2005 Kia Rio from North America - Comments

My husband noticed issues at about 11,000 miles, but was unsure if it was "typical" car noise. By 14,000 miles the clutch was gone. Much to our surprise it was not covered under the warranty, which was verbally told to us at purchase that it was "bumper to bumper" at purchase (with the exception of oil changes and brakes). $800 repair.

This is a bare-bones car that came with no radio, manual transmission, no air, etc. With that in mind the only real issue for me is that it does not have power steering and it is exceedingly difficult for me to shift and turn at the same time. This is not an issue for my stronger husband. It is also uncomfortable for any type of drive that involves a distance. My commute is about 50 minutes and that is about the most I can take the discomfort. That aside, we bought it for an economical commuter car and aside from the clutch issue it has served it's purpose. I would not, however, buy this vehicle again.

Does anybody read the warranty book that comes with the car? It calls out everything that is covered and not. Clutch is a normal wear item and while you may not have abused it, the dealer does not know that and has to follow the warranty outline.

I see a lot of posts here of ignorant people thinking warranties cover even normal maintenace items like brakes and oil changes and then complain they got a lemon.

As for the "verbal" that is your fault for not getting it in writing. Care salesman are like lawyers in that they will lie and tell you anything they want to make the sale.

If a clutch goes at @11,000 kms it could be because of bad driving habits, but it could also be because of vehicle defect. Keep watching this site and check other Internet sites to see if this was a common problem with that car and if you find it is, then start talking class action lawsuit or at least present your findings to the dealer/manufacturer. Sometimes they have secret or goodwill warranties that they don't tell you about until you complain hard enough. Check out the Lemon Aid car book for a list of recalls and these secret warranties to see if you clutch is in fact covered. You can also check the Transportation Safety Board bulletins.

I found it a bit offensive that the last post suggested the lady and owner of this car was 'ignorant', or that it was her fault that the car salesperson lied to her. Where does anyone get off suggesting that it is your fault if someone lies to you? While it always pays to protect yourself with written agreements, have we come so far as to now not only condone lieing car salespeople, but to suggest that the victim of the lies is at fault? Someone needs to give their head a shake.

I concur, its not right to say someones ignorant. Its not her fault this worlds becoming corrupt and unjust. About the car, I have bad reviews. My dad bought it and has since put 70k miles. Its never ran like a luxury car, but up until 13k miles it ran good. After that it was just one thing after another (some covered, some not).It did its job with being a gas saver, and for its price we didn't expect much. Wouldn't recommend the car if you can afford more, but you get what you pay for :>

I bought a Kia Rio 2005 model 4door 5 speed manual trans. Had 45000 miles, Was told it had a 100000 warranty on motor ect. At approx 52000 the timing belt went, which in turn ruined the motor. Kia will do nothing for me. I would go to court but need to file out of my state. Don't even think of buying a KIA, the warranty is BS. I need a motor so that I can sell this Junk Car!!

About two weeks ago, my timing popped off the motor at 60,500 miles and Kia refuses to help in any way, shape or form because it states in the warranty that it is to be changed at 60,000 miles; come on, please, give me a break. There needs to be some type of overlapped coverage time; like... a few thousand miles under and over 60,000 miles. So, they want me to pay them $5000 for a new motor. Ridiculous; outrageous! If anyone can help or has suggestions on how they might go about resolving this issue, I'd be most appreciative and take any suggestions; ck8ws3@yahoo.com; thanks.

I own a 2005 KIA RIO. At 41000 km they told me due to bad driving my clutch went! They told me it would cost just under 1000 dollars to fix. I found another place at only $615. The problem is they didn't even really look at it, because if they did they would have seen that my manual clutch cable needed adjustment. If they had addressed the issue when I first was concerned (a couple weeks after buying the car) then there would be less damage to the clutch! ALSO they pride themselves on customer satisfaction and service, but then why would they accuse me of bad driving?

This isn't the first manual car I have owned, but this is the last KIA!!!