2013 Kia Rio: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 217 complaints
217
Total Complaints
64,130mi
Median Mileage
ENGINE
Top Issue
13
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

24,000 25th Percentile
64,130 Median Mileage
92,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ENGINE
53
AIR BAGS
34
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
26
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
20
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
19
STEERING
10
SERVICE BRAKES
8
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
7
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
6
VISIBILITY/WIPER
5

Severity Assessment

13
Crashes
32
Fires
14
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WHEN WE PULLED UP TO THE RED LIGHT, THE IDLE STOP AND GO SYSTEM ENGAGED AND STOPPED THE ENGINE. WHEN THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN, I RELEASED THE BRAKE AND, AS WE WERE ON A DOWNSLOPE, WE IMMEDIATELY BEGAN ROLLING INTO THE INTERSECTION. UNFORTUNATELY THE GO PART DIDN'T WORK AND THE ENGINE DIDN'T RESTART...."
"WHEN WE PULLED UP TO THE RED LIGHT, THE IDLE STOP AND GO SYSTEM ENGAGED AND STOPPED THE ENGINE. WHEN THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN, I RELEASED THE BRAKE AND, AS WE WERE ON A DOWNSLOPE, WE IMMEDIATELY BEGAN ROLLING INTO THE INTERSECTION. UNFORTUNATELY THE GO PART DIDN'T WORK AND THE ENGINE DIDN'T RESTART...."
"DEFECTIVE ENGINE OVERHEAT WARNING SYSTEM THIS VEHICLE, 2013 KIA RIO, 1.6L GDI, 6-SPEED MANUAL, DOES NOT HAVE A COOLANT TEMPERATURE GAUGE. IT SUPPOSEDLY RELIES ON ONE WARNING LIGHT ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL TO INDICATE AN OVERHEATED ENGINE, A LIGHT WHOSE CORRECT OPERATION CANNOT BE VERIFIED. THIS SUP..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28