Overview & Reviews

For 2003, all Spectras will come with a CD player and body-color side moldings. Kia has attempted to make the cabin environment more hospitable via additional sound insulation in the roof and floor, an illuminated ignition and revised climate controls. Also, all hatchbacks get a standard rear wiper with an intermittent feature. Finally, note that engine specs have been revised this year -- the Spectra is now rated at 124 horsepower and 119 pound-feet of torque compared with 126 hp and 108 lb-ft for 2002. The four-cylinder engine itself is unchanged.

• Low base price, nimble handling, available hatchback configuration, killer warranty.

• Lackluster engine performance, weak brakes and tires, mediocre build and materials, poor offset crash test score.

User Reviews:

Showing 1 through 10 of 98.00

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  Average car - 2003 Kia Spectra
  By Chris L - June 21 - 6:06 pm

  If youre looking for an average vehicle, this is it. It has 4 wheels, an engine, and it gets you from point A to point B. Weve only owned it for a few years, gone from about 65k to 95k miles, and weve had a few issues. The serpentine belt began squeaking during our first winter and eventually snapped, killing the power steering. Weve had the belt replaced 3 or 4 times now, and Im sure well have to do so again in the future. The AC also died in relation to fixing the belt somehow, and the muffler pipe needed replacing about a year or so after buying the car, which we finally replaced. A loud muffler is something I wish upon no one.

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  Fell apart (& short of expectations) - 2003 Kia Spectra
  By pfft - February 11 - 6:40 pm

  I bought my Spectra used with about 100,000 miles on it and put 80,000 on it before the transmission completely blew (more expensive to fix than the KBB on the car). The seats were really uncomfortable and it wasnt good for long trips because the steering wheel couldnt be adjusted so it touched my knees the entire time. Little things started breaking (both sun visors fell off, the weather stripping completely dropped off two windows, all but one speaker blew out, heat/air conditioning issues, glove compartment latch broke, dome light switch got touchy, etc). The oil changes were nearly impossible to do at home due to inaccessible location of oil drain. The car only lived for 6 years total.

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  Well, it wasnt expensive - 2003 Kia Spectra
  By Bexley - December 9 - 9:06 am

  For an inexpensive car, the reliability has been outstanding, but over time the "little" things have crept up. Seat(s) have become rather uncomfortable, wind noise is more pronounced, and now a disconcerting noise is coming from the front end, as if a strut is loose ore something. Also, little bits of trim have fallen off, but mechanically, only the brakes have been replaced, at 55,000 mi. I might keep it longer if it werent becoming so unpleasant to sit in for more than 1/2 hour or so.

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  Built on Monday after beer blitz? - 2003 Kia Spectra
  By BBBBombshell - October 11 - 11:53 pm

  This car is my 2nd Kia. The car is fun to drive and has actually held up pretty well for a car of its price range. However, this baby was in the shop 8 times for a throttle problem. The first 7 times they said the problem was the throttle positioning sensor and it was replaced, reset etc. We were fairly irate because they would reset the sensor and it would be fine for about 3 weeks then it would have no power at all and I was getting 14 mpg - yep I said 14! Finally, they changed the whole throttle body and components. We also lost a bolt out of the flywheel, and they had to remove a chunk of foam from the back door so we could roll down the window.Tomorrow I am buying a Ford! Seriously!

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  Cheap used car, wouldnt buy new - 2003 Kia Spectra
  By Kia Driver - July 4 - 7:23 pm

  I find this to be a decent used car for someone just learning to drive or looking for nothing more than point A to point B transportation. Its been pretty reliable although when things do break, they are expensive to repair. Many parts have to be ordered from Korea and its hard to find a mechanic that will work on them. Very difficult to work on yourself as well. The "little things" like interior trim and such start falling apart around 50k miles though. By 87K the dash was warped, interior trim always falling off, drivers seat no longer went back, and power windows only worked sometimes. The drive train itself is fairly reliable though.

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  Good and Bad - 2003 Kia Spectra
  By susiebelle - June 5 - 11:00 pm

  Car is cute, gets great gas mileage. I bought my car new. Had to change the tires by 30K Replaced brake pads and rotors twice. Replace battery. Driver side locks broken & sometimes wont unlock and I have to crawl through the passenger side. Driver side window roller broke, Alternator going out. Problem with steering system. Hatchback cover broke within a week. Rear window brake light is falling apart from sun damage (I live in Indiana & typically dont have this problem). Brake lights are a pain to change..have to remove whole back panel of car. Very lightweight car and blows around on windy day

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  Second owner, purchased with 50,000 miles on it - 2003 Kia Spectra
  By kimllopez - June 15 - 11:43 am

  Purchased this car in 2009 with 50,000 miles on the engine. With the bald tires on the car, it road like a roller coaster ride on the freeway. Purchased new tires and it drove almost 100% better. Replaced the entire radiator about 2 years later. Replaced the ball joint 6 months before that. Replaced the right passenger side head light about 5 times since we purchased the car, at some point it completely stopped working and my husband switched around the light from the brights to the regular headlight to salvage it. Parts are extremely hard to find for this car, weve usually have to purchase online and when we do find the part in store it is usually more expensive than say a honday or acura.