9th Jul 2002, 17:45

Hi, we bought our Kia Rio in May 2001, we have only had one problem with it. The rear break light switch broke as so we didn't have brake lights. We took it in the 1st time and they adjusted it and they started working, about a month later we noticed that they quit working again, we took it to a different dealership to get it fixed and had to order a new switch, and so far (has been about 8 months) they are working fine.

Other than that I think the Kia Rio is a great car, we drove from Washington state to Reno, Nevada doing about 70mph all the way and didn't have any problems. Over all I think the Kia Rio is a great car for the price! We are currently at 35,000 miles (in just one year) and its still going strong.

Thanks,

John & Crystal

Redmond, Washington

11th Aug 2002, 07:27

My daughter purchased a 2001 RIO in July 2000. We have had nothing but problems for the first week. Check engine light comes on continualy. Inside trim fell off, outside roof trim fell off, cassette player quite working, car would not come out of park, now after refueling the car will not start for 5 or 10 minutes. Car has been in the shop 7 times for this problem to no avail. I have phoned, email-ed and written to KIA so called customer service with no response. The dealer has done everything possible with the help of the KIA engineers and still the latest problem goes on.

Dave

Conyers,Ga.

24th Nov 2002, 05:00

My Kia Rio is only 2 years old and I have had many frustrating problems with it.

The first problem was the airbag sensor light would not turn off, so the dealership "fixed it". It couldn't have been more than a week later and it came back on. Back at the dealership again. This time they replace a defective airbag.

Next trip to the dealership was for a recall part, a blown speaker, and a broken visor (which has now been fixed twice).

About 1 month later the car is back home again (dealership) because it was having transmission trouble. Hard shifting between 2nd and 3rd gears. A automatic transmission shouldn't shift so rough that you almost put your face through the windshield. The dealership and I are now on a first name basis, they replaced the transmission.

About 9 months pass and suddenly I find myself calling a tow truck one night after work because the radiator went out. At that time I had the dealership check the transmission again, and this time they replace the computer for the transmission and the radiator.

About 1 month passes and I've had it! More problems with the transmission. The dealership replaced the transmission once again. Since then, I have more trouble. My car could not down shift automatically to get up a hill, so before coming to a complete stop I had to drop the transmission into 1st gear manually. Is it worth going back for more? I may just wait until it drops out on the freeway.

Although I have to give credit to the dealerships that I have been in contact with, they have been very helpful. I wouldn't recommend buying a kio rio to anyone.

Also, I would like to add that the warranty should cover rental car costs, especially if their cars practically live in the shop.

7th Dec 2002, 12:36

I have a 2000 Kia Sephia that I bought used with 23k miles on it from a private party. The previous owner told me that she bought it new, and the only problem she had was that the transmission was replaced at 21.5k miles. The reason was the car would not shift out of park.

I bought this car in August of 2002. The only problem I had until now was that the shift lever would need a good amount of jiggling before it would shift out of park. My local dealer replaced the shift lever assembly and that cured the problem.

Last Friday night, I was driving around town, when I hear this rattle coming from the engine, making the engine sound like a VW Bug. On Monday I took it to the dealer. The dealer calls me on Tuesday and says the engine head is defective and they will have to replace the head! On a car with only 24k miles I would expect more quality. Replacing the transmission and the engine head is very unusual. Thanks to my Jaguar ownership, I religiously keep ALL fluids topped up, and checked weekly. We'll see how the next 24k go...

11th Dec 2002, 11:58

What a waste of time and money! I bought my defective KIA in March 2000. Four transmission related failures, poor mileage, chipped paint and the smell of rotten eggs taunted me. A hard shift between gears, loss of power and the all too familiar check engine light still haunt me. I took the car back in July and got their usual customer service. KIA of Newmarket states it's not their problem and repairs are costing them too much. It was deemed safe enough to drive even though I thought I'd fly right through the windshield upon gentle acceleration. It was towed so many times and waiting for repairs was tiresome. No courtesy vehicle was offered. I saw no light at the end of the tunnel. I now owe five thousand dollars to a collection agency. The vehicle was voluntarily repossessed and sold last week for a whopping six thousand and seven hundred bucks after one and a half years. I felt sad that someone bought that defective car, but wish them better luck!

8th Apr 2003, 15:53

I bought my 2001 KIA Rio at Sept. 2000 and now have 49,300 miles. So far I've found only one DOA problem, which is the Air Bag Sensor light "ON" all the time. It happen after I bought my car. I felt worry during driving on the freeway, so I decide to drove my car back to dealer to fix that problem. They took a few hours to fix that, but the sensor turn "ON" again after few weeks later. Then I went back to the same dealer again and mention that was second time already. Unfortunately, it happen again after! But this time I was tired to drove back to dealer fix that problem again! My car never brought me any other problems until now (except sensor light on), I just did oil & filter change every 3~5 thousand miles only! But I plan to do a 50 thousands major maintenance in a few weeks, even though my car still run fine!

However, I broke the handle of left side mirror (manual), broke the right side rear suspension (shock absorber)...etc. by myself, but dealer replace all these new part and install for me was none of charge!!

9th May 2003, 16:17

I have owned a 2001 Kia Rio for about a month now and it had 11,200 miles on it when I purchased it. It is a very nice car and rides very smoothly--I was surprised at the handling when I drove it the first time. Absolutely love it and look forward too many more miles! Stephanie, Alabama.

15th Aug 2005, 14:28

Hi There.

I am leasing a 2004 KIA Rio RX-V. I was coming home from Florida two weeks ago and the rear wheel bearings went on both tires. I was coming down the Appalachian mountains in West Virginia. The car did not even have 10000 km on it yet. The car had to be put up onto a truck to take it to the dealership.

The response of the dealership that I purchased it from was a nightmare.

As of today someone is taking over my lease. I have lost over $1,500.00 down payment money. And the dealership would not even cover the hotel costs. WE COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED!

Catherine in Ontario Canada.

27th Aug 2009, 23:31

I got a 2001 Kia Rio, and it's a great car for the price I guess. Something is really screwed up in my transmission because sometimes it's stuck in 1 and 2 gear only (I have auto). I'm just going to wait until it breaks one day to buy a new Chevy Aveo.

7th Feb 2011, 21:04

I have a 2001 Kia Rio RS manual transmission.

Personally I like them. They're a good little car and can take abuse.

I have had a few problems with it though, the main relay went (no one can help that), right front axel is going, gas tank has a hole.

Other than that it's a great car. I am currently at 167834 kms.