VehicleVerdict

2002 Kia Rio engine problems

The 2002 Kia Rio has 41 engine complaints filed with NHTSA — 24% of the year's total, and down from the prior model year.

41

Engine complaints

24%

Share of year

3

Crash-involved

0

Related recalls

Engine complaints by year

Rio engine complaints by model year56 complaints2000: 1 complaints2001: 56 complaints2002: 41 complaints2003: 20 complaints2004: 12 complaints2005: 17 complaints2006: 8 complaints2007: 3 complaints2008: 5 complaints2009: 8 complaints2010: 4 complaints2011: 7 complaints2012: 24 complaints2013: 56 complaints2014: 24 complaints2015: 27 complaints2016: 41 complaints2017: 11 complaints2018: 15 complaints2019: 6 complaints2020: 5 complaints2021: 2 complaints2022: 1 complaints2023: 3 complaints
Rio engine complaints by model year. Red bars are years to avoid.

What owners report

“WHILE DRIVING AT LOW SPEEDS, THERE'S A CLICKING NOISE AND VEHICLE WILL STALL, BUT WILL START BACK UP IMMEDIATELY. THE DEALERSHIP CAN NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. PLEASE PROVIDE MORE DETAILS. TS *DT”

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Engine · August 28, 2002 · crash

Common questions

How many engine complaints does the 2002 Kia Rio have?

NHTSA has 41 complaints about the 2002 Kia Rio engine — 24% of all complaints filed for that model year.

Related

Based on NHTSA ODI data through June 2026. Complaints are consumer-reported and unverified. Updated July 5, 2026.

Compiled by Sharon Ben-Moshe, Founder.