2021 KIA Rio Problems

Complaints Reported

Complaints by Component

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

2 complaints

At speeds over 20 miles per hours there is a “flapping” noise that sounds like a bag or piece of paper that is blowing in the wind. Although I don’t know were the noise originates, I can hear it clearly from the driver’s side b-pillar. It is incredibly annoying and greatly diminishes what is otherwise a solid entry, level vehicle.

Mar 26, 2023

The contol post for lights, turn signal, and high beams is too sensitive. To control the lights, you twist the top of lever. To turn on turn signals, you flip the lever up or down. To turn on brights, the lever goes forward. To turn of lights, the lever is pulled back. The issue..... If you have brights on, when you pull lever back to dim lights, the top automatically twists to shut off the headlights entirely. DANGEROUS DANGEROUS DANGEROUS. My husband doesn't have this problem, but he has longer fingers and his fingers hit the lever more at the base where nothing twists. I have shorter women's fingers and they can't reach all the way down the lever. I have since adjusted how I dim the brights by reacing under the lever, (close to steering column), to pull the lever back. This is very uncomfortable and tends to cause me to make the turn signal come on, which could cause its own traffic accident. My remedy would be to make the headlights twist in the opposite direction for on off, or make the switch for headlights have a little more resistance.

Jan 07, 2023

SERVICE BRAKES

2 complaints

Vehicle failed to reduce speed effectively while trying to avoid a collision with another vehicle during a left turn, which then caused the vehicle to turn widely and collide with the curb.

Jan 19, 2022

Crash: 1

On the way to work, I had the brake pedal pressed waiting for a traffic signal to change. After it changed to green, I released the brake pedal and depressed the gas pedal, only for the vehicle not to move forward - as if the brake was still being applied. I took my foot off the gas pedal, waited a second or two, then tried the gas pedal again and it still did not move. I was at the traffic signal for nearly 10 seconds with nothing touching the brake pedal and unable to drive forward. The vehicle did not turn off, display any warning lights, or any signs of other trouble. The parking brake was not applied and the vehicle was in Drive. After putting the vehicle in reverse and back into drive while still stopped at the traffic signal, the car resumed normal operation. The vehicle has less than 200 miles, bought brand new from the dealership a few days prior and has only gone for a car wash at the dealership aside from normal daily commute. The problem has not been reported to the dealership or manufacturer at the time of this report.

Jul 23, 2021

STEERING

1 complaint

Steering Gear Assembly completely broke at 81,000 miles. My daughter was backing up in a busy street at 5pm and lost 100 percent of steering control. Lucking cars dodged her and she didn’t get hurt or worse.

May 14, 2025

POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER

1 complaint

Placed car in park got out to open a gate. Car took off forward even when shifter was in Park Position and almost ran a child over.

Nov 14, 2023

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,BACK OVER PREVENTION

1 complaint

Center Console Display blank (screen black) upon startup unable to see cameras and backing up affected creating safety concern.

Aug 24, 2023

SEAT BELTS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER

1 complaint

seatbelts in rear are inoperable/anti theft not working. Kia dealership told me that its not their issue about the anti theft. I have been told on 3 separate occasions that my seatbelts have been ordered but they haven’t!!!! No one is following up with me, when I call I get told “until they can get in contact with the dealership Kia the corporate company cannot do anything” have 2 kids Kia the dealership as well as the corporate company knows about this and no one is doing anything!! NO ONE CARES

May 02, 2023

STEERING,LANE DEPARTURE

1 complaint

On 3/19/23, as I was driving on a dry, straight, two lane road at the posted speed of 40mph, the car began to try to steer into oncoming traffic. I had to exert moderate force to keep the car in my lane. This continued continuously for about 1/2 mile. No low tire pressure indicator lights were illuminated, however the lane assist icon was on and green, indicating normal operation. Just as I was going to turn down a side street to check the tires manually, the steering returned to normal. However, the lane assist icon was now white, and as I drove the remaining approximately 2 miles home, the icon would change from white to green every 20 seconds or so. The car now operates normally. We took the car to the dealer today to be checked and they reported they could not replicate the issue. Attached is their report.

Mar 20, 2023

STEERING,SERVICE BRAKES

1 complaint

Having been complaining about a noise from under the front right tire, I was initially told it was a little piece of plastic and that got cut off. I was still hear the scraping and squealing and I kept check the from right tire because I thought that's where it was coming from. I mentioned this to every mechanic at kia and was told "that's just how 2021s sound". Finally after months of complaining the noise got louder and you could hear it was clearly something in steering. They schedules an appointment for Dec 7th on Mon Nov 28th. Said it was safe to drive when that night while working I was turning a corner, I heard a loud spring noise, the tire and wheel jerked. It was snowing, so the car slide, only sliding into the curb. The front right break seemed to be locked and when you turn the steering wheel makes even more noise. Haven't been told the issue, but I'm certain it is not safe and definitely shouldn't be on the streets until it's fixed.

Nov 30, 2022

Crash: 1

POWER TRAIN

1 complaint

I had driven my wife to her school about 5 miles and headed back to my work another 5 miles when i tried to accelerate pass car I lost almost all power barely making it up a slight hill I kept going trying to make it to my house barely going 10 miles an hour. I thought the transmission had let go cause while I had the gas peddle floored i went at best 10-15 miles an hour I eventually parked the car I knew it would never make it up another slight hill. It was rowed to a nearby dealer where they could find no problem telling me it was just some bad gas. This sounds like what I read about today with a couple of other models of Kia.

Oct 29, 2022

STEERING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER

1 complaint

The steering wheel column does not have a lock therefore someone broke into my car and tried to steal it and destroyed it, also no alarm went off when this happened.

Aug 19, 2022

ENGINE

1 complaint

I was driving 60-70 miles an hour for 45 minutes then car lost all acceleration and engine light came on. I pulled over immediately turned the car off. Turned it back on drove 1/4 of a mile and same thing happened. I pulled over turned car off and had it towed to the dealership.

Apr 02, 2022

ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

1 complaint

Vehicle has less than 4000 miles and throttle body had to be replaced

Jan 03, 2022

⭐

4.9/5.0

44 reviews

Frequently Asked Questions

How many problems does the 2021 KIA Rio have?

The 2021 KIA Rio currently has 14 owner-reported complaints according to NHTSA database. These complaints are organized by component to help identify common issues.

What are the most common problems with 2021 KIA Rio?

The most common problems reported for the 2021 KIA Rio are organized by component above. Each component section shows owner-reported issues, crash reports, and fire incidents to help identify patterns and problem areas.

Where does this 2021 KIA Rio problem data come from?

All problem and complaint data for the 2021 KIA Rio comes directly from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) database. These are real complaints submitted by actual vehicle owners.