2018 Kia Rio: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 38 complaints
38
Total Complaints
17,570mi
Median Mileage
ENGINE
Top Issue
5
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

52 25th Percentile
17,570 Median Mileage
78,158 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ENGINE
13
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
5
AIR BAGS
4
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
3
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
2
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
2
STEERING
1
POWER TRAIN
1
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:TAILGATE:LATCH
1
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES
1

Severity Assessment

5
Crashes
4
Fires
3
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"ON TWO OCCASIONS MY VEHICLE (IN MOTION) HAS GOTTEN SMOKE, I SMELLED BURNT, AND IT WAS ELECTRIC SHOCK WHEN I TOUCHED THE BOARD, I HAVE ALREADY REPORTED IT TO THE AGENCY THAT CORRESPONDS TO ME, HOWEVER THEY HAVE NOT SOLVED MY PROBLEM, I AM AFRAID THAT IT COULD BURN MY VEHICLE, MY PHONE NUMBER IS [XXX]..."
"ON TWO OCCASIONS MY VEHICLE (IN MOTION) HAS GOTTEN SMOKE, I SMELLED BURNT, AND IT WAS ELECTRIC SHOCK WHEN I TOUCHED THE BOARD, I HAVE ALREADY REPORTED IT TO THE AGENCY THAT CORRESPONDS TO ME, HOWEVER THEY HAVE NOT SOLVED MY PROBLEM, I AM AFRAID THAT IT COULD BURN MY VEHICLE, MY PHONE NUMBER IS [XXX]..."
"OUR 2018 KIA RIO WAS BOUGHT NEW. I WAS TRAINING MY WIFE TO PARALLEL PARK WHEN IT HAD ONLY 100 MILES ON IT. AS SHE KEPT REPEATING THE PROCEDURE OF PARALLEL PARKING, THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED UP AND WOULD NOT ALLOW MOVEMENT UNTIL THE ELECTRICAL CONTROL COOLED DOWN. WE THEN TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER, ..."

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