Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (buckles, retractors, anchors and pretensioners).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2002 Kia Sedona owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Before the incident there were issues with the rear captain chairs seat belt latch when trying to buckle them. I have three small children under the age of 3 years of age and it is very important and crucial that seat belts are in working order without issues for the safety of their well being. Before the incident the seats themselves in the rear rows had issues latching as well when being installed. On August 18, 2015 myself and three small children were in a severe high impact accident and none of the airbags had gone off like they never existed. My kids and I suffer from seat belt abrasions and I suffer from bruising in multiple places from my head down, shoulder pain and back issues. Police, paramedic's, collision center, witnesses, and my insurance company were all notified or had notified about the airbags. …
Tl contact owns a 2002 Kia Sedona. When the contact started the vehicle, the driver side seat belt began smoking. The seat belt then caught fire when it came in contact with the wires attached to the seat belt connector and a piece of hard plastic around the bottom of the seat (seat guard). The contact extinguished the fire. Kia stated that a recall repair had been performed on the vehicle in April of 2006 and that she would be responsible for any current repairs. The seat belt area of the vehicle was damaged. The vehicle has not been inspected by the dealer or a mechanic. The contact also stated that the passenger side door handle failed and a new one had been ordered before the fire occurred. The current and failure mileages were 77,600.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 Kia Sedona ex. While driving 55 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. The failure occurred on several occasions and the contact was unable to restart the vehicle. Additionally, the contact stated that the front passenger's seat belt tightened and would not retract. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed or repaired. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer were notified of the failures. The approximate failure mileage was 131,000.
While driving 50 MPH vehicle was involved in a collision. Upon impact, dual air bags did not deploy, and seat belt broke. According to the consumer the seat belt retractor did not lock during the event. Driver sustained neck injuries during the rollover crash. The back seat had become dislodged during the accident. Recall#03V135000.
One more time Kia Sedona 2002 failed to brake car lost control front passenger seat belt snapped out, looks like power steering failed and brakes also, not the first time brakes failed in Kia Sedona. Prior to this accident the consumer complained to the dealer about vibrations while braking. Car accelerate by itself (throttle stuck).
Car accelerated on his own as a result car went into median, also passenger side seat belt snapped. Car was heavily damaged as a result of the crash. Went from 10 to 50mph in seconds. Also, brake system failed to respond. Previous report filed #10065882.
We purchased the 2002 Kia Sedona yesterday 12-28-03. We drove the car for about 45 minutes today, stopped for dinner at a fast food restaurant and then drove again for about 10 minutes when while driving the vehicle, the battery and brake warning lights flashed on and off a few times, then stayed on. When the brake pedal was depressed, the radio shut off and would not come back on. Then the seatbelt warning light came on and the dash lights, exterior and interior lights dimmed. While car was still in motion, the sunroof would not close and the other windows were very slow at closing. The car shuddered a couple of times as if ready to stall. We made it home just in time, the car stalled and would not restart. We were able to close the sunroof, but it was very slow. We have tried to charge the battery, but it does not seem to be taking a charge. …
We own a 2002 Kia Sedona minivan. We bought it new in October of 2002. Since 04/03 we have had to return the car for airbag/seatbelt fault indications four times. In every case the front seat belt buckle sensors have been found to be defective.the dealer mechanic has told us that the air bags would not deploy with this fault indication. With each failure they have had to wait for back ordered parts, and the mechanic says this is a common fault with theses cars. Since they are always waiting for parts to repair this defect, it leads me to believe that there is indeed a widespread problem of this nature. In researchuing past problems on your web site iit seems that air bag/ seatbelt problems are a recurrent Kia defect. This is an apparant engineering design defect that puts owners of these vehicles at serious risk. …
Back in 2003, the airbag light on my van came on and would not go away. It was under warranty. The problem was a defective passenger side seat belt buckle. That was replaced. Now in 2005 the airbag light came on and would not go away again. My warranty has expired, so I tried finding out what the problem was myself. It was the same passenger side seat belt buckle. The problem was a broken wire in the harness to the sensor. The cause was a metal clip that pinches the harness, and with the movement of putting the seat belt on and off, eventually leading to the wire breakage. That I fixed myself and airbag light went out. In 2006, the airbag light came back on and would not go out. The problem now is the driver side seat belt buckle, once again a broken wire at the clip. Once again my warranty has expired so I am going to fix it myself. …
I have a 2002 Kia Sedona van. We had taken the child seat out of the passenger side-middle row and was trying to reinstall the seat. That is when we discovered the seat belts fail to ratchet when installing child safety seat. Since we still had the back seat in the van (I often take them out.), I was able to install the child seat in the back seat. However, had the back seat been out and we had both of our children with us, we would have had to drive with one of our children in an unsecured child seat. If we had an accident...well, lets say that I would own part of Kia. We have had seat belts replaced for same failure in the past. This is third failure in our van, which has less than 51,000 miles. Also, it isn't like we take the child seats in and out much. I would guess that the child seat has only been removed 2 or three times.
Related recalls
Seat belts › Rear/other
Certain Mini vans fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 209, "seat belt assemblies." the second and third seat belt buckle anchor bolts do not comply with the standards.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the seat belt buckle anchor bolts. Owner notification began February 24, 2003. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free…
Seat Belt complaints in other Sedona years
Frequently asked questions
How common are seat belt problems on the 2002 Kia Sedona?
NHTSA has 33 complaints about the seat belts of the 2002 Kia Sedona, 13% of the model year's 248 complaints. The component named most often is front › buckle assembly (7 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2002 Kia Sedona seat belt problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 03V-017 (rear/other, Jan 22, 2003). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2002 Kia Sedona seat belt problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 70,000 miles, and 21% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 6 crashes, 1 fire and 10 injuries to seat belts problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.