If anyone is interested.....

I have a really ugly green 2001 Rio that I bought in desparation. It recently passed 115,000 miles. Here's been my experience: at 500 miles the air bag warning light came on; fixed by dealer at no cost. At around 50K, the A pillar molding broke loose (there is only one snap connector holding it) exposing the metal. It is unsightly and a little epoxy would fix it however I'm too lazy to fix such a minor thing. At 60K it needed a tune up. At 90K it needed an alternator; at around the same time the heat shield loosened a little and now rattles at idle or low rpm; at 110K I replaced transmission grease and lubed the chassis; at 114K I replaced a headlight; at 115K the front brake pads finally got thin enough to replace; minor rotor wear and the rear brake seals were replaced as a preventative measure. The A/C freon needs recharged, I guess. It stopped blowing cold last summer; will have to wait and see.

The car still has the original clutch and related; exhaust and related; timing belt and related; battery; etc. The car uses NO oil (none; 3.5 qts in, 3.5 out at 5K intervals). I use the cheapest oil and filter I can find; the last time I checked, I got 41.9 mpg. It is hard to argue with me over the value of this car because I can see 200K or better with minimal care.

Good luck with yours; we own two Kia's and will probably buy a new Sportage when the price gets reasonable.

Mike, St Louis, MO USA

Do your regular maintenance, don't abuse the car and you will be fine. 2000 Sephia 160,000km's not 1 "major" repair not one "break down"... oil changes every 5,000km, timing belt changed at 120,000km 2 sets of front brakes (pads rotors).

We will buy another kia.

Well, that went better than expected. Mike, if after 116k, you had those

I like this car so far and hope it lasts a few years before I trade it in. But if maintinance is low, I might stretch it out a bit. I don't need a status symbol for a vehicle anyway. And given the green color of this car, it's a good thing. Although I did see Brittany Spears chasing after me last Wednesday. In her dreams. For I have, a willow green Kia.

I must say, the only thing that I don't like about the kia's ride is the bounciness over rough spots in the road. I wonder if this is a strut issue. Could better struts be installed to replace the factory ones? If in fact that is the soarce of the instability. I am a very safe, defensive driver that does not find that kind of instability a good feature. If you get caught in the rare situation (a few times a year) where you have to evade an object, the rubber must meet the road. Besides all that, I do like the percise steering and the breaks seem fine, as I tested them on an empty road at 50mph. I stopped quickly. I say, so far so good with the Rio.

Owner of a 2000 Kia Sephia with 80k. One brake light bulb, 4 new tires and one windshield wiper blade set. Thats it! No bumps, grinds, gurgles! It just works! Again, proper maintenance, 5k mile oil changes and it just goes! Gonna try replacing the rear drum brake pads this weekend. We'll see it it's a DYI car. We'll buy another KIA also.

Jeff in Lisbon Maine

"Jim Wild" wrote: > I am ashamed to admit that I bought a really ugly green 2001 > Rio with > 39K for $3000 from a co-worker that was desperate to get rid > of it. > Because he bought a Mustang and has a company truck. When he > heard my > Celica had died, he jumped in with the offer. I admit, I was > in a pickle > as far as transportation needs. I accepted his offer. Upon > doing a > little research on the 2001 Rio, I started to worry about the > reviews. > Now after more research I find myself less of a complete idiot > for > buying this thing. I actually like the handling and comfort > for a small > car. The reviews pertaining to new car test drives are > positive for > something in this very inexpensive class. I'm satisfied with > getting > from point A to point B with my transportation. However I > would like > some impute on what problems I will see in the future with > this solidly > built but unreliable thing. Does anyone know of it's break > down > schedule? What goes first? What do I need to pay particular > attention > to? Besides to obvious oil and basic stuff. > > So far, I kind of like it. I've been a passenger in other > inexpensive > cars before. The Rio seems a lot better than those Geo Metros > and > similar cheap cars. > > I plan on owning this car for a few years. Possibly trading it > in after > 90k. What repairs can I expect to make within that time? > Clutch, timing > belt, head? > > If anyone has owned one for a few years or has the knowledge > of the > break down schedule, clue me in for preventative sake. > > Bottom line,,, I will change the oil and do all necessary > basic > maintenance to help this vehicle along. But what surprises can > I expect? > > Any impute would be appreciated. > > jr snipped-for-privacy@webtv.net > > Thank you, Jim

Dont worry mate just run it on 98 octane and service it every 6000 miles. my kia is 6 years old and only had a new set of brake pads and cam belt changed besides the oil filter and oil. It still has the original head light bulbs and battery after 128000 km on the clock...plugs were changed at 60000 km and still have the correct gap. nothing else has been touched. I?ve had volvos, hondas toyotas mazdas vw golf and kia has pretty much beaten all these makes on reliability issues. you rio should give you good service like my mentor which has similar mechanics...yours is newer.. but what ever you do DONT PUT CHEAP GRADE PETROL IN THE TANK and CHANGE THE OIL AND FILTER EVERY