IllustrationWHILE DRIVING AT 40MPH THE TRANSMISSION MADE A HARD SHIFT...THERE WAS A NOTICEABLE JUMP. DEALER SAID THEY COULDN'T DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM AND THEY WOULD ONLY DRIVE IT AROUND THE BLOCK.
2008 Kia Amanti
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2008 Kia Amanti do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 36.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Amanti years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
50–25K
725–50K
850–75K
175–100K
1100–150K
0150K+
22 reports with mileage · 3 unknown
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.
- Electrical System. Review the 7 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Air Bags. Review the 3 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Power Train. Review the 3 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
2 crash reports0 fire reports1 injury reports
Power Train complaints
3 reportsHAVING THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THIS CAR SINCE I PURCHASED IT ON 12/14/12. IT IS A 'SHIFTING/GEAR/TRANSMISSION ISSUE. ITS A 4 YR OLD CAR, BOUGHT FROM DEALER-KIA OF BEDFORD, OH. THE MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP COMES ON AFTER TRYING TO SHIFT INTO DRIVE, AND THE CAR WON'T MOVE(ITS REVS IN PLACE LIKE ITS IN NEUTRAL). 1) 1ST WORK ORDER, …
Read full complaint
HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THIS CAR SINCE I PURCHASED IT ON 12/14/12. IT IS A 'SHIFTING/GEAR/TRANSMISSION ISSUE. ITS A 4 YR OLD CAR, BOUGHT FROM DEALER-KIA OF BEDFORD, OH. THE MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP COMES ON AFTER TRYING TO SHIFT INTO DRIVE, AND THE CAR WON'T MOVE(ITS REVS IN PLACE LIKE ITS IN NEUTRAL). 1) 1ST WORK ORDER, DONE ON 1/3/13, WAS TO REPLACE THE 'FRONT WIRING ASSEMBLY'HARNESS AND ELECTRICAL LED LIGHT ASSEMBLY. 2) 2ND WORK ORDER, DONE ON 1/18/13, REPLACED THE TRANSMISSION INHIBITOR SWITCH AND CRUISE CONTROL SWITCH... 3)THE 3RD PROBLEM HAS JUST OCCURRED YESTERDAY, 1/28/13. SAME ISSUE, I WAS PULLING OUT OF A PARKING SPOT, GOING INTO 'DRIVE' AND LOST THE 'SHIFTING/ACCELERATION' CAPABILITY. PUT CAR BACK INTO PARK FOR A FEW MINUTES, THEN TRIED AGAIN AND THE 'GEAR' POPPED INTO 'DRIVE'. BEEN HAPPENING INTERMITTENTLY SINCE YESTERDAY. THE 'MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP' HAS REMAINED ON SINCE THIS 3RD INCIDENT ON 1/28/13. THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT DOESN'T SEEM TO BE FIXABLE. THERE IS A BASIC WARRANTY THAT IS STILL ACTIVE ~ 7 MONTHS OR @18,000 MILES LEFT! *TR
AT 65 MPH ON A BUSY FREEWAY -WITHOUT ANY WARNING, ENGINE DIED TO IDLE SPEED AND NO POWER. TRY CROSSING 3 LANES OF FAST TRAFFIC WITH NO POWER AND RAPID DECELERATION ! FORTUNATELY NO IMPACTS BUT SOME TERRIBLE NEAR MISSES. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED . THE CODE WAS P2135 -THROTTLE POSITION SWITCH FAILED.THAT CAUSED P2106 &…
Read full complaint
AT 65 MPH ON A BUSY FREEWAY -WITHOUT ANY WARNING, ENGINE DIED TO IDLE SPEED AND NO POWER. TRY CROSSING 3 LANES OF FAST TRAFFIC WITH NO POWER AND RAPID DECELERATION ! FORTUNATELY NO IMPACTS BUT SOME TERRIBLE NEAR MISSES. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED . THE CODE WAS P2135 -THROTTLE POSITION SWITCH FAILED.THAT CAUSED P2106 &P1295 "LIMP HOME MODE"-WHICH SHOULD BE CHANGED TO " KILLED IN ACTION(KIA) WHILE LIMPING MODE". IF YOU CHECK THE INTERNET, THIS IS A WELL KNOWN PROBLEM ACROSS A RANGE OF KIA AND HYUNDAI VEHICLES.THERE ARE TSB'S FOR IT.JUST SEARCH "2135 KIA" OR P2135 HYUNDAI". THE RETAIL PRICE FOR THE TSB REPAIR IS ONLY $165. IT REQUIRES REPLACING THE DEFECTIVE TPS AND A REFLASH OF THE ECM. IT IS FREE UNDER WARRANTY. WHY NOT MAKE THIS A RECALL? THE DEFECT IS WIDESPREAD,EASY AND CHEAP TO REPAIR AND POTENTIALLY DEADLY -WHY NOT A RECALL? DEALER WAS EXCELLENT .FIXED THE PROBLEM -THEY WERE VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE ISSUE. *TR
Official recalls
113V114000 · Exterior Lighting:brake Lights:switch
Apr 1, 2013
Kia Motors Corporation (Kia) is recalling certain model year 2007-2010 Rondo, model year 2007-2011 Sedona, Sorento and Sportage, model year 2010-2011 Soul, model year 2008-2011 Optima, model year 2010 Forte, model year 2007-2009 Amanti, and model year 2009 Borrego vehicles. Originally, in April 2013, Kia recalled 623,658 model year 2007-2010 Rondo and Sportage, model year 2007-2011 Sorento, model year 2007 Sedona, model year 2010-2011 Soul, and model year 2011 Optima vehicles. In September 2013, Kia informed the agency that it was adding an additional 356,719 vehicles to this campaign. The total number of vehicles being recalled is now 980,377. In the affected vehicles, the stop lamp switch may malfunction. A malfunctioning stop lamp switch may cause the brake lights to not illuminate when the brake pedal is depressed or may cause an inability to deactivate the cruise control by depressing the brake pedal. Additionally, a malfunctioning stop lamp switch may also result in intermittent operation of the push-button start feature, affect the operation of the brake-transmission shift interlock feature preventing the shifter from being moved out of the PARK position and cause the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) malfunction light to illuminate.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Failure to illuminate the stop lamps during braking or inability to disengage the cruise control could increase the risk of a crash. Additionally, when the ignition is in the 'ON' position, the transmission shifter may be able to be moved out of PARK without first applying the brake. This may lead to unintentional movement of the car which may increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Kia will send an interim notification to owners in May 2013. When parts are available, owners will receive a second notification and dealers will replace the stop lamp switch, free of charge. Owners may contact Kia at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's recall campaign number is SC098.
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
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.