10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 1
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 43,304 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
Going 70 mph on interstate 4 in orlando fl my 2005 Kia Rio broke the timing belt causing the vehicle to lose all engine power & rolled to a stop we were able to pull the car over to the right lane & barely avoided getting rear ended.
- Fort Pierce , FL, USA
2005 Kia Rio stalling problem. I've had the car in for repair 4-5 times over the last 18 months, and dealership said they can't find any problem.
- Mt Airy, MD, USA
The contact owns a 2005 Kia Rio. The contact stated that while driving, the vehicle would suddenly stall. It would resume normally after she depressed the accelerator pedal. The failure became progressively worse over time. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealership three times for at least a week so that the dealer could duplicate the failure and find a cause for the failure. The dealer stated that the problem could have been the fuel filter or sensor. The fuel filter and spark plugs were replaced but the failure continued. The contact called the manufacturer and filed a complaint. The vehicle was currently at the dealership and the contact did not feel it was safe to drive. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000. The current mileage was approximately 54,000. The sensors and fuel pump were replaced, however the vehicle continued to stall. Updated 06/22/10. Updated 08/11/10. Updated 10/05/10
- Auburn , CA, USA
Check engine light comes on intermittently. When a diagnostic test is run on the car, error P0101 is detected. This error, "mass air flow circuit range performance problem, " can be corrected by replacing the mass air flow sensor in the engine. However, this error has occurred twice in my car, the incident in January being the third. If ignored, the check engine light may go off after time. Sometimes when the problem occurs, there is hesitation in the engine when accelerating after coming to a complete stop. I have noticed that the hesitation is worse when the car is warmed up and has been driving for over 20 minutes. No one at Kia has been able to fix the problem permanently and it is no longer covered under warranty, so I have to pay to replace this sensor myself.
- Chicago, IL, USA
The contact owns a 2005 Kia Rio. While driving at lows speeds the vehicle began to randomly hesitate. The failure usually occurred when the engine was cold or it has not rained within a few hours. The vehicle began to drive normally when the engine was shut off and restarted. The dealer has made several attempts to diagnose the failure. Two weeks later the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. An authorized mechanic diagnosed the failure on a third visit to the dealer and stated that they were able to repair the vehicle; however, they were unable to say what component was repaired. The failure continued to occur. The failure mileage was estimated to be 9,000 and the current mileage was 39,000.
- Supply, MD, USA
The contact owns a 2005 Kia Rio. While driving approximately 50 mph, the vehicle burst into flames. The contact pulled onto the highway and, after a short time of accelerating, the vehicle began to decelerate. She took pressure off of the accelerator pedal, but nothing changed. She attempted to apply pressure to the accelerator pedal, but the vehicle still did not accelerate. She pulled over to the side of the road and noticed steam underneath the hood. She pulled the latch to loosen the hood and noticed smoke coming from underneath the hood along with a burning odor. Another driver arrived with a fire extinguisher. A police officer arrived and used the fire extinguisher on the engine compartment. A police report was filed. The fire appeared to cease, but then ignited again. The fire department arrived and extinguished the flames for good. The vehicle was destroyed. The contact consulted the manufacturer, who provided her with a case number and informed her that the matter would be investigated. She has not yet heard back regarding the investigation. The current and failure mileages were approximately 37,000.
- Sturgeon Bay, WI, USA
My Kia Rio died in the middle of the street. It wouldn't turn over so I had it towed to the dealer. They reported that the engine needs to be replaced at a cost of $6000. The car is still under the 100,000 mile warranty since it only has 80,000 miles on it. The dealer is refusing to honor the warranty, saying that maintenance issues caused the failure. Kia is defrauding the american public by stating it has a 100,000 mile warranty that it does not honor.
- Olmsted Falls, OH, USA
My son was driving his 2005 Kia Rio home from work one night when the car stalled. He was able to get it into a parking lot where one of our county sheriffs tried to give him a jump. The car would not turn over. My son took the car to the dealership on Monday. He was told that the warranty had been denied due to lack of maintenance. Their definition of that was my son went over on two oil changes. I do not understand where two oil changes would cause a car to lock up. Because of the two oil changes Kia will not look at the car. They are making us take the piece of junk they sold us to another dealership and have them look at it to see what is wrong with the car. It has been sitting on their lot for 2 weeks now. I have called their Consumer Affairs department and there again they were no help. So now I take the car to another dealership to find out what is the matter with it because Kia wont even look at there own car. I am not being told what is and is not covered under warranty. In June of this year my son was told that there was a lower bearing knock in his car. He called the service manager at the dealership who never returned his call to discuss it. It that is what has happened to the car then it has nothing to do with an oil change it is the oil pump which is their problem and they aren't going to fix it. Buyers beware if you buy a Kia and go over on any of your oil changes they will not cover your car under warranty due to lack of maintenance. They will get you in their showroom to buy their cars because the warranty is so great and then they don't want to cover it if something happens to the car. That car was the biggest mistake I have ever made in a vehicle purchase.
- Swansboro, NC, USA
The caller said the vehicle loses power when accelerating. Heit only happens when vehicle accelerates from a standstill. No lights come on to let him know this is going to happen. Vehicle does it after it warns up. He said the more he drives it the worse it gets. Hthe vehicle stalls when coming to a stop. This happens randomly and with no warning. He has taken it to the dealer three times, and they said there was nothing wrong with it, and it was a normal characteristic of the vehicle. Manufacturer said it needsedto be duplicated by an authorized technician.
- Masa, AZ, USA
- East Northport, NY, USA