1999 Kia Sportage Engine cooling Problems

“Keyway on crankshaft where timing gear attaches wears out prematurely and can result in having to replace engine! I have replace throttle position sensor, fuel filter, and knock sensor also the mass airflow sensor and timing belt were replaced as there appeared to be a timing issue could not find problem so took to Kia dealer to find the keyway on crankshaft to be so worn you could almost turn gear all the way around! In all the years I have been working on vehicles this is the first time I have ever seen this and is very obviously a manufacturer defect!”

“I am the owner of a 99 Kia Sportage with only 60043 miles. I bought the vehicle brand new. The vehicle stalled at 40 MPH, luckily, it did not stalled at 75 MPH while I was taking one of my daily trips to ok city because it would have been disastrous. The crankshaft sheared off flush with the engine housing leaving the main and timing belt pulleys disconnected from the engine. As consequent, the engine stalled leaving the vehicle without power in the middle of traffic. No one was hurt or killed because of this. …”

“I have a 1999 Kia Sportage with less than 35,000 miles on it as of july 5, 2006. In november of 2005 I started noticing a really strong fuel smell. Shortly thereafter I noticed fluid leaking from the rear of my vehicle. I took it in around thanksgiving to find out that the gas tank had to be replaced. I had to pay almost $1,000 for this repair. Also, in may of 2006 power steering fluid leaked all over my garage while the car was in summer storage. Upon further investigation it is due to the power steering pressure hose damping pipe rusting out. …”

“99 Kia Sportage surges when starting and idles so rough when stopped that you think the car will die, has died a few times. Dealer has not been able to determine the cause to repair. All recall work was done, including the wiring harness fix sc014, but there was no symptom of problem then. Extended warranty has expired, and continually finding problem with car. Also tail pipe recently broke off had to be replaced. I now have a spreadsheet of the problems and repairs. Would like to fix this problem if I knew what it was. …”

“1999 Kia Sportage has had timing belt replaced three times since I bought car new in 1999. While traveling on nj turnpike, what we believed was the timing belt yet again was the crank shaft at the harmonic balance (which holds the timing belt in place) completely snapped into two pieces inside the engine. I spoke to several different Kia service departments who advised me that this was not a normal thing and was in no way due to something we could have done. I was told by my Kia dealer that the manufacturers warranty had expired last year and that I was responsible for the defect in the Kia. …”