2003 Kia Rio Problems, complaints & recalls

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 kia rio. The contact stated the brake lights failed to function while depressing the brake pedal. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a local dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of failure. The contact was informed that the vin was not under recall. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

Seat belts, car seat retaining hooks, ecm, and distributor are recalled. Cheyenne kia had 3 weeks before original appointment to get the parts. I delivered the car for repairs only to get a call 4 hours later that they cannot find the parts. It has now been 6 weeks since picking up my car and they cannot find the parts to do the recall repairs. All I have been able to do is leave a message with jennifer xt 45960 at 800 333 4542 case # k3094095 kia customer care to find out when I can safely put my kids in the backseat of the car.

When you park the car, shutoff engine, pull up the short unlock stick, then pull the open button to open the door. That's normal procedure. But if you are in hurry, pull the door open button first and forget pull the unlock stick, you cannot open door anymore, you cannot go back and pull up the unlock stick to unlock door anymore. It will keep locking the door back when you pull up the unlock stick. You have to fight for 15 min to open the door. Dangerous if in the emergency.

All of the brake lights quit working at the same time. Done a search to see if there was any other problems like mine and found 3 other owners with the same problem. It has been in a mechanic shop for 2 weeks now and I have just got done talking with him this morning about it and he said that he has not been able to pin point the problem. I feel that this is a safety issue that needs to be dealt with by kia. *Tr

Front, right brake rotor separated at the inboard half. Pieces not found. Outboard half remained intact, and is available for study/analysis. Was able to use brakes although extremely spongy and danger of resulting fire from sparks (metal-tometal contact). Replaced rotor and pads. Vehicle is back in service. Photos of old pads and rotor are available. *Tr

Going out to dinner, about 1 mile away from home smell coming from car. Turned down a side street, smoke coming from heat/air adjustment area on dash. Stopped car, fire started coming out of the area where you adjust the heat/air. Before fire department could get there the entire car was on fire. This was a total loss. Thankfully we were able to get out of the car. I fear it would have been far worse if we had been on the express way at the time. *Tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 kia rio. The contact stated that the driver side door lock failed and could not be unlocked from the interior or exterior of the vehicle. The contact mentioned that in order to exit the vehicle, she had to do so through the front passenger side door. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the driver door spring failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and they denied assistance with the repair due to the age and mileage. The failure and current mileage was 85,160.

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 kia rio. The contact stated that while driving 25 mph, the vehicle started shaking violently and then crashed into the side of the ramp. When the contact emerged from the vehicle, she noticed the rear passenger tire fractured completely from the suspension system. There were no injuries and the police were notified. A report was available if needed. The vehicle was towed to an auto mechanic shop and the insurance company was also notified. The dealer was not notified. The manufacturer was not notified. The vin was unknown. The failure mileage was 85,400.

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 kia rio. The contact stated that the driver side door failed and could not be opened automatically or manually. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing which located the failure at the door actuator. The manufacturer was contacted but denied assistance with the repair because the warranty was expired. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileage was 35,000.

The rear seatbelts don't lock into place right. Normally, when you pull a seatbelt the full way out then let it wind back in, it should have tension on it. The seatbelts in the rear of my vehicle don't do this. They can be pulled back out without stopping. They clip into the buckles fine though. I have 2 car seats in the back, so I need this feature to work properly to secure the child seats. *Tr

I bought my 03 kia rio in 04 and within a mo. Have had problems ever since. I took it to the dealership every month for the first 2yrs when it was still in warranty. There was always something constantly wrong or breaking. The tail pipe rattled extremely loud to the point of slightly shaking the car, randomly when I would came to a stop. It was so loud that people in other cars could hear it and stare. Of course the repair shops could never find the problem. I finally gave up ever having it fixed. I've paid 7...

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 kia rio cinco. The contact stated that the rear automatic seat belt retractor was not locking properly; therefore, the safety seat might come loose. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was contacted and a report was filed since the vehicle was not included in any recalls. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 70,000.

My brake proportioning valve on my 2003 kia rio cracked. My mechanic says it should never crack no matter the temperature climate etc. He says he has never seen a cracked one before and my car would have no signs that it was bad. I would go from perfect brakes to no brakes. That is pretty much what happened. I was lucky and had just got gas and leaving the parking lot. The brakes went out while I driving slowly to the street. I had enough break to stop. My complaint is not for me so much as someone else who may not have been so lucky. I fear for others. Please check this out on further vehicles. *Tr

The switch assembly blower (part # 97251 fd000) constantly goes out on my 2003 kia rio. The first time it happened my car caught on fire. I replaced it. 6 Months later it went out again. I replaced it along with the resistor assembly (part# 1k552 61c08). 8 Months later, it went out again. There is nothing wrong with the fuse. There is not a short in the system that can be found. I have yet to replace the switch assembly anticipating the company rectifying this. *Tr

Back in 2006 I purchased a 2003 kia rio and in aug 2009 I was sent a letter telling me my rear seatbelts had been recalled due to malfunction when childrestrant seats were used. The company knew about the recall in 2006 according to the letter but didn't notify me until 2009, and I have a 7 yr old son who has been riding in my car with recalled seatbelts, this made me upset since that's the safety of my child. The company did replace the seatbelts but it took them another 3 weeks to get the parts after me notifying them about the recall letter. *Tr

2003 Kia rio door opening mechanism has failed twice. It was repaired in 2007. The mechanic who repaired the door said the design of the door opening system inside the door was not good quality and poorly engineered anticipating it might fail again. The driver's door opening devise is totally disengaged and the passenger door has to be used to enter and exit the vehicle. When taken to kia the dealer acknowledged it was a problem with this model but would cost $250 to $500 to fix this problem eventhough it was not the fault of the owner and had been a problem with several others. *Tr

While driving down the road with my two year old in the car, the engine seized up and stalled. The car currently wont start and had to be towed to the repair shop. However, we just had all of the routine maintenance to the car less then 300 miles prior to the engine seizing. The check engine light never came on. As of today, they don't know what the problem is except that the engine seized. There was no prior incidents with the car and it was always serviced on time. *Tr

Traveling aprox 30 mph, rear ended another vehicle. Seat belts did not lock on any passengers, airbags did not deploy. *Tr

The clutch in my 2003 kia rio has failed/broken four times now. My father and I bought the vehicle brand new in march 2003 the first clutch failed around 8000 miles I believe, the second around 24000 miles, the third around 40000 miles, and now is sitting in my garage unable to go into any gear; the car has less than 65000 miles on it. I have been driving stick shifts for 14+ yrs. And I know how to properly operate them, yet whenever I take the vehicle into the dealership I am told it is driver error and charged...

Timing belt broke at 72000 miles without warning. Kia says change at 60000 miles in ky, but warranty in ca allow for 105000 mile change. Kia refused to honor warranty. Stranded for 45 minutes. Had to pay diagnostic testing at kia dealer. *Tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 kia rio. While driving at an unknown speed and approaching a stop, the vehicle stalled but did not shut off when the brake pedal was depressed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and diagnosed with fuel pump failure. The fuel pump was replaced. Approximately four months later, the failure recurred. The dealer could not duplicate the failure. The vin was unknown. The current mileage was 75,000 and failure mileage was 69,500.

7-The engine light is again on at 89,000. This time steve took the car to a local mechanic we know & trust, and was told the transmission was slipping. Again, steve took the car to a dealership around 90,000...This time the transmission was slipping. At this point, the dealership mechanics could not deny this was a transmission problem. Now, we were forced to jump through several hoops providing evidence that we've provided routine maintenance. Which we did, but they still have not made a decision to replace...

Cont...2 Of 3 3-i've followed the maintenance schedule, provided evidence for routine oil changes, transmission flushes, air conditioner maintenance., Tires, brakes, etc. Every auto I've every owned (dating back to 1976) has given me in excess of 200,000 miles...And my toyota had over 350,000 ... And the engine was still purring (i just got tired of having to replace the floor). A person doesn't get that kind of mileage on a regular basis without taking care of it! 4-The engine light first appeared in...

I have several issues with kia. I'll give you a quick synopsis of my dealings with kia. 1-I wanted to buy the 2002 rio cinco in august 2002. I researched it online, and picked the one I wanted before going to a dealership. I went to the dealership that had billboards posted all over grand rapids, mi advertising: $99 down / $99 per month. I waited over 2 hours to be waited on. When the salesman finally waited on me, I was told they had to get the car I wanted from another dealership, and I could pick it up...

Had a clunking sound from the right rear of vehicle, brought vehicle to dealer for inspection. Tech checked the strut mounts and found nothing loose. He then removed the interior panels and found the metal holding the strut tower in place had broken below the welds. I was in formed that the vehicle was a total loss with only 14,000 miles on it. I just recently found out that when the dealer put me in another vehicle the financing of the original vehicle was included. I also just found out the vehicle that they claimed to have been a total loss was later sold. *Tr