8.0

pretty bad
Typical Repair Cost:
No data
Average Mileage:
35,000 miles
Total Complaints:
1 complaints

Most common solutions:

  1. replace the heat/A/C cluster (1 reports)
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problem #1

Jul 152013

Rio LX 1.6L I-4

  • Automatic transmission
  • 35,000 miles

Fan speeds up, slows down, falters, at random. Push AC to turn on, may also turn on other things in the Heat/AC cluster. Change fan setting, may turn on AC, etc. Really have to watch or you end up driving with the heater on while running AC in cold weather. Kia dealers know exactly what the problem is, which tells me this is no random thing that they have rarely heard of. In two states, I asked about the problem, and they knew immediately what was wrong, the symptoms, and how to fix it. One suggested fix is to "replace the resistor". Resistors cost pennies - even a Thermally Protected Metal Oxide Varistor is about $8, but guess how much to replace THIS resistor? $250. Oh, and that may not fix it permanently. Translation: there are other things in this unit that are affected, and possibly damage the resistor over time or there are just plain other things wrong in this unit and the resistor is a quick way to fix the symptoms for a while.

- markbut, Lehi, UT, US