2002 Kia Rio Reviews - Page 7 of 21

There has not been any problems with this vehicle, all we had to do is a rear brake job, and that was just part of the maintance.

We love this car, it was bought because of the high gas prices, and this car definatly helps. It has a smooth ride, easy to read instrument cluster. The only thing that I didn't like was the radio. It had a poor sound system and no CD player, so we took it out and bought a new one, huge improvement.

Bearings (at 130K)

Speedometer head (at 162K)

Electronic gear shift ratio problem (ck eng light)

This is the best car I've ever owned. I have kept it maintained in accordance with the manual, and it has performed flawlessly for years. It's great on gas mileage too. My only concern is that initially replacement parts (air filters, etc) for general maintenance were expensive and dealerships charged too much for services.

I bought this car used from the Kia dealer. It has been my worst nightmare.

The check engine light is almost always on - says the same thing every time - evaporator leak, but none is ever found. Somehow it is related to my gas cap, but changed that and the light still comes on.

I have had the same wheel bearing changed 5 times now - three times in the first 6 months alone.

The rack and pinion steering went in month three, but it was not covered by the warranty they sold me (original factory warranty had expired due to high mileage).

9 months after I bought it, the car would idle at 3000 rpms, but when you tried to move forward, would choke and sputter, and almost die, then surge forward quickly. The dealer says no code is showing up and that it does not do it when they drive it.

The lock broke in the locked position, and I had to climb over the passenger seat to get out.

The dashboard lights flicker spontaneously.

The doors lock, then unlock by themselves, unless you use the key to lock the drivers door.

I had to finance at high interest rate (23%) due to past bad credit, so this car is not just costing me in repairs, but in high interest as well.

I will never buy another Kia again, and I wish I had seen this forum before I bought this piece of junk.

Doors occasionally lock when entering or exiting. Duplicated by dealership, but unable to correct problem.

Rubber piece on roof replaced 2 separate occasions.

Car constantly stalled. Even after dealership recall corrections made.

Constantly needs alignment and new tires.

Fan "completely deteriorated" per dealership at 61,000 miles causing car to overheat.

Gas light comes on at half a tank.

Plastic around radio and air conditioning cracked and broke within first month of ownership.

Crack in plastic covering speedometer after second month of ownership.

Motor mounts have been replaced two times.

Water pump seized/timing belt broke at 80,000 miles. Brand new engine installed (at my expense).

No problems with stalling since new engine (put in at my expense).

Remember to replace timing belt and water pump at the same time. You will be better off replacing the alternator belt as well. Dealership will most likely neglect to tell you this. They will check the car and if they don't replace it when it does break your warranty will be void. This means roughly $500.00 to $1000.00 every 60,000 miles.