2002 Kia Rio from North America - Comments

Clunking noise coming from right front the moment I drove it off the lot.

Has been in the shop 6 times in 2 years.

Had rear wheel bearings replaced at 20,000 miles.

Have had right front wheel bearing replaced 4 times.

First wheel bearing replaced when my car had less than 2,000 miles.

Struts and mounts replaced 2 times.

3 recalls for electronic fuel injection problems.

From the day I drove my new Kia off the lot it made a clunking noise in the right front when going over bumps in the road, such as speed bumps or a gravel road. Since then, I have had my Kia in the Shop 6 times, four of those times were to replace the front wheel bearing. This latest wheel bearing didn't even last 900 miles.

Currently as I type this, my Kia is at the dealership having the front wheel bearing replaced again.

My car also whistles around the front windows at speeds above 60 MPH no matter how tightly I try to close the windows.

I can't tell you how much I Don't love my Kia Rio.

To top this off the loaner car they gave me this time has a defective power lock system, and it has locked me out of the car two times in the last four days. Thank goodness for Triple AAA.

I have decided to either trade this lemon in on something more reliable such as a Toyota or Honda, or sell it to someone else. At least it still has 67,000 miles on its warranty. The poor person is going to need it I am afraid.

My Rio whistled very loudly above 55 mph as well. The whistle actually comes as wind flows through the grooves on both outside mirrors. Your manufacturer (if they have any brains in their heads) can fill the grooves to prevent the irritating sound! Good Luck!

I also have a 2002 kia rio. At 60,000 miles my timing belt broke and seized my engine on the freeway! Luckily I was able to pull over to the side of the road before my infant daughter and I were hit at 70 mph. The dealership replaced the engine free of charge, but only because my brother in law worked there!!! Now it pulls and whistles when I hit 55 mph and the other day my heat and air conditioning went out! What a piece of junk. Not to mention that I have had to put new tires on it once a year since I have had the thing.

I have an 02 Rio that I can't wait to get rid of! It is just over 50,000 miles and acts like it has 200,000! I bought it used at 11,000. Because I am the second owner, it has no warranty.

The whistle is ridiculous!

I have replaced the brakes twice, rotors and all. The wheel barings twice and the rear wheel spindle. There was also an air temp. sensor that I have recently replaced. I have done all the maintenance on it, oil changes, 30,000 mile routine...

Now it acts like its running out of gas on 1/2 a tank. There is a loud ticking noise also and I have oil. I went to NAPA to get a fuel filter and on the way home the check engine light came on! I want to trade it in, but I'm sure I'll only get 50 bucks for the stupid thing!

I feel sorry for the other people out there who also purchased a KIA. And for the others who are thinking about buying one, DON'T!!!

Both rear wheel bearings failed at the same time. My KIA dealership is refusing to honor their warranty. I have 85,000kms and it's 4yrs old. Still well within the warranty period.

They claim that someone did shoddy work when they worked on the brakes and thus didn't pack the bearings properly when they finished. The work done was over 1yr ago. I was informed by other mechanics that if the bearings weren't packed properly they would have failed within 1 week or so.

They have implied that I am a liar because they insist that someone has worked on the brakes/bearings more recently even though I have repeatedly told them otherwise. All for the sake of a few hundred dollars!