Problem Reports

 Rookie

tried to replace the fuel tank and the mechanic stated that the gas tank has rusted bolts and leaks, will need new tank,

Fuel tank leak at top where fuel pump housing assembly unit connects to fuel tank, rusted through and leaks out badly, local kia dealer said only covered if leak at bottom of tank so there goes 167.00 for new tank and 41.00 for fuel sending unit then discovered that the fuel pump housing unit which is where the leak actually occurred rusted so bad it could not be replace without breaking so they wanted over 400.00 for it alone and actually told me they always have this problem with the kia sportage gas tank replacement. Luckily I found OEM online for 239.00 and have someone that can fix at much less expensive rate than kia techs. Seems most of the leaks are at the top in the same area and sorry, have driven American vehicles that were older than this with much less of rust problem than this kia and plan on going back to the American made where at least parts are cheaper. I purchased this 2000 Kia Sportage in 2002 and loved it up until I realized a tuneup cost me around 350.00 and not happy with the rust situation at all.

The first sign of a problem was the odor of gas. When investigating this I found the shield under the gas tank was very rusty and the flaky rust smelt of gas. So after I removed that I was able to see several leaky spots on the tank. Not really a hole, but rusting thru.. I have tried a couple different kinds of putty meant for fuel tanks.So far it has not sealed. I see online that this is not uncommon and that there may have been a recall. I sent a message to kia and am waiting for their responce.