2002 Kia Rio Reviews

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.

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.

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.

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.

Replaced the auto transmission at 85,000 miles.

Bought a used 2002 KIA Rio from a dealer in Sept, 2004 with 20K miles. AND I got the add-on 5-year extended warranty. Have ALWAYS had it serviced at the recommended intervals, at the dealership.

You have to replace the timing belt at around 60K-70K to avoid expensive engine problems later.

Got a replacement transmission, covered under warranty, in the last month of the warranty.

My Rio now has 100K miles and runs like a charm. Recently drove it to Las Vegas & back, got over 30 mpg. Does 85+ no problem. If you properly maintain/service your car and don't always drive like it's a race car, it will last a long time. Very satisfied with this car.