2004 Kia Picanto LX from UK and Ireland - Comments

I've had my 1.1 kia for just under two years. Had to take it to the garage as I was having a problem with the brakes, they seemed to be sticking a bit. Garage told me it needed new brake discs, pads, calipers, rear suspension and my tyres were nearly bald.

How does a car only 2 years old have THAT MUCH wrong with it? I thought maybe they were trying to rip me off but it's all covered by the warranty so I'm not paying a penny.

Anyone else had similar problems?

I've never heard of a warranty that covers brakes and tyres!

I would say that it could be normal for any car to need tyres after two years, dependent on the mileage, driving etc. Brake pads, yes, not too unusual, brake discs.. i wouldn't exopect to have to replace them in two years unless you let the pads get too far down and they started scraping the discs. Overall, I'm not too suprised that any of the things you mention need replacing. I am surprised that they're covered by warranty!

£35 road tax? I must have missed this cos my 54 plate picanto (called rusty cos he's orange and will be one day, well is by the rear offside wheel but the service centers havn't stamped the body work inspection page so the 6 year bodywork warranty is useless) cost me over £100 to tax this year.

Also still confusion regarding the crankshaft recall, booked it in today as it squeals like a banshee when I first started, and the guy in the service center is adamant that it should have been recalled (i thought it was just a loose fan belt) but his system doesn't show it needing one but he's going to look into it.

I wish it had a bigger boot.

If you weren't too tight you could buy a new Picanto Chill with only £35 road tax, But be aware that the 1100 cc version is only a four seater, Not a five like yours, The low tax is worked out on Weight against Emmissions, 5 Seat £120, 4 Seat £35. If you look ahead to next year yours will be only £90 or if you wanted to bee more adventurist the Rio Diesel is only £35 road tax and goes like a rocket.

My kia is 4 years old and I my problem is it goes slow uphill and sometimes in any jammed roads. I have gone to mechanics and they have said it is the gear box and lastly I went to kia service and they have said it is the crankshaft. can anybody tell me which is at fault.me.

Does anyone know when the next batch of Picantos arrives in England, after the scrappage scheme started in May 2009?

My KIA Pi canto is causing me no end of problems. I live in Wexford Ireland and bought the car brand new in July 2008. At the end of August it started making a popping noise out of the exhaust and loss of power. Took it back to dealer where they told me it was dodgy petrol. Went to Wales in September and it broke down on Motorway. Again when went back to dealer they checked it over and could find nothing wrong with it. It has had a service and been back since with same problem but alas no cure. Playing up again and now cutting out. Would this be the crankshaft? Also know nothing about recall, can anyone enlighten me?

@ previous poster

I'm waiting delivery of a new Picanto and apparently the shipment arrived in the country a few days ago.

Got my brand new Picanto 3 weeks ago.

Makes an awful noise when going over speed bumps. Can't work out where it's coming from!

Any ideas anyone?

Hello, can anyone tell me what 54 plate means?

Hi, it means the car was registered somewhere from September 1st 2004 to end of February 2005.

Each year has 04, 54, 05, 55, 05, 56 and so on.

MC.

Hello, I'm from Romania, I have a Picanto from 2007, no problems so far.

I asked the dealer to explain me the crankshaft problem, and he said there has been a recall for that, but for the 2004 cars. Anyway I guess it was not an official recall, Kia has resolved this problem when the cars were serviced. It would be incredible that KIA never fixed that on 05, 06, 07 cars because it's about a bolt that comes loose and the crankshaft goes dead. There is someone from Ireland with a 2008 Picanto on this forum. What happened with your car?

I have a 2008 Kia Picanto new look.

My problem is my suspension has a heavy rattle!! On front nearside of the dashboard or the steering column.

I went to a Kia dealer in the Phillipines; they changed stabilizer link, put in additional top mount rubber, dismantled struts, put rubber to stabilizer bushing, tighten the cross joint in the steering under the pedals, but heavy rattles still exist on rough pavement!! Not on asphalt roads, depends on the road condition.

The Kia dealer did not fix the problem in my suspension; they said there's nothing wrong with it, the heavy rattle sound is just a normal sound for the 2008 Kia Picanto. It sounds irritating on the rattles and what they have said.

I hope Kia will check on this problem and recall it before my warranty expires.