Used 2012 Kia Sedona Consumer Reviews

2012 Sedona

We traded our 2011 Soul for this Sedona. The soul was a great little car but it was difficult for us to get in and out especially with artificial knees. We absolutely love our Sedona, we have the power package on it which gives you a lot of extras. We average round about driving 23-24 mpg. Not as good as the soul but it sure is a lot easier to get in and out of. The engine is very powerful and will throw you in the back seat if you kick the gas. It has a six speed transmission and we don't even feel it shift. At seventy mph it runs around 1600-1700 rpms. That in itself saves the engine greatly over times. With GM, and Ford quit making vans you only have a very few choices. Love it.

Good Van... 100K look out!

I have owned several Kia Sedonas' and over all we have been satisfied. I even recommend them to friends that are in the market for a van. I like that the Kia has light truck tires on it. This isn't so good for a ride, but is great in a rural venue. It also lends to a more durable tire. I feel that Kia has kind of skimped on the interior of the van. It could have more options, but I think they were trying to keep the cost down and threw some of them out the window. There are several issues to be aware of... 1. the AC pump is prone to going out at least once in the vans life. And even when it is working properly, it makes a rather annoying noise. 2. Be prepared to replace the idler pulley at least once. I have owned 2 vans and this has happened to both. 3. The paint job is kinda cheep. The handles are starting to peel and stuff... could have done better. 4. The bucket seat arms are always coming lose and require me tightening them up once a month.... rather stupid. For my major complaint.... 5. at 100K miles be prepared for something to happen. Right now I am dealing with the oil pressure sensor that is leaking oil. The shop wanted $500 to replace it so I decided to tackle it my self. I think $500 for them to do it would have been a better deal. Wicked pain in the butt!! This being said, I hope to have it fixed and back on the road. I would like to run this bad boy till the wheels fall off. I think I would buy another Kia, because there are some good points, but just be aware of the 100k jinks.

My Aircraft Carrier

Bought this mainly to carry myself and several larger RC model aircraft on almost daily 60 mile round trips to flying site. Grew quickly to really like this vehicle. At 91K miles its been perfect in reliability and still tight and rattle free as new. I appreciate the smooth and strong acceleration, ride and excellent handling. My gas mileage has been a consistent 24 mpg in mixed driving. OEM Yokohoma tires got noisier and noisier as they wore down, so replaced them early at about 49K miles with Generals which are much quieter with no loss of handling. Only thing I really miss is the fold into the floor center row seats found on the Chrysler minivans. I just take mine out and leave them home in the garage but would rather have the flexability of being there if I need them. Folding up against the front seats is available, but takes up too much needed room in my application. Dealers constant attempted upselling of servicing is annoying but follow the factory recommendations and it's not much of a burden at all. Would I buy it again? In a heartbeat.

Great minivan for the price!

My 2011 Sedona was $6000 less out the door than Sienna and has a better warranty. Our local Kia dealership is also a well respected family business. Sienna drove slightly better but certainly not $6000 worth! Truth is with two kids & a dog to haul around it needs to be comfortable, solid & safe - it is. The Sedona's 3.5 V6 is powerful, willing, and sounds really good winding out. The auto shifts cleanly and manual mode works well in the hills. The 18/25 mileage figures are accurate. I meet or exceed these numbers when driven calmly. 5600 miles so far and one problem (sticky purge valve = rough idle) fixed without problem under warranty with loaner provided. Happy so far with my first Kia.

Hauls my fam and more!

This is a great choice for minivan. My family fits very comfortably, and most often makes use of the 4 captain's chairs. We use the back for either the occasional 3rd row need, or for stowing lots of sports, shopping, and travel gear as necessary. The backup camera is fantastic and helps keep us safe when backing out of the driveway. There's plenty of room in the front console - it really becomes mom's 2nd home on wheels sometimes. The fuel economy is fine, even with lots of back road driving thru the burbs. Overall I love the convenience and family friendly factors that the van brings us.

Good Minivan for the Price

A good basic minivan. I was looking for a basic family transportation vehicle which I plan to drive till it drops, so trade in value is not a huge thing for me. I'm hoping to get the car up and over 150k miles during my time of ownership. The Kia fit the bill perfectly. My dealership was very fair and upfront with all the numbers. Nothing was hidden and everything was clearly explained. Received great financing at 2.9% for 60 months and substantial rebates as well. I was also able to negotiate the price of the vehicle close to the invoice price. Overall I got a vehicle at a price that could not be matched by any of the competitors for the same equipment level by thousands of dollars.

Repeat buyer

This is my 3rd Kia Sedona. I have owned a 05 Sedona XL , a 05 Kia Sedona EX and now a 11 Kia Sedona LX. I have found the Sedona to be an excellent vehicle, I have taken many trips in the van as well as to drive it dailey. I have never had any issues with the cars performance or maintenance.

Pay more for what, exactly?

Our 2011 Kia Sedona is our second minivan (we have four children aged seven and under). Traded in a VW Passat wagon, and it hurt to say goodbye to our last car with any "coolness" factor. Our other minivan is a Toyota Sienna. The Sedona is an improvement upon the Passat in every way. Far more fun to drive, with great pickup and handling. We added leather, which makes it look sharp. The interior gives the impression of being larger than the Sienna's. And other than a higher sticker price, we are not sure what advantages the Sienna offers. The Kia's mileage around town is somewhat less than advertised--around 16 mpg--but it is up to the Toyota's quality in every other way. Safe and reliable.

great open road/sleazy options/2 idiotic features

we drove several of these til the dealer came up with the colors my wife wanted; on a blustery crosswind day, we compared Sedona to the 4 & 6 cylinder Siennas & the Oddysy in a 6+ mile run on I-70 & a winding, hilly no-shoulder 2-lane. the Sedona & Toyotas were very good & close, the Honda conspicuously less controllable in the twistys & harder to keep in a straight line in freeway crosswinds. We now have 20k on the car & changed to a decent tire-Cooper CS4 at 15k. Drives beautifully. OTOH the autolock/unlock is an idiotic security nightmare, hoodlums will love it, you are a sitting duck when you park. . July 2016 update: the idiotic auto lock/unlock control is still a security nightmare [ALL doors unlock EVERY TIME it's put in park] & the dealership is hopeless/worthless to fix it. Doubt if they give a flip. OTOH the window down-door-stop dangerous idiocy [manual sliding door only opened part way if window was down a little] was an easy fix. - just remove the stop. This was important as if you opened it vigorously it bounced off the stop & closed -very hard!!- on adult or kid's fingers/hand/arm/head... ER visit or worse!! Options issue: in 2012 heated mirrors only came w/over-priced packages with junk we didn't want. An important plus is the excellent all-direction visibility , thanks to large unobstructed windows, is better than ANY other van we've driven, then, or since then. Luckily, once you are rolling down the road it's a great car, so we're keeping it. However, thanks to the locks & heated mirror issue, we are very unsure about buying a KIA in the future. I would suggest if, in one of these vans, you are attacked in a parking lot or hurt by the sliding door, you contact a lawyer. January 2017. we again have re-shod with brand new Cooper's CS5's and the open road handling is even better than the CS4's. it's still smooth, comfortable & has enough power to easily spin the wheels [which we do rarely] . We have generally learned to quickly re-lock the car after putting it in park, but it still infuriates me. Idiotic designs always do. However, we're still keeping it. The overall car is still quite good.

Solid Minivan...

Traded in an '04 Odyssey which was a reliable tank of a minivan for this '11 Sedona. Got $3K off in rebates/incentives so the deal was sweet for a minivan that doesn't have nearly the bells & whistles and frills of the new model Odyssey and Siena. But it gets the job done by transporting our 5 member family quickly & safely to where we need to go. First thousand miles have been smoooooth...

Not with your money

I purchased a Sedona new in june 2011, from day one I had nothing but small problems with it and the dealer just didn't seem to know how to fix it. First the radio had a mind of its own, when playing the cd, it shutoff and played the radio, when playing the radio it changed stations, some times it even shut off completly.Eighteen months later and a total of 12 days in the shop and a replaced radio(so they said) it was still broken. Some of the other problems bad idle pully, bad batteries, loose ground wires preventing the windows or locks to work and one dealer wanted 450 to fix. nothing but headaches finally traded it in at 18 months and loss $8000 in the process.

We'd buy it again.

Very happy eith this vehicle. Only minor downside is engineering for drive/acle (apparently) results in slight pull to left during acceleration. We'd buy it again if we had to do it over again.

WHAT THE BLEEP HAPPEND TO THE MPG ?!!?!

The sticker states that this minivan get 18 city and 25 hwy, which I expected after purchasing the vehicle. After 2 months and over 1200 miles the best I've been able to get out of it is 16.5 MPG. For a 21.1 size gallon tank, I become extremely aggravated when I can't even drive 300 miles before I'm in need of a fill up. I felt that this was a rock solid value when I purchased it. Everything else about the van meets or exceeds my expectations. But if I wanted such horrendous gas mileage performance I should have just purchased an SUV!

Traded in an F150 King Ranch for the Sedona

That's right. My wife's 2002 Kia Sedona was starting to get a little old in the tooth. But instead of trading it in on the 2011, I decided to trade in my 2006 King Ranch for it. Hey, the King Ranch was beautiful, but the Sedona gets 10 more mpg, hauls the kids AND the groceries and doesn't cost so much to maintain (tires, repairs, etc.) So she drives the new Sedona (safer and more dependable than the '02) and I carpool in the old Sedona. The 'o02 had a $1000 repair (AC) a few months back, but that has been the only repair in over 9 years. My wife LOVES the 2011...the kids too!!!

One dependable comfortable box

GOOD EXCEPT FOR ONE EXPENSIVE "NON WARRANTY " FIX

I bought the 2012 Sedona in 2013 as a certified used car because I was swayed by the 100k mile powertrain warranty. It has almost 94k miles on it now and has been a solid performer. The 3.5 V6 is a strong engine with plenty of go power and it revs up quickly. Wish you could get that engine in a sedan like the Optima. what a screamer that would be without the complications of turbo! Everything still works well and the only complaint that keeps me from giving it 5 stars is the oil sensor failure at about 60K miles. It is not an expensive part but it sits inside the V and reequires removing the manifold to replace it. Very expensive and (not considered power train) which I do not agree with. What else is not considered power train?

Great buy

As a 71 year old I never thought that I would own a mini-van. But three grandchildren under 4 and a 96 year old mother-in-law changed all that. So I went shopping in late '11 dead set on getting an Oddysey. Reality set in quickly as price and an unwillingness of four Honda dealerships to deal eliminated that choice. And lucky that was for I had a blast shopping around - something I had not needed to do for my previous five cars. My final choice was an easy one spurred by a great deal, friendly dealership, and fully loaded Kia Sedona at about 12k less than the desired Oddysey. It is now ten months and almost 20k miles into the vehicle and I love it.

Nice Ride

It is not my old Honda Odyssey but it comes close. Ride is very comfortable; controls well laid out; very good electronics given the age. Solid care for the value.

Good Mini Van

I'm not a soccer mom writing this review. After reading reviews for several mini van makers, and having a friend who just retired a Kia Rio with 346,200 miles on it, that swayed me to the Kia Sedona. Yea, its not a Honda or a Toyota. But it is a surprisingly great family ride. I'm only sorry that Kia has decided to make 2012 the final year for production for the Sedona.

Excelent

This is the family car

Very Nice !

Very nice .... smooth ride ..... good visibility ..... and the electronics you want I should buy one

2nd To Best Car I Have Ever Owned!

People give KIA Motors dirt about how their build quality is horrible and that they are a piece of junk but ill tell you something this minivan is the the 2nd best car i have ever owned! I purchased mine at Jim Click Kia and the sales people are just the best! Hey its a minivan you cant expect excellent fuel mileage! The price is unbeatable I paid 25k for mine loaded and the power doors have never gotten stuck no problems at all! power everything! for 25k? WOW KIA really out did themselves with the product! The engine is super strong!! and it is very hard to drive this car with a light foot because the power is always there! shifts smooth as butter just if you need a mini van! take a look

Don't buy this car unless you are sure!!!!!

The quality of this car is much worse than I expected. Seat material is thin, electronics unresponsive and unpredictable and the brakes are a safety hazard Kia will not own up to. They allow small pebbles from the road to get into the calipers and impede proper braking application. They call this an environmental situation and will not address it as a design flaw. The dealer won't fix it on his dime either. I have only 1800 miles on the car and it has been in twice for repairs. I live on a paved road! I can't afford to keep paying for brake repairs. Be ready for some disappointments if you buy this car and have previously owned a quality built vehicle,

Good car

Just bought it and traded in a 09 Suburu Forester. The KIA is bigger, more comfortable and holds more stuff with the seats folded. A lot more power and the 6 spd tranny is a big plus. We bought the basic EX model

Best Vehicle I've ever owned

I bought my 2012 base Kia Sedona used in December of 2014. I was 4 months pregnant with our 2nd child. We went to the Kia dealer to look at SUVs but the van was a Special so I was curious. My husband wasn't as interested. Test drive went great so we scooped it up. I drove that Van for nearly 9 years. Just recently traded it in for a used Chrysler Pacifica. I miss my Sedona and wish I kept it. It was the best value, reliable, safe, and just wonderful. My husband who originally wasn't interested quickly and still shares the same sentiment. If you are looking for a van for your active, busy, kid, pet, outdoorsy life this is what you need to get. Very little maintenance and repairs with over 143000 miles before trade in. Go get one!

2011 Kia Sedona van is a winner!

Probably the best most reliable used mini van on the market. Unlike Odyssey unbalanced weight fast wear on tires, the Sedona does not have this issue. I haven't had any major repairs since 2014 when we bought it used now at 184k miles. Alternator, pumps, all suspension (shocks, ball bearings etc.) are stock. The 3.5l engine can still burn rubber and does 22-23 combined mpg. Great room inside. While I do agree w/review that some interior parts are somewhat cheap looking, it's held up and cleans off nice. I still get calls from Kia to trade the Van in with a decent down payment they will give me, but it's been great to us and cheap to own. We move & travel with our dogs, musical band equipment, furniture, beds, people mover up to 9 to the Eagles SB parade one time, it's versatility is top notch too. Highly recommended, still amazes me.