2002 Kia Rio Cinco

Summary:

Crappy model, crappy vehicle

Faults:

What hasn't gone wrong with this car?

Years ago, when the car was about 3 years old, the rear tire ball bearings went. It was still under warranty, but the Kia dealership didn't want to fix it.

In addition to the ball bearings, the driver's side door was jammed. Again, the Kia dealership would not fix it.

I called Kia corporate to file a complaint about the dealership and their refusal to repair things that were under warranty.

Both were fixed, but the driver's side door started having the same problem again about 2 years ago. If I can't unlock the door, I have to open the window and open it from the outside, or be forced to climb over to the passenger's seat to get out.

In November 2012, the belts all went at once, no warning, they just went while driving to get the car checked out. Replaced the belts and the battery.

Last week, the engine stops, without warning, came to a dead stop on a busy street. Luckily a police officer was driving by and helped push the car to safety.

General Comments:

The car has poor gas mileage.

Everything inside falls apart easily; I sometimes wonder if the interior was put together with particle board and wood glue.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 24th April, 2013

2002 Kia Rio

Summary:

Unless you want to spend a lot of time and money fixing this car, do not buy it

Faults:

I bought the car in December of 2011, with about 80k miles on it for $3,500, from what I realize now was a pretty shady dealership. When I bought the car, I replaced the front tires since they were pretty bald; the rear ones were fairly new.

About a week later, the car started making some nasty grinding noises each time I changed gears. I took it to the shop, and had to get the clutch replaced and the pressure plate resurfaced.

In February, it started making a really obnoxious squealing noise, so I had a friend look at it, and it turned out I needed a new alternator.

In April, it stopped going into reverse, and sometimes wouldn't go into 5th gear, and one of the wheel bearings went out. I got the wheel bearing replaced, and had to get a new transmission put in.

After that I thought I would finally be done with trouble with this car... until last night (May 27, 2012). I was on my way home, going down the highway, when the car simply died. Out of nowhere it started slowing down, then the engine just shut off and wouldn't start again. I don't know exactly what went wrong. I will find out tomorrow when the shop is open, but at this point I don't even know if it is worth it to fix anymore.

General Comments:

When it is working fine, this car is nice and fun to drive, but most of the time there seems to be something wrong with it.

I'm sure if I would have bought it a few years ago with less miles on it, I would still be happy with this car, but apparently 90,000 miles is its limit.

The car also has no power steering, no power windows/locks and no anti-lock brakes. This isn't really a big deal; it is pretty easy to get used to.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 28th May, 2012

20th Sep 2017, 13:19

I'm sorry you got a raw deal. They are out there everywhere. However to be fair... I bought my 2002 new - it's now end of 2017... kept up with regular maintenance... no major problems (that's 2 timing belts, front brakes and nothing else); even the original battery lasted until winter 2013! Now... the ignition needs work. Key gets stuck and it's just below a $500 job to fix. Been an awesome car for the money.