2001 Kia Rio 1.5L
Summary:
Good inexpensive car with first model year bugs
Faults:
The first problem I have encountered with my Kia Rio was the "Check engine" light. After a scheduled oil change, the light came on for no apparent reason. My mechanic believed that the cause of this problem was a faulty oxygen sensor reading. He reset the ECM and it appeared to be fine.
A few months later, after a subsequent oil change, I found that an interior panel on the driver's side had come loose. Presumably, the mechanic caused this problem. At the same time, I think he probably did it inadvertently, which leads me to believe that it was not installed securely. I tried to refasten it, but was unable to do so. The same panel on the passenger side came loose a few months later, again, during a visit to my mechanic for scheduled maintenance. Cleaning the inside of the windshield is done at every one of my visits as a courtesy by my mechanic. It is during this cleaning that I believe the panels have come loose.
In my state, motor vehicles must undergo a safety inspection once a year. At my last inspection, I discovered that my horn did not work, causing my vehicle to be rejected and illegal to operate until the defect is corrected. A local dealer replaced the horn, as it was still covered under my warranty.
My most recent problem involves the car's acceleration in low gears. I took my car to my mechanic and he stated that the probable cause was a leaking valve cover gasket. I needed a tune-up anyway, so I asked him to replace my spark plugs. I then took my car to a local dealer because my car was still under warranty. The dealer verified that the gasket was bad and replaced it for me, charging only a $40 diagnostic fee. In doing the work, the dealer failed to reattach a couple of hoses. This caused the car to idle poorly. I later noticed the problem and reattached the hoses. It now idles well, but the acceleration problem still exists, but to a lesser degree.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 30th April, 2003
19th Aug 2004, 08:16
I purchased my 2001 Kia Rio in Oct 2000.
I was in need of a car quick, because the insurance company was pressuring me to hurry up and get me a car, because they could not keep me in a rental car indefinitely.
So, because the Kia looked like what I wanted, I purchased it. But about six months after buying the Kia, my fuel injectors had to be replaced, and because it was under warranty, it did not cost me anything. The Kia service department said that bad gas could have caused the fuel injectors to quit. Two went bad, they replaced all four, or so that is what I was told, that all four had been replaced.
Also, when I first checked out the Kia I now drive, the seat belts would not retract all the way in, like all the other cars that I have driven are supposed to do. The salesman that sold me the car, told me that all I had to do is push the button above where the seat belt goes in, and the seat belt would retract. That did not work. I had to hold the button, and then work the seat belt back in. He said that was the way they were made. Still have the problem. Was told by the salesman at that time I was thinking about buying the car, that I had a 36,000 or 3 year warranty on the car. I did not ask inside the dealership. Took his word. Then after I started having some problems with my car after about 60,000 miles, I took my car to the dealership that I had bought it from, and they told me that I should have brought it back sooner, that everything on the car was warranted 60,000 miles or 6 years... whichever came first.
I have had to have the right rear wheel bearing replaced 3 or 4 times, the left rear twice. There is a noise in the right front, and the service manager of the service department of the dealership that I bought the car from, took a test drive with me driving, and I heard the noise, and I said "listen, that is what I was telling you about". He said it could be any number of things, and he would hate to recommend something and it not be the problem. He did put it up on the lift and checked out the suspension and the wheel bearings, and said that everything looked OK "at that time". He also said that my front wheel cover was warped, and that could possibly cause the noise, so he moved the right front wheel cover to the right rear, and put the right rear wheel cover on the front right wheel. I test drove it, got it up to about 70 mph, and could hear the noise, and even at 55 mph could here the noise.
Contacted the service dept, and told him that I could still hear the noise. Still have the problem. Back a week or two ago, I contacted the DOT Safety Hotline, and told them about some of the problems I had been having, and that I had been on the computer and had found some recalls on my car that I had not been notified about. They called me back, and told me that they would be sending me some forms to fill out. I received the forms, and I will be filling them out, and letting them know about all the safety problems I have noticed with my car.
I don't know where to go from here. Please let me know. Also, the DOT has a website where you can go online and look up recalls on your car, whether it be new or used, and it also has on there where that you can research complaints on your car, whether it be new or used. I found it, and found a lot of complaints on the 2001 Kia Rio, and a lot of recalls on the 2001 Kia Rio, and I was not notified about any of them, but one. Two have been fixed by the dealership; the first one was fixed when I had my car in for an oil change, and I did not receive my recall for it until the day after the recall was fixed.
And the other, I went online and found the recall, and when I ask the service dept, they said they knew about the recall, but they had a back order for other people, and were waiting on the parts. I had been online the day before, and found a letter letting the Kia manufacturer know about the recall back in Sept of 2003 (I was able to pull up the letter that was written to the Kia manufacturer, letting them know that a recall was being made.. They knew about it as of Sept 2003, but said that the letters to the owners of the Kia Rio 2001 should be getting recall notifications around June 2004); it was for the fuel rail, and so I threatened them with Channel 9, one of the local channels in my viewing area, and before the day was out, the service department manager called me and said that they had found the parts, which was the fan motor I needed, plus the recall part (fuel rail), and that they were sending a man to Raleigh to pick up the parts, and they would call me when my car was ready.
Originally, I had needed a motor for my fan, because my fan would not come on unless you tapped it on the side. And we were waiting on a fan motor, but the dealership called me the second day they had my car, and told me that they had ran into a problem, that there were two different fan motors for my car, and they had sent the wrong motor, because the part number was listed wrong. Whose fault? The place where the part came from, or was it the fault of the parts department of the dealership's service department that was doing the work on my car. Maybe it was cataloged wrong at the parts department at the dealership.
Please advise, and offer any comments. I will never buy another Kia of any kind, no matter what.