The Recall Desk

Vehicle

Kia Rio

6 recalls affect this vehicle. Sorted by severity, then date.

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All years2021–2022 · 1 recall2020–2021 · 1 recall2018–2019 · 1 recall2016–2017 · 1 recall2012–2017 · 1 recall2006–2008 · 1 recall

1–6 of 6

  • Severity pendingNHTSA·23V652000·2023-09-25

    Kia Recalls Multiple Models Due to Electrical Short Fire Risk

    Kia is recalling 1.7 million vehicles because an electrical short in the brake control unit may cause an engine compartment fire.

    Product
    KIA — KIA SORENTO, RIO, OPTIMA HYBRID, SOUL
    Category
    Vehicle
    Distribution
    Distributed nationwide
  • Severity pendingNHTSA·22V304000·2022-05-05

    2021-2022 Kia Rio and Forte steering column bolt failure

    A bolt in the steering column may not be secured properly in certain 2021-2022 Kia Rio and Forte vehicles, potentially causing the steering column to detach from the steering rack and result in loss of steering control.

    Product
    KIA — KIA FORTE, RIO
    Category
    Vehicle
    Distribution
    Distributed nationwide
  • Severity pendingNHTSA·21V936000·2021-12-01

    Kia Rio 2020–2021 brake master cylinder defect recall

    Kia Motors recalls 2020–2021 Rio vehicles due to brake master cylinder manufacturing defects that can reduce braking performance. The defect may cause longer pedal travel and extended stopping distance, increasing crash risk.

    Product
    KIA — KIA RIO
    Category
    Vehicle
    Distribution
    Distributed nationwide
  • Severity pendingNHTSA·23V594000·2023-08-24

    Kia Recalls 2016-2018 Optima and Rio Models for Trunk Latch Defect

    Kia is recalling specific 2016-2018 Optima and Rio vehicles because a cracked trunk latch base may prevent the trunk from opening from the inside, potentially trapping occupants.

    Product
    KIA — KIA OPTIMA, OPTIMA PHEV, OPTIMA HYBRID, RIO
    Category
    Vehicle
    Distribution
    Distributed nationwide
  • Severity pendingNHTSA·21V622000·2021-08-09

    Kia Recalls 2016-2019 Rio and Forte Models for Trunk Latch Defect

    Kia is recalling 2016-2019 Rio and Forte vehicles because a damaged trunk latch may prevent opening from the inside, potentially trapping a person.

    Product
    KIA — KIA RIO, FORTE
    Category
    Vehicle
    Distribution
    Distributed nationwide

NHTSA crash-test safety rating

Federal 5-Star Safety Rating from crash testing. This is a separate government program from the recall(s) above — a high star rating says nothing about whether a specific recall has been fixed, and a recall says nothing about crash-test performance.

Source: NHTSA New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), a federal crash-test program — not a recall record.

Wider context for this vehicle

Beyond the official recalls above. These are third-party figures derived from NHTSA complaint data — useful signal, but not part of our verified recall record.

Federal investigations

  • AQ25001 Audit Query · engine and engine cooling:engine:hard parts internal/mechanical
  • PE19004 Preliminary Evaluation · electrical system:12v/24v/48v battery:cables
  • RQ17003 Recall Query · engine

Complaint clusters with no matching recall

  • 2013 · engine — 32 complaints, median 80,000 mi
    Includes 3 alleging a fire. Unverified owner allegations from complaint filings — not confirmed by any agency.
  • 2013 · airbags — 28 complaints, median 72,000 mi
  • 2016 · engine — 22 complaints
  • 2015 · engine — 20 complaints, median 94,000 mi
    Includes 5 alleging a fire. Unverified owner allegations from complaint filings — not confirmed by any agency.
  • 2013 · electrical — 20 complaints
    Includes 8 alleging a fire. Unverified owner allegations from complaint filings — not confirmed by any agency.

Technical service bulletins

595 manufacturer service bulletins across 19 model years. A TSB is repair guidance to dealers, not a safety recall.

Third-party reliability score

  • 2023: 4.4/5 · 12 complaints · most complained-of: steering
  • 2022: 4.3/5 · 11 complaints
  • 2021: 4.1/5 · 15 complaints · most complained-of: steering
  • 2020: 4.1/5 · 27 complaints · most complained-of: electrical
  • 2019: 4.2/5 · 21 complaints · most complained-of: airbags

This is ProblemsByVin’s own published heuristic (1 worst – 5 best), not an official rating and unrelated to our severity scale.

Data on this panel comes from ProblemsByVin, derived from US NHTSA owner complaints and recalls, and licensed CC BY 4.0. It is not published by a federal agency and is not part of our verified recall record.

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