2002 Kia Spectra Reviews

Transmission failure 40,000 miles.

Transmission failure 71,000 miles.

Interior cheap plastic parts warping.

Check engine light always on.

I will NEVER buy another Kia product.

The customer service from the service department is terrible. Kia doesn't back up their warranty.

This is the worst car I have ever owned. This car has had complete transmission failure twice. Kia covered 80% of the first replacement, but refused to cover anything on the second replacement. The car is now sitting in my driveway. I will not replace anything else on this car. It's trash.

This car was properly maintained and was never driven rough, and it still broke down constantly.

The gas cap caused the check engine light to come on, but was replaced.

The starter has been replaced twice due to cold winters.

The car now feels like the whole rear end is loose when I go over bumps.

The brake pads have been replaced.

The car has lasted for 135,000 miles so far, so I think I have gotten my money's worth.

I bought this car, because a little over 178000, the previous owner (who had only owned the car a month) blew the motor up when the timing belt broke. This is no fault to the car really... When a car has over 170,000 miles on it and nothing has ever been touched in the motor, you shouldn't be running it over 6,000 rpm's.

Moral of the story, be sure to change the timing belts on these cars and you can run them over 200,000 miles. I know other people that have this same model car, and their cars are still running great, cranking every time close to 300,000.

It does need struts badly right now, but those have never been changed before, and we live on rough country roads so that is expected.

I actually put a 'new' motor in the car when I bought it. The 'new' motor had 76,000 when I bought it at a wrecking yard. No problems with it at all. It has never leaked oil, no clicks, no knocks, and gaskets are all fine.

This is a really fun car to drive. I can drive it harder than any other car I've ever had, and the lowest MPG I ever get is 28. If I tone it down, take off slower, and don't speed shift, I can get anywhere from 34-38 MPG.

Great car for college students, or anyone else wanting a fun cheap ride.

I had all body damage fixed and repainted.

There was a slight leak of brake fluid.

Well I bought the car for a cheap price. It was completely torn apart, and all body work was done and repainted. It looked brand new.

Surprisingly, nothing has gone wrong with it (besides the brake fluid leak).

The car has given me great gas mileage, and has good handling for a car that looks like a mouse.

I like it a lot. The only thing I do not like is the seat is not comfortable on long road trips. The seat is ripping a little, but nothing bad. I love the car.

Belts seem to wear faster than normal.

Brake proportioning valve went bad at 95.

Almost all the door seals have gone bad.

It's a great little car. Good gas mileage and very comfortable. Great for new drivers who don't need to be going fast.

The car has a bad vibration above 75 mph, but otherwise handles well. I've gotten it up to 125 mph once or twice, but the car definitely isn't meant for racing.

The manual transmission is a must for this car.

Overall a great little car.