defective hub due to corrosion

Has any one had problems with hub corrosion leading to loss of bearings and new brakes being required that are not under warranty. We we on our way to Florida and had the vehicle jerk suddenly. We took it to a dealer who said we were lucky the wheel didnt come off. These was excess rust (vehicle is garage kept year round) causing the hub to rust apart leading to loss of bearings and front brakes. The dealer in Florida
said we could have been killed. We just had the tires rotated 3000 miles ago and they should have seen this. Any body have similar problems ??

Not great details here....what kind of hubs do you have? Vacuum type? Auto-mechanical? THe vacuum are known to suck moisture in. ALso, if you had the vacuum replaced with echanical and the vacuum port not being plugged at the hub port, then water can come in...anyway, more details on year model, hub type -- in fact, 4wd or 2wd?...

I had the same problem. Kia admits that if you live in a midwestern area where your area may use salt that the hub seals were sub-standard and would not hold up to the corrosions. I took mine to one place and was quoted $1800 dollars to fix so I took it to the dealer (basically to complain) and they fixed it as a recall. I was at 50K and had no warranty and did not have to pay for anything. I don't see where Kia using sub-standard parts makes this issue the consumers fault.

My 2001 is in the shop right now for a warranty repair as the front berings went. Luckily my brakes are still fine. When it was on the lift I asked to see it.
The mechanic had the hub off but the wheel still attached. I asked him what all the crud was around the berings - he advised that it was my bering grease. There must have been some serious moisture drawn in to contaminate the grease that bad.
My hubs are the standard vacuum hubs and I live in a fairly wet climate - moving soon to a drier place. They don't usually use a lot of salt on the roads here or where I am moving to. None of the parts seemed corroded. Maybe this is simply a design flaw with the vacuum hub in general?

Does anyone know what the costs are and how difficult it is to switch these over to manual hubs?

..this is almost my "standardized" reply for several inquiries on same subject. I had mine changed last year on warranty by KIA in Canada on my 2000. THe new Warn automechanical work fine.

so......

The automatic hubs for 1998 and beyond were vacuum actuated with all the problems that arose from that ...although in principle, it was a very interesting proposition, very flexible and totally automatic when they worked.

THe automechanical were original equipment on pre 1998 Sportages. They are activated by the rotation of the shaft and use an arrangement of cams for their operation . The new version made by Warn (www.warn.com) is sturdier , is the ideal replacement for normal operation ; they work very well and are totally reliable. When you engage the t-case to 4wd, they engage/disengage in about 1/3 turn shaft rotation. Just open the window and you can hear them click-click when engaging and disengaging too.
www.geocities.com/lmp4203/warnlist.jpg
installation file is here:
www.geocities.com/lmp4203/hubinstall.pdf

The manuals (also made by Warn) are just that: you have to go out of the car to turn them ON and OFF with a button on the hub itself. Better choice if you go for severe offroad use.

Once done (either one) you must trim the hub caps because these hubs are a little longer than the vacuum type.
You can see what it looks here:, from outside, and close up from the inside of the hub cap to show the taper needed on the edge of the hole.
www.geocities.com/lmp4203/kiasport/dscn1696.jpg
www.geocities.com/lmp4203/kiasport/dscn1698.jpg

I did the job with a dremmel tool.