There are 5 owner-reported body & structure complaints for the 2002 Kia Rioin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
WHILE TRAVELING ON THE HIGHWAY AND WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING WATER WAS LEAKING INSIDE OF VEHICLE. *AK
WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLES TRANSMISSION FELL OUT OF THE CAR. *NLM
BACK WINDOW ON DRIVER SIDE OF VEHICLE IS LEAKING, INTERIOR SMELLS LIKE MILDEW. VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED BY DEALER, ON OCTOBER 18TH CONSUMER NOTICED IT LEAKING AGAIN. TS
IF VEHICLE IS ON THE SLIGHTEST INCLINE THE TRUNK LID WILL COLLAPSE WHEN OPENED FULLY. ONCE WHEN THIS OCCURRED IT RENDERED THE CONSUMER UNCONSCIOUS. DEALERSHIP REPLACED THE TRUNK LID SPRING, BUT IT DIDN'T CORRECT THE PROBLEM. ALSO, AT 4000 MILES THE TRUCK IS HAVING PROBLEM WITH EXCESSIVE FRONT TIRE TREAD WEAR ON THE INSIDE ONLY. AT 6000 MILES THE FRONT TIRES WERE REPLACED, AND A FRONT ALIGNMENT WAS PERFORMED. FRONT TIRE TREAD WORE OUT AGAIN AT 12000 MILES. THE FACTORY REPRESENTATIVE WAS CONTACTED, BUT DIDN'T PROVIDE ANY ASSISTANCE. THE FRONT TIRES WERE REPLACED AGAIN AT 20000 MILES WITH BRAND NEW 60000 MILES WEAR TIRES BUT THEY HAVE WORN EXCESSIVELY AT 10,000 MILES. *AK
CONSUMER CALLED COMPLAINING ABOUT HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE ENGINE LIGHT, THE RUBBERS ON THE BACK DOORS WERE DAMAGED,CLANK,ALSO THE LAST THINGS WERE THE CARTEPILLAR WERE WEARD OUT AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. DEALER WAS CONTACTED AND HAVE FIX ALL THE PROBLEMS. MR
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026