Owners have filed 252 complaints on the Kia Rondo, covering 2007–2010. The system named most often is Steering (41 reports). Worst years by volume: 2007, 2008, 2009; cleanest: 2010, 2009, 2008. 27 reports describe a crash, 2 a fire. On average the car was 6.3 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Kia Rondo
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 252 Rondo complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Steering 41 Read
This started on 10/2012, and has been happening whenever I tried to drive in rain since. Ive had to wait to try to see what is wrong because I couldnt afford to do anything about it . It was raining outside and I left my home to go to the store and went to turn the corner and there was a very loud grinding noise and…
The contact owns a 2008 kia rondo. While driving approximately 35 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning and the ability to steer seized. The failure resulted in a head on collision with another vehicle. There were no injuries and a police report was filed. The vehicle was driven to the dealer, but was not repaired.…
The contact owns a 2010 kia rondo. The contact stated that the power steering failed. The specifics of the failure were not available. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician informed that there was no failure determined. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the…
Air Bags 40 Read
The contact owns a 2010 kia rondo. While driving at approximately 25 mph, the cruise control failed to disengage when the brakes were depressed. The contact slightly crashed into the front driver side of another vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed and no injuries were sustained. The…
I was on the tollway in the right lane it was raining out a truck on the left side of me lost control hit into me and I ran into the light pole head on none of the air bags deployed I had my seatbelt on
Rear ended another car at 35 mph and air bags did not go off. The seat belt never caught either throwing driver into steering wheel
Exterior Lighting 17 Read
Hello, I have a 2007 kia rondo lx 4 cylinder. From the day of the purchase the right front tire sometimes makes noises and during the rain the noise is more apparent. I took the vehicle to the dealer three times for this reason and they could not figure out what the issue was. Also once the ESC light was blinking and…
The contact owns a 2009 Kia Rondo. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and turned off, the exterior brake lights remained illuminated. Additionally, the ESC warning light was illuminated while driving. The contact had to depress the brake pedal three times to turn off the exterior brake lights. The…
Headlights shine at a short angle down to the road with a distinct horizon line causing a very short visibility distance for night driving. The issue is not as bad in city driving where there is ambient light or street lights, but in the country, it is dangerous with hills, curves, and creatures of the night. Driving…
Fuel/propulsion System 16 Read
The gas is being sucked down so fast that I'm only getting 6 miles to a half a tank of gas. This appears to be a common problem with this car and yet kia says they are unaware of any problems related to this model or year. The mechanics have been unable to find the cause of the problem
The contact owns a 2009 kia rondo. The contact stated that the fuel pump failed to pump fuel to the engine. The failure occurred without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer (grieco honda located at 1880 hartford ave, johnston, ri 02919; (877) 428-5614) where it was diagnosed that the entire fuel pump unit…
The contact owns a 2009 kia rondo. While driving various speeds, water made contact with the fuel intake valve and caused the vehicle to stall. The vehicle was able to be restarted. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The failure occurred intermittently. An independent mechanic stated that the fuel intake…
Engine 15 Read
Driving 65 mph on freeway suddenly loses compression to zero mph
Engine Star making very loud noise. Will driving. Mechanic told me engine is damaged and need replacement
I was at a red light and the car was started, the vehicle began to jerk violently with the illumination of the check engine warning light. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for inspection or repairs. I did mention this issue when I had the next oil change and the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure to…
Suspension 14 Read
The contact owns a 2007 kia rondo. The contact stated that while driving approximately 20 mph, the temperature gauge reading increased into the red zone with a constant noise of flowing coolant. The engine was turned off. The contact inspected under the hood and noticed that the engine had overheated. After waiting…
Front springs breaking and it is numerous model years. Kia knows about this and has done nothing. When you turn the springs twist and break. This is the 2nd time for me that my front springs have broken. Found during a inspection
My husband was sitting in our kia, in park and car turned off, when he heard a loud snapping sound. Car towed to shop resulted in mechanic stating our front driver strut "exploded" into several pieces. Lucky we were not driving when it happened, he stated. Never had a car do this before, ever!
Electrical System 13 Read
I tried unsuccessfully (3 time) to turn off my cruise control as traffic got slower. I was unable to get the cruise control to turn off by using the off (cancel) button on the steering wheel, tapping the brake to turn it off didn't work either. I did end up coming to a stop (skidding to a stop) in the middle of a snow…
Locks work very sporadically with both the remote and lock button in the car. It affects all doors except the tailgate. Driver window also has difficulty going down sporadically
Water/mud gets into engine compartment during heavy rain. A day after driving in heavy rain, I opened the hood, and the right (passenger) side of the engine compartment was covered with a layer of mud. This included the engine, wiring, and most electrical components. I have never, in 37 years and nearly one million…
Service Brakes 12 Read
To whom it may concern, on approximately, sunday, august 10, 2014, I was driving my 2007 kia rondo and a man hit my bumper due to the fact he could not see my brake lights (due to the manufacturer's recalled parts; NHTSA campaign numbers: 13V114000 and 09V130000). I was unaware of the recalled product until yesterday,…
We cannot move the shifter from park to drive. And we have no brake lights ! The manufacturer recall number: sc098un the recall # 13V114000 recall campaign # sc098 they says its a stop lamp switch ?
The contact owns a 2008 kia rondo. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 mph, the brakes were applied and failed without warning. As a result, the contact crashed into another vehicle. A police report was filed. There were no injuries reported. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic…
Rondo 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Air Bags,vehicle Speed Control | 1 | — | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 14 | — | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 10 | 2 |
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 | 72 |
| Average complaints per series | 3.5 |
| Worst single series | 15 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.3 years |
A model average of 3.5 hides a worst series at 15. 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 Rondo?
By complaint volume, 2007, 2008, 2009 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 Rondo years are the cleanest?
2010, 2009, 2008 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Kia Rondo have?
252 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2007–2010. Of those, 27 describe a crash and 2 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.