[Conda1234]

2007 KIA Spectra Speedometer issue

I recently Bought a Salvage 2007 KIA spectra That was hit in Left rear Quarter Panel and it was hit in the right front, Any way Bought the car and Had it fix'd this was a 1 Month ago. I have been driving the car for 1 month now and i notice the speedometer is of bye 4 miles at high speed ! I First discovered this when I was using my GPS on a trip any the Gps has a speed clock that Measure the speed of the car traveling down the High way I had the Speedometer set at 70 Miles and the Gps said I was going 65 ? . Is this a common Error with the Spectra if not what is My Problem ? Thanks

 

[DavesSpectra]

Welcome condra1234 to kia-forums...
Your my kind of guy..

I also have a "rebuilt salvage" Spectra....It's an 06 SX. Bought in January 2010 with 24k miles on it for $2100. Put a right front door, right front fender, rack and pinion, windshield, and had the frame pulled slightly... It now has just 40k on it.0

We also have an 07 Spectra that my wife drives. Her's we bought used before mine and her's has just turned 60k.. Only things we have done to it was rear pads, timing belt, AC belt, and Plugs (at 58K), and just this week a new battery (ps it's a 90T5 for your info and got it at Advance Auto).. Put NGK plugs in yours when the time comes. Put tires on it (wear item) and that's all..

Both of our cars do not have any problem with the speedometers being off. We're within 1mhp of the GPS.. Your tire size may be off throwing your actual speed off..

These are very good cars and can get 300k miles "if" you maintain them propery..
Timing belts EVERY 60k miles, Drain and refill the automatic trannys every 30k and use ONLY Hyundai/KIA type III fluid, Drain and replace the coolant every 2~3 years, and normal oil changes every 3~5k miles. Use ONLY KIA filters.. There is some real junk out there ([email protected] for one)... You can get them reasonably cheap from cobra259 right here on this forum. He's a KIA parts manager in Michigan..pm him if you want parts.

Be sure to check/replace the timing belt (and the AC belt while you are at it) as this engine IS an "interference" type engine and "if" the belt breaks you will have big bucks in repairing/replacing the engine...

I hope you get many miles out of your Spectra..
Dave

 

[Conda1234]

Thanks David for Info Um the tire size on my Kia are 195/60 R 15 87 H I do a lot of Highway driving are these tire the right size any thanks for the Info say My Ex did come with a cruise control package is it easy to install one ?

 

[DavesSpectra]

Correct tire size for 15" tires...Are your tires new? They would be larger in diameter and there would be some error from that. The OEM cruse requires a different wiring harness from the non-cruse models so unless you want to do a lot of parts swapping I'd say buy an aftermarket cruse kit.
Dave

 

[Conda1234]

My Tires have about 95 percent life on the front and 90 percent. I also want to point out on the earlier post , on my first week of driving my KIA I past a police speed Scanner and it said I was doing 65 , I had the clock on the car read 70 miles. any ways thanks again for the Advice

 

[tt2jzgtes]

needle might be off. when i replace my LED on my cluster i had to keep on taking it off and put it back on about 3 times before i was in the 2mph off range. so when im doing 68 the speedo says 70. but i can live with that.

 

[DavesSpectra]

tt2jzgtes..You coud be right...but you could end up going 4mph BACKWARDS at a full stop ... and with a TURBO who knows? Had to poke fun at you after reading your turbo post.
One thing that bothers me is the Spectra ECM trying to compensate for the boosted air fuel mix and/or the Tiburon ECM not matching the Specs electronics (Speeo). I don't think anyone has tried to "crack" the encoded ECM 0software for KIA/Hyundai so you can't modify the lookup tables.. I'd bet you could get the stock engine to "breath" better optimizing the timing and air/fuel for performance and not for pollution "if the code was readable.
Dave

 

[Conda1234]

Dear Davespectra I if I were able to reset the speed sensor on my 07 KIA how can I do it also is there any way to reset the speedometer ? Thanks conda1234

 

[DavesSpectra]

The ECM/TCM module handles the pulses from the speed sensor and calculates the car's moving speed.. The programing in this module is encripted and the only one able to access this program, the data, and the lookup tables (so far) is KIA.. Being off by 4mph "could" be corrected by going to a different size tire.

Your 195/60/15 could be bumped up to 195/70/15
at 70mph their calculation says the speedo would read 74.44mph
(an increase in shown speed of 4.5mph)
Add that (4.5mph) to your "slower" reading of 65mph when you are doing 70
and the speedo should read 70.5 when actually going 70.
Not too far off from actual... Without any extra mods...
See this calculator to see what tire size can do..
Tire Dimensions Made Simple - Discount Tire
Dave

 

[Conda1234]

DavesSpectra My tire are the actual size for my car I checked with Discount and the Internet. New development The other day I took my family to town in My car I borrow'd my Brother in law GPS which is the latest Model I used both his and mine to check The speed of my car both Gps read my actual speed and the reading were the same the problem is my car it told us that the Car was Traveling at 60 MPH Both GPS said no I was traveling at 55 MPH My brother in law said the car is off 5 Mph. Both GPS are up to date on the currant Soft ware thats out there.


Next question

My ex Kia didn't not come with cruise but I was told bye a local Mechanic That the car come equipped with the cruise and all I need to do was go to a junk yard and get control switch and plug it in to my car Is this Accurate you see i was ready to buy an after market and he told don't do that just bye the switch and plug it in. Now as far the car it was in a wreck in right front and left rear quarter penal the driver airbag deployed and the steering wheel had to be replaced with anther How do find out if my car came with cruse How ? BTW he threw away the other steering wheel Thanks for your help

 

[DavesSpectra]

The LX did not have cruse as an option, the EX could be gotten with cruse (option)and "might" have the wiring harness for it...but no promise... the SX DID come with cruse.
I have heard that the wiring harness was not there for cars that came from the factory without cruse...just like the fog lights... If it came without fogs then the wiring was not there and you had to add wiring (non-OEM). My SX has items not on the LX and EX like ABS and Fogs and mechanical parts and harnesses are different.. Like the CV joints and axles, added speed sensors, stiffer/sportier suspension, air foil,16" alloy rims..
I doubt if your mechanic knows the facts on the cruse unless he did one himself.
You might try cobra259 here on the forum as he is a parts manager at a Michigan dealership and could "see" the options available and what is needed to get them to work.
As for the speed error...Like I said you could change the tire size to "correct" the error.
This seems to be the cheapest route.
Dave

 

[Conda1234]

Yea put me in touch with the guy from Michigan The guy told about the cruise said he bought the cruise switch and add it to most EX spectra any lets talk to that guy Thank you so much. BTW would ever consider driving a Manual KIA I heard there better the auto ?

 

[KIAZILLA]

You could pull the clear face off of the cluster and reset the needle on the speedometer. It would take you about 10 minutes and cost nothing.

 

[DavesSpectra]

And then end up going negative 5mph at a standstill ...
Actually that is a posibility...there should be a resting post at the far counter clockwise position to stop the needle at "0".
You can just "pm" cobra259 here for his help..He will respond...
The cruse would also require the servo actuator and wiring under the hood....and possibly a software update to the ECM to tell it that "cruse" exists...
The steering wheel air bag cover would have to come off to gain access to mount the cruse "stalk" and connect onto the clock spring wiring..
I like you got my car with an automatic used... The manual tranny would not gain you much and would require a lot of parts changes and modifications. The automatic is a good one "if" you change the fluid every 30k miles. The lock-up torque converter basically gives you the equivilent of a manual after you are out of first gear...
Dave

 

[KIAZILLA]

The needle trick is easy and quick. Take a picture of the cluster before starting car so you have a reference. Pop the needle off and push it back on slightly higher than it is in the picture. Go out for a drive now and take your GPS and check the position of the needle at speed. If it isnt right stop and reposition needle. Keep repeating until you get it right. I have popped all the needles off my cluster many times as I modded my cluster. If you are gentle and patient it is very easy. ^_^

 

[DavesSpectra]

I too have removed the cluster and removed the needles on both of our Spectras.
I changed the color from "pea green" to "pure white" (changed LEDs). Much more pleasant to use at night. I st ill have to reset my gas needle as the car is empty when it just touches "E". I need to move it down below empty so it reads it sooner... Not a big deal though as I've gotten used to it.
Patience is the key to dis-assembling the cluster as there are many plastic tabs that can break if you are not careful.
Dave

 

[Conda1234]

how do you pop the screen and the needle can you show me pics

 

[DavesSpectra]

When I changed my LEDs I found this link to streetkiaz.com.
This shows the needles being removed...
Streetkiaz.com - Speedometer Color Change (How-to) [Forum - How-To-Articles]
This should help you...
Dave

 

[cobra259]

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