2005 Kia RIO Electrical system Problems

“I had a 2005 Kia RIO burn down from an apparent electrical fire inside the dashboard. I was driving home one day from work and smoke started to seep through the seal around the dash. I immediately got off the road and called 911. Within 5min my car burst into flames and the whole dashboard started to melt.”

“When the car is exposed to moisture, either from underneath by driving through a small puddle or from above in a rainstorm, the engine compartment gets wet and causes the serpentine belt to slip. This results in sudden loss of power steering and alternator failure, which can lead to the car's power cutting out in the middle of the road. This is an obvious driving hazard, but I am told that this is a common issue due to the construction of the engine compartment in Kia vehicles rather than a precipitating mechanical failure causing it.”

“The contact owns a 2005 Kia RIO. While driving 20 MPH, the air conditioner button became stuck when the contact attempted to turn it off. As the contact and passenger attempted to correct the failure, smoke began to rise and then flames were present near the button area. The passenger snatched off the cubby hole under the cd player to find flames shooting approximately six inches high. The current mileage was 95,000 and failure mileage was 94,000.”

“The contact owns a 2005 Kia RIO. The contact stated that while driving, the vehicle would suddenly stall. It would resume normally after she depressed the accelerator pedal. The failure became progressively worse over time. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealership three times for at least a week so that the dealer could duplicate the failure and find a cause for the failure. The dealer stated that the problem could have been the fuel filter or sensor. The fuel filter and spark plugs were replaced but the failure continued. The contact called the manufacturer and filed a complaint. …”