Kia Sued Over Brakes on Sephia Sedans

Kia Motors America Inc. has been sued by a trio of law firms alleging that defective front brake systems on the company’s 1998-2000 Sephia sedans caused premature wear resulting in expensive repairs. The suits in Pennsylvania and New Jersey were filed on behalf of individual Sephia owners but seek class-action status to cover owners of all 204,415 Sephias sold in the U.S. in the three model years. Although not alleging safety issues, the law firms claim that Kia knew of the brake problem and had issued technical service bulletins to Kia mechanics covering similar problems on 1996 and 1997 models. Kia Motors, the Irvine-based unit of the South Korean auto maker, said Sephia brakes “have always been safe and continue to be so now.” It said that although as many as 300 consumer complaints were received by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about brake noise, vibration and premature wear, NHTSA never instituted a safety recall.