Hi Duncan,

I own the 2002 Kia Rio (4 door) with 1.5 liter engine and 5 speed manual
transmission.

Starting at about 5,000 miles I had my first instance of clutch slip. I let
it go as it was just a single occurance.

Then at 8,000 miles the same thing started to happen; noticably when in
fifth gear at the top of a freeway entrance ramp, merging and goosing the
gas for the last 15 mph of acceleration (again, in 5th   gear).

New Orleans Kia Dealer's service advisor first remarked "Oh, I didn't think
they MADE them with manual transmissions!". Then the service mechanic
test-drove it and REALLY smoked the clutch (thanks, buddy!) and they
basically said "yep, it's slipping all right; replace the clutch, it's not a
warranty item being a "wear item". I've owned many autos with manual
transmissions and when buying a new car, I don't have to replace the clutch
usually until 165,000 miles. I operate my vehicles conservatively (though I
drive rather fast on open expressways) when going through the gears.

My beef is that my local St. Augustine, FL dealer says there's nothing to
adjust! I adjusted my own linkage and managed to get the problem under
control. Now I am up to 97,000 miles on that very same clutch.

Duncan, I'd strongly suggest that you carefully inspect under your car's
engine from below and look between the engine and transmission cases. On my
car there is oil, a very minute amount, coming from between the engine and
transmission pans, where they join together. I get a small "ink blot" little
drop of oil about once every two days on my (new) concrete driveway.

What they did not recognize in the two times I've brought the car in to
assess the problem was that PROBABLY I was getting oil from the engine onto
the clutch.

I am going to bring it back in before it hits 100,000 miles. And I am going
to press them into replacing the clutch under warranty work for the main
engine oil seal. Or at least skip out on the labor. I have in thier records
that I did bring it into thier shop at 19,000 miles for this problem and New
Orleans at 8,000 miles. If even I buy the clutch lining (about $120 US
retail, I believe) with free labor that should set me up. Why should  you
nurse-maid a clutch for so many miles? Using my method of adjustment I have
been able to successfully negotiate mountains on the freeway on trips I take
out of state/cross country.

Also, look out for your back wheel bearings. Both the left and the right
inner and outer rear wheel bearings have failed prematurely.

The rest of the car, save for electrical engine noise on the AM radio (I
love chasing down distant and fringe AM stations and listening to talk radio
or news) is fine. With those oil droppings, my engine literally NEVER
consumes any motor oil.  Oh, and always make sure your gasoline filler cap
is on very snugly. Or else you'll get you check engine light to come on. I
have had no other problems with it at all. I have done no maintenance except
for oil changes, replacing the air filter and I just regapped my platinum
factory spark plugs that were burning out a bit from excessive use/
exceeding thier lifespan. I am going to look into replacing the timing belt
once it shows signs of wear. Should really replace it every 60,000 miles, I
wait till I see it 'aging' or wearing.

Ah, also I replaced the front brake pads and lubed the sliding pin for both
the front brake calipers. The brake wore out on the front left pad when the
caliper didn't retract fully to it's normal resting position. This isn't a
major problem, rather common. Brakes make for a lot of dust and then there's
the normal dirt and grime you normally encounter, along with the heat
generated by brakes, the grease inside the pin area under the weather boot
tends to dry up a bit.

Best of luck and please post what happens to you in getting this settled. I
love manual transmissions and this is causing me to re-think what I'll have
the next time I buy.

Ron in Florida
I owned the car from new since August 2002 and am closing in on  100,000
miles soon.

I took the car in and mentioned what I'd learned here.  As soon as I said
I'd learned there was a simple adjustment to be made to the pedal, the
service manager perked up and asked if I had a thick snow-mat in my car.  As
it happens, I did -- a very thick one.  He said he'd seen the problem
before, he'd adjust the pedal (he did it for free) but that I mustn't
interfere with the pedal again.  It needs the full range of motion, else
it's never completely disengaged and thus I'm chewing gears with every
change.

The vehicle functions as expected now, so I'm a happy camper.  Thanks for
the help, folks!

Cheers;
Duncan