the dealer has them.
My 2003 EX needs tires. The Kumho's it came with didn't seem too satisfactory. My question is, do I really need H rated tires. Same of the tire sellers say yes, others say no.If I stick with the "H's" I am limited as to my selection. Someone in this discussion group was bragging on the Hancook RA07, but they are available only on special order at Discount Tires and they want over $100 for them. They advertise Hancook Optimo Plus II (h's) at around $70 but I cannot get info on how they differ from the RA07's.
Now, if I step down from the H speed rating my choices are many.
After a little bit of consideration, I concluded that an "H" speed rating was NOT an absolute requirement for the new tires on our Sedona. I have heard some shops will simply refuse to install a tire with lower speed rating than the OEM tire, though. Probably a liability issue.
Higher speed ratings such as H are generally indicative of higher safety margins with regard to temperature and load rating etc., but you can get these good specs in tires with lower speed ratings.
See the Tires, Tires, Tires topic in Town Hall and search for Sedona. I posed this very question over there in September, around post #4218?
We replaced our Hankook RA07, which worked fine and still had some useful tread, around 38k miles. We went with Bridgestone Turanza LS-T, which I believe is a very good tire after doing moderate amounts of research. My other choice was Michelin HydroEdge, also a good tire but slightly more expensive. Neither tire is H speed rated in the P215/70/15 stock Sedona size. Got a great deal on these tires at Costco. $320 for 4, including tax and the typical mount/balance/pro-rated road hazard coverage.
The Turanza had excellent specs, including a load rating and traction/ temperature ratings on par with the Hankook RA07 it replaced. To me, this made the speed rating irrelevant. I feel I put excellent tires, and SAFE tires, on our Sedona.
My parents just replaced the Kumho tires on their 2003 Sedona. They were wearing quickly at 22k miles. Part of that is because my parents never had the tires rotated. They went with Michelin Symmetry, which I would not have recommended due to several bad writeups from minivan owners, particularly Odyssey owners, at Tire Rack. They paid about $400 for the set of 4.
I'm happy with the Hankooks. Won't disagree with Blue Devils, just make sure you know and assess that the safety margin is OK for you/yours. Check the Edmunds Tires board...VERY worthwhile reading while you make the decision. Make sure that the $ you save isn't penny wise and pound foolish. BD is satisfied he isn't being. Me, I drive at a little above freeway speed in the summer, and wife doesn't always check tires before loading van up with dogs, teens, cats and cargo and driving 5 hrs.
If you run your tires 4-5 lbs low and load it up (gee, that never happens with our wives, right?) you will have a significantly lower safety margin.
Around town and short trips, prob wouldn't mind a downgrade, but with Tire Rack prices, you shouldn't have to.
I'm running Nokian WR's for the winter on steel wheels and will switch back to my Hankook's during summer driving. WR's were somewhat expensive ($100 each) but are great in snow, important in the Twin Cities, and although I like the Hankooks in snow, didn't want to mess up the alloys with all the salt.
Best compromise was to have summer/winter wheels and run both sets longer. BTW, I'm running the Nokians on my commuter sedan now, and they are much quieter than the Michelin Energy tires they replaced.
Good post. We don't quite have enough snow around here (SE Mich) to cost-justify a set of snow tires/wheels, but all these great testimonies about Nokian tires has me really wanting some.
I'm no tire expert; at best, an educated consumer. Question for you: other factors being equal, does a tire with an "H" stamped on the side provide you with a wider safety margin than the same tire with an "S" stamped on the side? What exactly is different about a higher speed-rated tire? Are there certain characteristics of higher-speed rated tires that are inherent and not necessarily published or quantified?
I have been thinking that my S or T rated tires, with similar load rating and traction/temperature ratings, were providing the same safety margin while we drove them about town and at highway speeds up to 80mph, usually inflated to Kia's specifications but occasionally a few pounds too low.
Comments
First let me say that Strategic Vision considered the Sedona the best Minivan "Value" not the best Minivan. That being said I still love ours and recommend them. Here's the Main article:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2004-10-03-car-value_x.htm
Craig
'04 Sedona EX
Another misconception is many people think they need a 4x4 so they can go in slippery conditions. What they fail to realize is a 4x4 helps them go, but doesn't help them stop or turn. Winter tires help in all three areas.
All that being said, I went on a search for the perfect winter tire for my Kia Sedona that meets all of the manufacturer's requirements. This was easier said than done. I only found one!
As has been previously discussed here the factory tires are H rated and have a load rating of 98 which comes out to 1,653lbs per tire. I did some math, which scared me. The van itself weighs 4,800lbs. Throw in 1,000lbs of people and gear, which isn't hard to do, and you are at 5,800lbs. Divide that by the four tires and you are putting 1,450lbs down on each tire. There isn't any margin for error. I didn't want to deviate from the manufacturer's specifications for this reason alone. I am confident now that the reason Kia went with H rated tires was because there was so little room between the tires load ratings and reality.
Now, if you have looked at snow tires you may have discovered that they are almost all universally Q rated, which is substantially lower than the factory tires. They also do not tend to offer the full '98' load rating required, nor do they generally last very long. I did find one tire that is not only fantastic on winter roads, but also meets all of the original tire's specifications. They are H rated, have a load rating of 98, and believe it or not are rated for 50,000 miles. They are not cheap however, but since I live in Minnesota where it snows 6 months of the year, and for the safety reasons mentioned above, I feel the expense is well worth it.
They are Nokian WRs, and are made in Finland where they obviously know winter. Nokian is an offshoot of the cell phone company Nokia, and is a manufacturer of very high quality tires. The reason you won't find these on Tirerack or other mainstream American tires stores is they do not offer a 'cheap' line, which usually are the best sellers. Most people generally shop for tires based on price. What a mistake for such an important safety feature.
In any case. I found Nokian WRs in the Sedona 215/70/15 size for $114.95 each.
http://www.nokiantires.com/newsite/tires_popup.cfm?id=6
I will mount these on separate rims for an easy switch each spring and fall. I will report back later how they do, but can already tell you that they are excellent in snow and ice since I've used the same model of tires on my Saab 9000 for a couple of years. These may be the only winter tires for the Sedona that meet all of the original specifications. I couldn't find any others. And for full disclosure, I have no affiliation with Nokian. I just love their products and enjoy the peace of mind that I made the right decision for winter.
One more note: These tires can be used year around. Nokian calls them all-season tires, however they are heads and tails above traditoinal all season tires in snow. I'm only going to use them half the year and run the Hankook RA07s the rest of the time so the Nokians last a long, long time.
- Chad
Snow/Ice winter tires has some info too.
Steve, Host
I'm in the process of ordering Nokian WR's from a local dealer here in the Twin Cities. I'm getting mounting, balancing, and road hazard for $500/4.
BTW, I talked to Connor at Tire rack. They located steel wheels for the Sedona for winter use. I ordered 4 which were $36 each plus $32 shipping. They should arrive today or tomorrow, as I got shipping data on Fri.
(See post 340 on "Ask Connor at Tire Rack" forum if you are interested.
I decided to put on steel wheels for winter, because I had a devil of a time polishing out the salt marks on Sedona wheels from last winter's light use in snow in VA...and know I'm in for more here in Minnesota. Concur with all you said RE the Noikians and ratings.
BTW, I'm getting two sets of WR's...one for my commuter car, and one for the wife's Sedona. I intend to run the WR's year round on the commuter and only in winter on the Sedona. Very pleased with the Hankook RA 007's original equipment. (Now, if I could only keep bozos from rubbing/creasing its fenders and bumpers in parking lots and not stopping to admit it!)
John
In a nutshell, we're still happy with our 2003 Sedona!
Sounds like your dealer is on the job for sure!
I'd like to hear if anyone has high mileage on their Sedona(say over 90,000 miles). Our '02 only had about 30,000 and our new '04 only has about 3000.
Other than the gas mileage We're really happy with ours and each time we climb in we marvel at how much vehicle we got for the low price.
Craig
'04 Sedona EX
This might be overkill, as my Hankook RA007's original equipment handled very well in the snow, but I didn't like the salt marks on the alloy wheels, so decided to go with a separate wheel/tire for winter. Will also make the OEM tires last longer. Just went over 32k, and they still look pretty good. One tire seems to like air a little more often than others, but I have a compressor, so not a big deal to air it every 2-3 wks.
Connor at the Tire Rack came through with steel wheels. View my previoius post if you want to order yours. Very reasonable price for new wheels.
Local tire shops all charging about $25 to mount/balance and put in valve stems. A bit steep, but then everything in the Twin Cities is. Could have gone to Walmart and bought tires on line, but in the end, I would have saved about $100 total and had no extended warantee. Now I have a local tire shop, and a reasonable warantee on the tire.
I'm very pleased with my Sedona and other "new families" I know that are growing are now looking at buying them after our so far so good experience.
Roger
So far it's a great van. As good as a Sienna or Odyssey that costs $10K more. Since I've got my van I've talked to other Sedona owners. All are happy with their vans.
I did check the gas cap. I know less than 3 clicks can cause the light to go on. If that was the cause, will it reset on its own, or do I need to have the dealer reset it?
or go to auto zone... the check engine light came on in my sister in law's van the other day over a single cylinder misfire LOL
We've put about 120 miles on it in 3 days and we just can't believe all we got for the price!!
Congrats on the Sedona Purchase. I was waiting all weekend for your post as I knew you were getting it saturday.
If you guys are interested in detailing I suggest you go out and get a detailing clay bar as well as some good paint sealer such as Liquid Glass.
First wash the Sedona with Dawn dish soap(you want to do this only now in order to strip all dealer applied wax off the Sedona. You wont use this again after the Liquid glass is applied)
Second, use the detailing clay bar to remove all surface contaminants(you wont believe how slick it makes the finish)
Third apply two coats of Liquid glass(wait 24 hours for the first coat to cure before applying the second layer).
Your Sedona will be so slick and reflective you wont believe it!
Craig
'04 Sedona EX
Bluedevil, MSRP $25,735 Price paid $19,988 before *&$%# Connecticut sales tax of 6% and tags. this included $3,500 in rebates and incentives.
Ody is also heavy compare to Sienna, and Quest, still it is 300 lb less than Sedona!
The Sedona is built solid to achieve a 5 star crash rating. The additional weight from steel is what makes it so heavy however the Van still drives awesome and you really dont feel the weight when tooling around. Gas Mileage suffers a bit because of it but really the difference of a couple of MPG isnt significant to me. I can buy alot of gas even at $2/gal when you consider I saved over $5000 buying the Sedona over the Ody.
Craig
'04 Sedona EX
The lower fuel economy is the only real drawback I see.
the difference is 3mpg
Assume that you travel 12000mile per year
Each year you consume
Sedona 12000/16 = 750.0 gal of gas
Ody 12000/19 = 631.5 gal of gas
The gas you save from Ody
750 - 631.5 = 118.5 gal per year
Sedona are about ~$5000 cheaper than Ody
Assume the gas price is around $2.5 for the next couple years,
5000/2.5 = 2000 gal of gas
2000 gal /118.5 gal per yr= 16.87 yrs
If you are traveling about 12000miles per year and if you want to keep the car for 16.87 yr+, Anytime after 16.87 yr, Ody has a better value (gas consume + base price) over Sedona
But you travel 20000 miles per year, about 10 yrs after, the Ody will have better value over Sedona!
Does it make any sense to everyone?
True Cost to Own
If you can drive a car ten years or more, you're so far ahead dollar-wise, it may not matter much what you initially buy.
Steve, Host
One of these years I'm hoping the data folks will let you enter your own figures into the TCO tool.
Steve, Host
I don't know if owners of other minivans tend to do better than the EPA ratings, but that seems to be the case with Sedona.
Some questions:
1. Has anybody changed spark plugs on your Sedona?
2. Who did the job - dealer, other shop, yourself?
3. Which plugs did you use?
4. How much did it cost?
Our 2002 EX has 44k miles and it sounds a little more gruff and noisy at idle and during acceleration -- kinda like it needs a 'tune-up.' I'm thinking new spark plugs may be a wise move at this point.
Not trying to discourage you by no means but dont most auto makers now use Platinum type plugs that are supposed to last nearly 100,000 miles? I havent checked our Sedona owners manual yet but I will tomorrow.
Craig
'04 Sedona EX
Nearly $300 for changing the spark plugs is absolutely nuts. $81 for parts?! $213 for labor?! Crazy. I guess I need to start shopping around.
With regards to replacing a fuel filter, is it hard to do? Can i buy the filter from a local auto parts dealer? Thanks.
BTW, our sedona is almost 53,000 miles already.
$300 for a timing belt replacement sounds reasonable.
Now, if I step down from the H speed rating my choices are many.
I sure would like some advise on which way to go.
John
Tire rack(www.tirerack.com) has the Hankook RA07's for $58 each.
Hankook is in cahoots with Michelin so be assured they are excellent tires.
Craig
'04 Sedona EX
After a little bit of consideration, I concluded that an "H" speed rating was NOT an absolute requirement for the new tires on our Sedona. I have heard some shops will simply refuse to install a tire with lower speed rating than the OEM tire, though. Probably a liability issue.
Higher speed ratings such as H are generally indicative of higher safety margins with regard to temperature and load rating etc., but you can get these good specs in tires with lower speed ratings.
See the Tires, Tires, Tires topic in Town Hall and search for Sedona. I posed this very question over there in September, around post #4218?
We replaced our Hankook RA07, which worked fine and still had some useful tread, around 38k miles. We went with Bridgestone Turanza LS-T, which I believe is a very good tire after doing moderate amounts of research. My other choice was Michelin HydroEdge, also a good tire but slightly more expensive. Neither tire is H speed rated in the P215/70/15 stock Sedona size. Got a great deal on these tires at Costco. $320 for 4, including tax and the typical mount/balance/pro-rated road hazard coverage.
The Turanza had excellent specs, including a load rating and traction/ temperature ratings on par with the Hankook RA07 it replaced. To me, this made the speed rating irrelevant. I feel I put excellent tires, and SAFE tires, on our Sedona.
My parents just replaced the Kumho tires on their 2003 Sedona. They were wearing quickly at 22k miles. Part of that is because my parents never had the tires rotated. They went with Michelin Symmetry, which I would not have recommended due to several bad writeups from minivan owners, particularly Odyssey owners, at Tire Rack. They paid about $400 for the set of 4.
John
If you run your tires 4-5 lbs low and load it up (gee, that never happens with our wives, right?) you will have a significantly lower safety margin.
Around town and short trips, prob wouldn't mind a downgrade, but with Tire Rack prices, you shouldn't have to.
I'm running Nokian WR's for the winter on steel wheels and will switch back to my Hankook's during summer driving. WR's were somewhat expensive ($100 each) but are great in snow, important in the Twin Cities, and although I like the Hankooks in snow, didn't want to mess up the alloys with all the salt.
Best compromise was to have summer/winter wheels and run both sets longer. BTW, I'm running the Nokians on my commuter sedan now, and they are much quieter than the Michelin Energy tires they replaced.
I'm no tire expert; at best, an educated consumer. Question for you: other factors being equal, does a tire with an "H" stamped on the side provide you with a wider safety margin than the same tire with an "S" stamped on the side? What exactly is different about a higher speed-rated tire? Are there certain characteristics of higher-speed rated tires that are inherent and not necessarily published or quantified?
I have been thinking that my S or T rated tires, with similar load rating and traction/temperature ratings, were providing the same safety margin while we drove them about town and at highway speeds up to 80mph, usually inflated to Kia's specifications but occasionally a few pounds too low.