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2008 Kia SPECTRA5

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Limited comparison data

There is not enough comparable history to draw a useful model-year comparison.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

Limited mileage data: 15 of 16 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Air Bags. Review the 11 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 2 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Fuel/propulsion System. Review the 2 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

3 crash reports0 fire reports3 injury reports

Exterior Lighting complaints

1 reports
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65,000 miles · Dec 12, 2017
Air BagsElectrical SystemExterior Lighting

PURCHASED A 2008 KIA SPECTRA 5 IN 2009. FOR 3 YEARS IT WAS A GOOD COMMUTER CAR. THEN WEIRD THINGS STARTED HAPPENING OUT OF THE BLUE. FIRST, THE CAR WOULDN'T ALLOW US ACCESS BY USE OF THE KEY FOB. IT WOULD UNLOCK THEN LOCK. THE VEHICLE FLIP THE DOOR UNLOCK LEVER BACK AND FORTH LIKE A GHOST WAS MOVING. SECOND, THE CAR WOULD BLOW A…

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PURCHASED A 2008 KIA SPECTRA 5 IN 2009. FOR 3 YEARS IT WAS A GOOD COMMUTER CAR. THEN WEIRD THINGS STARTED HAPPENING OUT OF THE BLUE. FIRST, THE CAR WOULDN'T ALLOW US ACCESS BY USE OF THE KEY FOB. IT WOULD UNLOCK THEN LOCK. THE VEHICLE FLIP THE DOOR UNLOCK LEVER BACK AND FORTH LIKE A GHOST WAS MOVING. SECOND, THE CAR WOULD BLOW A FRONT HEAD LAMP ALMOST EVERY 6 MONTHS LIKE CLOCK WORK WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS SHIFTED INTO DRIVE FROM PARK. THIRD, THE FRONT CONSOLE CONTROLLING THE FAN, HEAT ETC. WOULD JUST STOP WORKING ONLY TO START WORKING A FEW HOURS OR DAYS LATER. ESPECIALLY PROBLEMATIC IN WINTER. FOURTH, THE OCS SENSOR MAT FOR THE FRONT PASSENGER AIR BAG HAS MALFUNCTIONED. THIS HAPPENS WHEN THE CAR IS MOVING OR STATIONARY. IN ADDITION THE CAR HAS A DANGEROUS LAG IN GAINING SPEED WHEN TRYING TO MERGE INTO TRAFFIC AT HIGH SPEEDS ON INTERSTATES. I GUESS I'M JUST WAITING FOR THE NEXT GREMLIN TO APPEAR. WILL NEVER OWN A KIA AGAIN.

NHTSA ODI #11054208

Official recalls

0

No recalls in this snapshot.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.