2003 Kia Rio RX-V review from North America

Within 2 months of buying this car the check engine light came on. Was found to be faulty and was replaced. Leaving the dealership it came on yet again. Was told they needed to order the part and I never heard from them again. Light went out on its own eventually.

At 1 year the clutch pedal squeaked and taking it to a different KIA dealership, they replaced the clutch cable. Driving home from that it thunk-ed and the next day I spent another 9 hours at the dealership again while they replacde the faulty clutch.

At 16 months, another thunk started when going over speed bumps and or releasing the clutch got me a trip to my original dealership, who told me a motor mount was loose from the clutch job and I had to return to the other KIA dealership that did the clutch work to have it fixed. The second dealership told me the first was on drugs and that the motor mounts were fine, however my suspension links needed replacing. At this point I gave them a list and told them to fix it all.

Stereo speakers cut in and out.

Rear windshield wiper button turns on front windshied wipers.

The car chugs while I am in any gear and even when I am flat out at 100kms/hr on the freeway. This results in mild whiplash.

6 hours at the dealership last week got me nothing on the stereo, a temporary used replacement part for the windshield wiper button and a promise of a new one "soon" and an updated computer in it. The car still chugged going home and now I have an transmission leak too!

I returned yesterday for 6 more hours to be told a faulty spark plug was the problem with the chugging and Yes! I did have a transmission leak and they needed to confer with KIA techs before they could do any work on it. They'll call me. I am assuming they replaced the replacement part for the windshield wipers.

I have problems getting it into reverse. Not something I have mentioned to the dealership yet.

I don't even want to talk about the lousy paint job that flecks off, the undercarriage rust or the fuel consumption with the A/C running or the fact that I can barely drive up my hill in 1st gear from a stand still start. I can never get up the hill with the A/C on. It's not that steep a hill either.

The service is terrible. So are their service people whom I think are at as much loss as I am on what to do with this car. The car is terrible. The warranty is holding up and I imagine it is the only way they could sell such an unreliable vehicle.

The mechanics say KIA uses bad lube for parts and uses cheap rubber that hardens, and this is the cause of most of their problems.

I am leasing this car and cannot wait for the day I can trade it or send it back to them. I have never heard of another make of car with this many ongoing problems. I think I will go to a Ford dealership soon.