Owners have filed 1,097 complaints on the Kia Rio, covering 2001–2023. The system named most often is Air Bags (200 reports). Worst years by volume: 2001, 2013, 2002; cleanest: 2022, 2023, 2021. 132 reports describe a crash, 84 a fire, 2 a death. On average the car was 4.6 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Kia Rio
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 1,097 Rio complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Air Bags 200 Read
The contact owned a 2019 kia rio. While driving 35 mph in the right lane, another vehicle turned from the center lane and crashed head on into the contact's vehicle. The air bag failed to deploy. As a result, the contact sustained neck, shoulder, right foot, and left knee injuries that required medical attention. A…
The contact owns a 2019 kia rio, the contact stated that while his daughter was driving at 42 mph, while in the left lane to go straight. Another vehicle was in the turning lane to make a left turn, the vehicle made a right turn instead and crashed into the vehicle left front tire causing the tire to explode with…
Victim was hit head on by a truck. Victim was going 10-15mph truck faster. Victim was t-boned on the driver side at the front tire. The entire front fender and frame were damaged. Victim sub-stained a bad shoulder injury and ptsd. Air bags did not deploy
Engine 128 Read
The contact owned a Kia Rio. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle lost power. Various unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was veered to the side of the road and the vehicle was shut off. The contact stated that smoke was observed emanating from the engine compartment. The…
The contact owned a 2017 Kia Rio. The contact stated that while driving at 60 MPH, the front hood started emitting smoke. In addition, the brake pedal failed to function as intended. All vehicle doors automatically locked up and the contact veered to the side of the roadway. The contact noticed fire coming in the…
I was driving my 2017 Kia Rio at approximately 70 mph when the vehicle began shaking violently. I heard a loud mechanical sound from the engine compartment that sounded like something broke loose and was being thrown around. I immediately began pulling over as smoke started entering the cabin. As soon as I stopped,…
Service Brakes 118 Read
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
My 2018 Kia Rio actually lit up on fire as I was driving down the highway on way to work. As I drove down the highway, I noticed that I had trouble using the brakes. It seemed as if they were working one second and then not working the next. At that time, I noticed fire coming from underneath the car and I was able to…
My son and I were driving home from work on IH-35 and I noticed smoke coming from under my hood. Then within seconds, flames appeared moving quickly towards the windshield. I attempted to move to the shoulder and after doing so, I was unable to stop since the brakes were no longer working. I had to use the parking…
Electrical System 101 Read
Dt: the concusmer was involved in an accident and a tire blew out. After the vehicle stopped spinning, the consumer got out of the vehicle and it burst into flames, the fire department came and they said fire started from heat of power equipment and the ignition burned. This happened on august 6, 2005. *ak the…
I went into a rural King store to shop when I came back out my car was completely filled with smoke. I opened the front passengerdoor and the smoke hit me in the face it was so thick and green it was just it took my breath. It took me 10 minutes to locate what had happened and down on the door frame of the passenger…
The contact owned a 2016 kia rio. A minute after the contact exited the vehicle, it caught on fire. The fire department was called and extinguished the fire. The vehicle was destroyed. The dealer (dyer kia, 21280 us-27, lake wales, fl 33859) was contacted and advised the contact to call the manufacturer. The…
Engine And Engine Cooling 101 Read
The contact owned a 2018 Kia Rio. The contact stated that while driving on the highway at 85 MPH, the engine emitted abnormal noise with no warning lights illuminated. The contact proceeded to exit the highway and enter a gas station parking lot, and upon exiting the vehicle, it was apparent that the engine had begun…
Purchased the car from kia dealer on 5/20/17 with limited power train warranty. Had oil change done on 7/22/17and again on 10/14/17(copies were provided to the warranty company). The second one was at the dealer. On 12/8/17 my daughter was driving down the street and felt a jolt and saw smoke coming from the hood of…
The contact owned a 2015 Kia Rio. The contact stated that while the friend was driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle suddenly began to lose automotive power, and smoke was seen coming from under the hood. The vehicle was parked and the friend exited the vehicle and discovered flames coming from the engine…
Power Train 66 Read
The contact owns a 2020 Kia Rio. The contact stated that he was a former service technician and that while driving and stopping at a stoplight, the traffic light turned green and the contact depressed the accelerator pedal however, the vehicle idled and stalled for a few seconds before inadvertently accelerating and…
The contact owns a 2020 Kia Rio. The contact stated the vehicle was parked at her residence, when entering inside the cab, she noticed the gear shaft was melted. The contact stated she did not visibly see fire. The police did come to her residence and informed the cause of the fire was an electronic failure but they…
On 10/02/2021 - Was at a stop, put car in drive press the peddle car accelerated at high speed, miss another car and hit tree. Accident cause by acceleration issue with KIA Rio. Need advice on how to get KIA to replace total vehicle. Auto Insurance is just calling it a accident
Steering 49 Read
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…
The contact owns a 2016 Kia RIO LX . The contact stated while driving 15 MPH, the contact could not see and it was difficult to steer the wheel causing the vehicle to slide into a ditch. The contact stated the Tire Pressure Monitoring System and Anti-lock Brake light was illuminated. The contact was able to drive the…
Rio slid terrible after trying to go around a stopped vehicle and the steering was loose and when we hit the trailer on the side. The air bag on drivers side did not deploy and the passenger bag busted the passenger's sternum and a sharp metal piece appears to be in her leg as some were removed. In addition, the seat…
Fuel System 34 Read
On may 4, 2019, at around 2:15 pm I was drving around 15 miles/hr for 1 mile & I stopped around 230th avenue sw & highway 99 in seattle. I stopped because I heard some engine noises. I opened the hood and soon after saw flames under the engine. The flames grew bigger and the whole engine caught fire. I called 911 and…
Our car caught on fire. Kia says that recall notices were sent out to the previous owner to take the car to a kia dealer for repairs. Notice was sent out years ago (2002). Kia knew that the repairs were never done because no dealership had billed kia for repairs. For nine (9) years this car was on the road without a…
The car caught on fire, kia says they sent a notification to the original owner, years ago. We feel that we were entitled to a recall notice before the car burned down. We feel this is not a small recall, it was a fire, a fire is very dangerous and can burn and kill people. We had 22 kias rios in our fleet and never…
Rio years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2022 | Back Over Prevention | 2 | — | |
| 2021 | Electrical System,back Over Prevention | 2 | — | |
| 2020 | Air Bags | 2 | 3 | |
| 2019 | Air Bags | 4 | 1 | |
| 2018 | Air Bags | 3 | 2 | |
| 2017 | Air Bags | 3 | 6 | |
| 2016 | Air Bags | 6 | 5 | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | 3 | 9 | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 5 | 6 | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 7 | 18 | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 3 | 9 | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 3 | — | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | 8 | — | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 4 | — | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 11 | — | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 9 | 1 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 7 | — | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 4 | 4 | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 4 | 2 | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 6 | 1 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 22 | 7 | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 14 | 10 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 415 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.6 |
| Worst single series | 22 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 4.6 years |
A model average of 2.6 hides a worst series at 22. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Rio?
By complaint volume, 2001, 2013, 2002 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Rio years are the cleanest?
2022, 2023, 2021 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Kia Rio have?
1,097 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2001–2023. Of those, 132 describe a crash and 84 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.