02 Kia Specta

I have an 02 Spectra that I bought brand new and it has been a great little car. I have had few problems and honestly I have not been the best on maintenance except for oil changes and the 60,000 mile tune up. I have 120,000 miles on it. i did have a transmission problem early on but it was covered in the warranty. The dealerships I have dealt with have always been very courteous and given me a free car for the day if I have it in for something which has only been about 3 times in 6 years. One thing though, I do have the check engine light come on now and then but when it gets checked out it is nothing. I noticed when I get new fuel it comes on and i believe there was a recall for something in the fuel tank that I never got fixed.

got this kia 02 spectra with a blown head gasket.
it turned out to have a warped head.
i got a wrecked 03 spectra and pulled the engine and head.
the head fit fine. One of the great things i should comment on is the craftsmanship of the engine. everything unbolts.
and it is simple compared to us make autos.
it's put together like it might be a great engine to soup up.
the head is designed much like mazdas and hondas and the likes. it has it problems no doubt. but you get what you pay for and truly you get alot with the o2 spectra.
the sub frame even unbolts. the engine in mine is the TF block, with bigger intake ports thaN SOME IVE seem.
after pulling a head off of a 2k sephia and finding out the head would not fit without changing more than desired.
started looking for a matching spectra and it come in the form of an 03 spectra that had been wrapped around a pole. i pity the person who might of been driving that poor car. but the motor and suspenion are well make especially the engine. utube had one souped and going a 130mpg.
sure glad it wasn't me. i have the code on dash as an FB body but that didn't help me find the right head.
I looked that the size of the intake ports and casting.
you can see the difference in size and thats how i found my jewel.


thanks and i hope this helped some one get a spectra on what they need.
lol

This is a decent car, but nothing more. If you want more than just basic
transportation, you'll need to look elsewhere.

I've got an '02. I bought it new with 10 miles on it. But I drive a car like
no one else. I put it on 116 mile mail route with little over 400 stops. I
torture most cars that I drive. With that in mind: The front wheel bearings
went out at about 48k and again two months later. Then they realized they
were getting bad bearings in and corrected the problem. They went out again
at 100k. The good news is that the parts are under their warranty. Also the
throttle position sensor goes out too. I'm on the third one of those. But
on the bright side I have had no problems with the engine and drive train or
tie rod ends and ball joints. The drive train and steering parts are always
being replaced in the American made cars and SUVs. The brakes are too
expensive...I replace those every three or four months and I still can't
find those parts at the local parts store so I order them online. The only
other problem is the check engine light came on with a 442 code or a leak in
the evap system ( I think). They replaced my gas cap and it came on one week
later. lol It still plagues me today. But I do expect to get another 70k out
of it easy. Its a good little economical car not fancy but it gets from one
place to another. I suspect yours will last you much longer than mine as
long as you keep up the maintenance.
Me...123k and still going strong.
Ro

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Letter carriers and brakes don't get along very well together.

I recall working on a Spectra where there wasn't enough clearance between
the floor pan and the fuel tank and it punctured one of the plastic
valves/fittings in the top of the tank. It had a leak dtc like the one
you described.

The Kia dealer has the capability of commanding the evap leak test to run,
so they should know whether they've corrected this problem prior to
returning the vehicle to you. It could be expensive to locate, however.

I have a 2002 with less than 15000 miles on it. We have had several issues
with it. When we bring it in we get a run around. Told by a service tech
that warranty was no good since I was not doing the routine maint. at
dealer. Finally I sent a letter to their hqs in CA with a copy to the
dealer here in Durham. That got the problem fixed but not a single word of
reply. I recommend not buying.

Bud
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