Faults:

We have had nothing major wrong with this vehicle. However, it does shake badly when the A/C is turned on, and the carpeting is definitely ultra low grade. A/C makes the car shake. Text overlays such as on stereo buttons and around the heating controls tend to peel quickly.

General Comments:

My wife bought this car as a replacement for her dying 86 Chevy. We were initially impressed with the vehicle and it's handling for the price. The Rio drives very similar to my '85 Honda Civic (which has 201,000 miles on it and is still going strong!). In the snow I definitely prefer my Honda Civic, but the Rio does not handle too badly. Some safety features such as the fact you cannot shift it out of park unless you have a key in and the brake depressed seem like overkill, but are a minor nuisance.

Sadly, my wife was driving it and was rear ended, driving it into another vehicle in front of her as well. It was about a 35 MPH crash straight into the read end, and I am thoroughly impressed by the results. Both airbags deployed, and both bumpers were pushed in as well as the trunk lid, but until you get up close, it's hard to see the vehicle was in a crash at all! The car was considered totaled by insurance, but it more than exceeded my expectations!

I definitely recommend the Rio (at least after 2002). We've been on several trips in it and are looking forward to purchasing our next incarnation of it!

Faults:

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.

General Comments:

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.