2001 Kia Rio review from North America

The first problem to arise was a combination of the engine light on and the overdrive light flashing. It took 3 trips to the dealership to get resolved. they said it was a transmission sensor which required a software update at my last visit.

If the car is not idled for 10-15 minutes on cold or damp mornings it will not run correctly. The engine light is always on now, but used to come on in this situation. The car runs rough and then stalls. After waiting on the side of the road for a few minutes the car will start and run again.

First set of tires wore out at 15000 miles.

Dealer insisted that problem with engine light would go away when high tension cords (spark plug wires) were replaced at 25000 miles. The light came back on, on the way home from the dealership.

They charged me full price for the spark plug wires after the service manager showed me where 'high tension cords' where listed in the lengthy list of items excluded from my 10 year bumper to bumper warranty. They were very defensive of their effort to not fix anything without charging me a fortune. I don't expect to ever take my car back to them. I get the feeling that's exactly what they wanted.

I could not get a loaner car from the dealership and twice waited half the afternoon to drive home a still broken car.

Gas mileage is dismal for the small amount of power the engine has, and you can watch the gas gage drop while the AC is running, and you can't run the defrosters without the gas sucking AC on.

The latch on the driver door broke. (couldn't be opened from inside or outside.) Out of fear of a day at the dealership, I took it apart and made a makeshift replacement for the broken spring myself.

KIA gave me a car loan when no one else would. (A Toyota dealer actually laughed at me.)

I don't blame KIA for making their cheapest model car very cheap. You would be a fool to expect anything else.

I was upset when the tire wore out so quickly, but cheap tires always do.

If the engine problems could be resolved I would otherwise enjoy this small car for what it was intended to be.

On the other hand I am so disgusted with the dealership that I wanted to scream. They are responsible for repairing these engine problems at a reasonable cost. If not free then at a greatly reduced price.

Maybe the engine problems are because this is the first year they made the

Rio in the U.S. I think KIA should make more effort to provide solutions to the engine and transmission glitches that many owners seem to have.

The biggest fear for me is that spending money and replacing parts doesn't fix the problems with the engine and no one will say why.

I hope I find someone who can fix this car because the resale value is so bad that I could never sell it for half of what I owe.