hypercube33 \(life2death\)

I'm wondering what your experiences with the sportage are. I hear a lot
about the Rio and its timing belt, etc. Wondering how this car holds up on
someone who can throw 50,000 miles a year on it.

Much thanks,
Brian

amazonmama

I don't know about the newer Kia Sportage, but I have a 2000 Sportage
that is running at 182,000 miles. It dropped the timing belt at
160,000 miles idling at a red light with no damage to the engine. It
would have been a totally different story if I had been running down
the highway. Having the timing belt changed is not cheap at the
dealers. In Minnesota, it runs close to $800. I think the manual
recommends that it be changed at 60,000 miles for my model. As for
the overall performance, I have been really pleased. It has had
normal wear-and-tear issues like alternators and brakes, but the drive
train has been really dependable.

I have run Mobil Synthetic or Amsoil in it since I bought it as a
lease return at 35,000. One cylinder was running slightly weak at
it's last compression check but all cylinders are still within a
healthy range and it doesn't burn oil between changes.

The only bad thing I can say about this car is that it is as
aerodynamic as a square brick on a windy day on the freeway!

phil

Kia Rio belt change is just under $400 here in Florida , drive down and
spend the savings on a couple of days in a cheap motel !

amazonmama

I did it cheaper than that. I have a husband who is a great
mechanic. He changed out the timing belt, water pump, both coils and
serpentine belts for around $200. Believe me, once you're in that
far, you want to replace anything that might break. We also by-passed
the $195 repair manual jealously guarded by the dealership. We found
a very useful CD repair manual on Ebay for around $30.

phil

I like the ' I ' did it cheaper , lol . I might have considered it if
I had a back up vehicle but it's my only one . I would hate to dismantle
everything , find I needed another tool or slice a finger off and having to
call around for a ride .

hypercube33 \(life2death\)

I lived in Minnesota for 19 years and moved just a year ago to wonderful
Wisconsin (meh.) So hearing this assures me that it can handle snow and
subzero weather.

amazonmama

Hey, I didn't say it was easy. My Kia was down for about 3 weeks and
I was driving my kid's minivan.
You can bet there were repeat trips to the parts store--we discovered
that our 2000 Kia has a 1999 engine and the water pump changed from
1999 to 2000.
I had to cook a lot of "Favorite Meals" to get out of the dog house on
that repair job!

amazonmama

Another Minnesota transplant! We just made the same move about 2
years ago. We moved just across the border into Wisconsin since we
both still work in Minnesota.
My Kia does really well in the winter. It was the only car that
started in the motel parking lot one morning after a -37 degree night
out in Wilmar. It gets a little goofy when there's 3-4 inches of
slushy snow on the road. I'm going to try some sand bags over the
wheels next winter.
I should also point out that mine has a 5-speed manual transmission.
I have heard that the automatics are gutless.

phil

off and having to


Thanks for sharing that , lol .