Kia SPECTRA5 Problems by Model Year
NHTSA recorded 44 consumer complaints across the 3 model years of the Kia SPECTRA5 (2006–2008) that have at least 5 complaints. 2006 has the most, with 18. Across all years, the part named most often is air bags (28 mentions). Pick a model year below to see its parts, mileage, recalls and service bulletins.
All SPECTRA5 model years
Years with fewer than 5 complaints are not listed. The score compares years of the same model, allowing for the era and for how long each year has collected complaints: 50 is a typical year, lower means fewer complaints. It is not adjusted for sales volume.
| Year | Complaints | Median mi | Recalls | TSBs | Score (50 = typical) | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 16 | 80,000 | 0 | 1 | — | Stable |
| 2007 | 10 | 87,500 | 0 | 1 | — | Not enough data |
| 2006 | 18 | 80,500 | 0 | 2 | — | Stable |
Parts named most often, all years
Counts add up complaint mentions across the listed years. A complaint can name several parts.
- Air bags28 54%
- Fuel system5 9.6%
- Seats4 7.7%
- Other or unknown4 7.7%
- Electrical system4 7.7%
- Vehicle speed control3 5.8%
- Body and structure2 3.8%
- Steering2 3.8%
Example complaints
One per model year, chosen for length and detail. Personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
2007: “Door locks go haywire opening and closing while you are driving or when the car is turned off. Had to break the lock on the driver side in order to exit the vehicle. Now I have to roll the window down and stick my arm out of it, open the latch and roll the window back up in order to order to exit the car. Passenger side is permanently locked also. You can't even use a key to open it. This is a safety hazard!”
NHTSA complaint #11030697, filed 2017-10, 60,000 miles2008: “Passenger seat air bag sensor has gone bad on my 2008 Kia spectra 5. Car has 77,522 miles. Was told by Kia dealer that seat bottom needs to be replaced at a cost of $1700. Safety is the car manufacture's big selling feature. A recall should be issued by Kia in my opinion.”
NHTSA complaint #10838105, filed 2016-02, 77,430 miles2006: “The air bag indicator for passenger side as decided to come on and off. The main problem is on the dash board the air bag light comes on and acts as if the air bag indicator is not working, and it then will go off and come back on. This is a major safety concern and I have noticed it happening to a lot of other Kia SPECTRA5. It should be raised as a safety concern for the fact that now I am scared to place my family in this car. …”
NHTSA complaint #10544176, filed 2013-09, 107,000 milesOther Kia models
10,219 complaintsKia Optima
7,532 complaintsKia Soul
5,579 complaintsKia Sportage
4,713 complaintsKia Forte
2,560 complaintsKia Sedona
2,415 complaintsKia Telluride
2,058 complaintsKia Sephia
1,701 complaints
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate. Methodology