25th Jun 2010, 06:29

As with the million other posts that I have seen on this forum and others, my timing belt went at 80K. Please don't tell me I am ignorant for not knowing or reading my manual. I have had other vehicles such as a Toyota Camry where the timing went and you simply got it fixed without it totaling your entire vehicle.

In response to your next comment regarding why I would go from a Toyota to a Kia; it was because my Camry had racked over 100K miles and my family liked the idea of a 100K warranty.

My 2005 Kia is worth $2600 in great condition and the dealer wants to charge $6000 to fix the engine, totaled!

My biggest problem is that the manual does not list that you have an "interference" engine. Had this been told to me when I purchased the car, I may have reconsidered. They tell you to change your belt, but don't tell you it's an interference engine, which means your engine will seize if you don't. Instead of it being a regular maintenance item, this is do or die for your car.

I took my car to the dealer at 68K miles, and had a diagnostic check ran, they make you do this every time, because my clutch bracket had broken right after I got my clutch replaced. You would think at that time it would be mentioned, "Hey if you haven't changed your belt already, now might be a good time".

They have no problem telling you that you need an oil change or air filter change, why discriminate against the timing belt?

What are your opinions, besides that you think I am ignorant for not changing my belt?

1st Jul 2010, 20:18

Interference engine or not, if the manual tells you to replace the timing belt at a certain time, you need to do it.

I got my 05 Rio used, manual tranny. Clutch went out in a month and we replaced it. Kinda mad, but such is life when you buy a used, manual car.

Changed my timing belt just before 60k miles. I'm over 63k now and no problems. I love the car. Good gas mileage, cheap to maintain and cheap to insure.

8th Jul 2010, 16:09

My husband and I have owned Chevys for 30 years, and keep them for 200,000 miles each with few problems.

My daughter bought a 2005 Kia Rio, and has had many problems with it. Now her timing belt went and took the engine down with it at 80,000 miles and 6 months of payments left. Her fault for not replacing it, yes, but honestly, being Chevy owners, we had never even heard of a timing belt before, much less replaced one. (Turns out Chevys have the sense to use chains, not belts.)

Going online, I see Kia belts are a major issue. No one should be building cars with a part they know is going to ruin the engine, and it shouldn't be the customer's responsibility to pay between $500 - $900 to replace this part in a young car. Re-design it already!! We'll stay a Chevy family, thank you.

9th Jul 2010, 10:46

"They tell you to change your belt, but don't tell you it's an interference engine, which means your engine will seize if you don't."

I'm not sure who told you that, but it's not necessarily true. Unless the engine was running at a very high RPM when the belt snapped, then the engine can easily be saved.

When the timing belt breaks on an interference engine, the pistons come in contact with the valves. This can be repaired. It involves removing the cylinder head and replacing the valves. After that, the engine usually runs just fine. I've seen timing belts break many times on cars with interference engines, and I've fixed plenty of interference engines whose timing belts have broken. I've even worked on a car whose timing belt had broken 3 times already, the owner was just that forgetful. However the engine was completely original (except the valves, which obviously had to be replaced each time the belt snapped) and it was running just fine.

27th Aug 2010, 11:47

Every one with timing belt issues, keep all your paperwork. Sometime down the road, I'm sure will be a class action law suit on the poor construction of these cars. They know about this problem, and knowingly will not fix them. Just like Toyota and the sticking gas pedals, they knew about it and now are struggling to fix the problem... If your car doesn't come from Detroit, it's probably not a good idea to buy it.

11th Nov 2010, 16:22

Well I have been reading the comments on the Kia Rio 2005 model. I see the biggest problem is the belt.

Let me explain that the belt connects and synchronises the valves with the cylinders. This means that if the belt breaks, the movement of the valves becomes chaotic, coming in contact with the pistons, which results in destruction of the valves.

So when buying a new car, be well informed about the maintenance of the car, as you can see a belt costs $100 tops, and an engine rebuild costs $2000.

And for the comment that they should use chains; it's impossible, because you can use chains only in much much less revving engines, and chains produce a lot of noise.

26th Nov 2010, 00:00

My timing belt went out yesterday with 90k miles on my car. I have read and followed the owners manual, and it states to replace the timing belt, in California, at 105k miles. Shouldn't this be covered, and shouldn't the valves be covered as well?

2nd Dec 2010, 15:44

Mine broke at 72k, fixed the vales etc for $1500. Just replaced it at 128k, so should get a few years out of it. Remember: the belt is rubber, like all modern belts, so raw mileage is not the only factor. Hard driving, heat, cold, road salts in winter, ocean air, natural rubber breakdown over time etc.

This timing belt issue is a well known issue for 2005 Kia Rio's, but don't expect anything to come of it. They clearly state to replace every 60, which means do it over 50.

Also, ALL engines have a timing belt or chain, so the Chevy comment above is absurd.

17th Feb 2014, 09:08

My Kia Rio 2009 clutch failed on the 408 toll highway, and my car stopped. I called Gaico, and they towed my car to a Kia dealer. I went home, and the dealer called me and told me it will cost me $1400 or more to replace my clutch. Then I told him no, and I called the Kia tow company to tow my car, and to drop it at a private workshop. They refused me, and told me only Kia dealers. They dropped my car at a different Kia dealer. I went there, the representative was very nice and told me it was not covered under the warranty; it will cost $1200. I told him no, that's too much, so I called the tow company, they charged me $90 to tow my car to workshop, where they told me $800. I again towed my car and went to a cheaper place. He charged me $500. He told me the clutch is $180 from an auto shop brand new, and $300 for putting it in. It takes 6 hours to put back. He said how come it's not covered under your warranty? Your car is brand new, not even 5 years old. Talk to Kia consumers, all Kias from 2003 to 2012 have the same clutch problem. I really want to file a law suit against KIA. I have been driving Japanese cars for more than 20 years, stick, with no clutch problems.

I will never buy Kia again, and I will ask my friends not to buy Kia. They lie about their 10 year warranty.