2002 Kia Rio - two issues!

thataliciagirl · 12-12-2007, 08:40 PM

I am NOT a car-savvy girl. I should be, and I wish I was ... but I am not. I'm hoping some of you can help me out. I am a struggling college student so car troubles obviously stress me out immensely. I've been reading a lot on here and get the impression that the clutches in Rios aren't very reliable and do not last very long, and are expensive to repair/replace. Please oh please I hope I don't need to replace my clutch.

Here's the deal:

Since moving from Maine to Mass in August, my check engine light has been coming on and going off. It stays on for a day or two and then goes off, and comes on sometimes a day or two later, but it has gone a week or so before turning on. It was very hot and humid when this started. When starting the car, it acts weird. (excuse me if my terminology is incorrect) It idles down a lot, almost like it wants to stall - but it never does. It does that a few times and then snaps out of it and runs fine. I never go anywhere until it's done doing that.

The more stressful issue:

Lately, it's been shifting very hard. The clutch pedal is fine, not looser or tighter than normal. It is not grinding or making weird noises when I shift, either. This mostly happens when downshifting from 3rd to 2nd or 2nd to 1st. An example: I pull into my driveway and have to drive around to my parking spot on the other side of the building; I coast into the driveway and when I need to accelerate again I will go to put it into 1st or 2nd it is REALLY HARD to do so. I've noticed in the past few days that if I let off the clutch and engage it again, that seems to make it easier to shift into gear.

I'm really hoping that this will be an easy thing to figure out/fix. I have a friend who knows a lot about cars, but has never done anything with a clutch. His father is a mechanic and Roman assures me he can fix anything, if he doesn't know how he can just call his dad and get talked through it.

If you could please give me suggestions as to what the problem(s) could be, and what to have Roman check for (under the hood, and/or while driving it), I would really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance!

2004riotuner · 12-12-2007, 09:03 PM

Most transmissions are difficult to shift when the oil is cold.. Especially if the tempuratures have been low over night.. I wouldn't say it sounds like a clutch problem.. If the clutch pedal is not stiff and the clutch is not slipping I would rule out the clutch..

The idle issue could be a vacuum leak.. I found a small crack in the vacuum line off the back of my throttle body maybe 6 months after I bought the car. The dealership replaced it but it would cause the idle to be irratic when at a stop. Though if the check engine light stays on I suggest you go and get the code read from the ECM it will give a really good idea as to where to start.