2002 Kia Rio problems
NHTSA has received 171 complaints about the 2002 Kia Rio, and 24% of them involve engine. After that come brakes (15%) and air bags (12%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 171 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 24% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 34 and 7
- Injuries and deaths
- 40 and 2
- Typical mileage
- 37,000 miles 82 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 29 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 13 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 7 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 10 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 10 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 11 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 0 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 82 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 37,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 79,000 miles (21 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 34 complaints mention a crash; 7 complaints mention a fire; 40 injuries reported; 2 deaths reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 96% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2002 ranks 2nd most-complained-about out of 20 model years of the Kia Rio with enough data (128 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Vehicle was in a head on collision at 46 MPH. Upon impact, passenger side air bag deployed, but driver side air bag didn't deploy. Steering wheel came completely off, and the driver died as a result. Consumer's wife was hit head on while driving at 50 MPH by a toota tacoma. The drivier of the tacoma was on drugs when crossed over into path of the rio. The driver of the rio experienced a severed brain stem, punctured lung from the steering column and a severed arm. The driver of the rio was wearing the seat belt.
While driving at 65/70 MPH on the freeway, the vehicle was involved in an accident, the air bags failed to deploy, and the seat belts did not restrain the occupants in the vehicle.
Tl* - the contact owns a 2002 kia rio. While driving at 35 MPH the vehicle stalled and the engine lost power. The steering, the brakes and the emergency brake were locked, the contact was unable to steer the vehicle or stop it which caused a crash with a van. The failure mileage was 77,000. There were no injuries. The vehicle was repaired three times due to the failure. The mechanic stated that the failure was due to the fuel injection system, and later claimed it was the timing belt.
While my daughter was driving her 2002 kia rio, all of a sudden the car just stopped running and would not start up. There was no prior indication that anything was wrong - no light or indicators on. Had it towed to our mechanic - engine was locked up. He didn't know for sure why - oil and coolant were fine. We didn't want to pay to have the reason diagnosed, as it doesn't really matter what caused it - the motor is shot.