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I have been reading some really bad reports on the Kia Sportage 4x4 from 1998-2002. How much better are the newer ones compared to the older ones, or are they experiencing the same bad problems that I have been reading about?
I have been reading some really bad reports on the Kia Sportage 4x4 from 1998-2002. How much better are the newer ones compared to the older ones, or are they experiencing the same bad problems that I have been reading about?
older ones are ok. but they are totally kia cars built by kia with mazda licenced parts for the major items.
the newer ones are hyundia cars. if had to choose between them and only them i may go with the newer version. but if i had a differant choice i probably would go with an explorer.
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got kia for free. mods are selective tree branch decoration right rear, warn hubs, k@n airfilter, aftermarket mp3 cd player. walmart brand
there is nothing major with the 98+ sportages. i have a 98 and it does me just fine. the real thing to watch is the timing belt. 96-2000 use a mazda fe3 engine detuned to make more tq. its a hell of an engine and i have been fabbing parts to get more from it with huge results.
I agree with flyboy, there is nothing wrong with a 98 to 2002 sporty if they are kept well maintained. Oversized boxed frame, Mazda powerplant durable off-road capabilities.
In my opinion the newer sportages are crap, uni-body construction, no truw 4x4 capabilities and crap when driving on anything other than dry pavement!
thats why i said they are ok. but then you have problems with the vaccuum assist hubs and problems with the way kia constructed the heater core that make me wonder "what was kia thinking?" so aside from that theyshould be reliable cars if you stick to the maintence schedule. if you don't the car will bite you.
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got kia for free. mods are selective tree branch decoration right rear, warn hubs, k@n airfilter, aftermarket mp3 cd player. walmart brand
The current generation of Sportage has only the name in common with first generation (94-02) Sportages. Current Sportages are unibody vehicles with similar capabilities to Honda CRVs. The current model has a five-star safety rating and consumer comments about these vehicles are very positive.
First generation Sportages are body-on-frame construction. They are mini-SUVs with true 4x4 capabilities. Reliability ratings for these vehicles based on repair histories are excellent: For instance, first generation Sportages receive a reliability rating rating in all years (1995-2002) of five out five on the MSN auto site (autos.msn.com). But consumer comments concerning first generation Kias are a different matter. There are many negative comments regarding first generation Kia Sportages. These negative comments usually reflect problems that Kia and its dealer organization did not successfully resolve when these vehicles were new. Kia now has a much strong dealer organization. This situatuion is much improved from when first generatin Kias were originally being sold.
I own a first generation Sportage and I am most happy with it. It is important to maintain a first generation Sportage properly. And there are some problem parts that need to be repalced - as described in many posts in this forum (brakes, hubs, etc). But the first generatin Sportage in a joy as an off-road vehicle.
It is my belieft thet the majority of the issues with the first generation Sportages are due to the owners!
They were an entry level car, with a 5 to 10 year warenty. Most people did either not have the funds or skills to keep them properly maintained or because they knew they were going to trade up in a year or two they drove the 'piss' out off the car, not caring if they damaged somthing as they wouldn't own it when it broke. Some assumed that the long warrenty would take care of them when somthing broke. So they were not maintained like they should have been.
A well maintained sporty can last a long time, there are spotages out there with 200,000 to 300,000 Miles on them with no reported issues, because they were maintained from the start.
Brakes wear quite quickly on first generation Sportages. This apparently is due to the rotors warping. I replaced the rotors on my Sportage with much more durable after-market rotors. My brakes now work very well and wear no faster than on other cars - even though I drive my Sportage quite hard - much of it off-road.
If you have a first generation Sportage, it is necessary to be good about performing scheduled maintenance. In addition, you will want to replace the coils and engine wiring as described on the MSN auto site. That does away with many problems including "check engine light" instances and the car stalling for no apparent reason - as happened with my car. And you will want to replace the hubs with Warn mechanical hubs. Do not make the mistake I made and purchase Warn automechanical hubs if you use the car off-road extensivley. Replacing the hubs is particularly important if you have a later first generation Sportage with factory vacume hubs from Kia.
I found it useful to replace the struts/shocks and some exhaust elements with more durable after-market components. And there are now few continuing problems. I only find it is necessary to adjust and clean the door mechanisms frequently.
There is one problem that I experienced which I should note as many other users have also noted it: The heater core is just glued together. When this fails, one must pull the entire dashboard to replace it. This is not hard to deal with - but it does take a day or two.
I hope this is of use. Best of luck!
Last edited by BobTucker : 01-24-2007 at 11:16 PM.
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Kia Sportage 4X4 EX
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