2003 KIA RIO — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 71 complaints · 3 recalls
Most-reported system: ENGINE (14 complaints · 19.7%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 8
  • Fires 2
  • Injuries 7
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2002 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution ENGINE appears in 14 of 71 owner complaints (19.7%) in this vehicle snapshot. ENGINE: 14 complaints, 19.7% of reports ENGINE 14 · 19.7% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 11 complaints, 15.5% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 11 · 15.5% · 2 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 9 complaints, 12.7% of reports POWER TRAIN 9 · 12.7% SERVICE BRAKES: 9 complaints, 12.7% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 9 · 12.7% · 3 crash reports SEAT BELTS: 7 complaints, 9.9% of reports SEAT BELTS 7 · 9.9% FUEL SYSTEM: 6 complaints, 8.4% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 6 · 8.4% AIR BAGS: 4 complaints, 5.6% of reports AIR BAGS 4 · 5.6% · 4 crash reports STEERING: 3 complaints, 4.2% of reports STEERING 3 · 4.2% STRUCTURE: 2 complaints, 2.8% of reports STRUCTURE 2 · 2.8% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 41 complaints, 57.8% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 41 · 57.8% · 6 crash reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
ENGINE 14 19.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 11 15.5% 0 crashes · 2 fires
POWER TRAIN 9 12.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 9 12.7% 3 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 7 9.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 6 8.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 4 5.6% 4 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 3 4.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 2 2.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 41 57.8% 6 crashes · 0 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Oct 2002; the first recall shown was reported in Apr 2004. 2002-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2003-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2003-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2004-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2004-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2004-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2004-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2009-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2009-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jul 2002 Apr 2021 Recall campaign 04V179000 ◆ Recall campaign 04V179000 Recall campaign 05V557000 ◆ Recall campaign 05V557000 Recall campaign 06V294000 ◆ Recall campaign 06V294000 Investigation EA02009 ● Investigation EA02009
  • Campaign 04V179000 was reported 198 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 06V294000 was reported 1,365 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2002-Q4 Owner reports 1
2003-Q2 Owner reports 6
2003-Q3 Owner reports 7
2003-Q4 Owner reports 7
2004-Q1 Owner reports 9
2004-Q2 Owner reports 2
2004-Q3 Owner reports 5
2004-Q4 Owner reports 2
2005-Q1 Owner reports 2
2005-Q2 Owner reports 1
2005-Q4 Owner reports 1
2006-Q1 Owner reports 2
2006-Q3 Owner reports 2
2006-Q4 Owner reports 2
2007-Q1 Owner reports 1
2007-Q2 Owner reports 2
2007-Q3 Owner reports 2
2008-Q3 Owner reports 1
2008-Q4 Owner reports 2
2009-Q2 Owner reports 2
2009-Q3 Owner reports 1
2009-Q4 Owner reports 1
2010-Q3 Owner reports 1
2010-Q4 Owner reports 1
2011-Q4 Owner reports 1
2012-Q2 Owner reports 1
2012-Q3 Owner reports 1
2013-Q2 Owner reports 1
2013-Q4 Owner reports 1
2014-Q4 Owner reports 1
2015-Q4 Owner reports 1
2021-Q2 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 04V179000
Recall campaign 1 05V557000
Recall campaign 1 06V294000
Defect investigation 1 EA02009
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (3)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 04V179000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
    Consequence:
    FUEL LEAKAGE IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE MAY RESULT IN A FIRE.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FUEL DISTRIBUTOR AND MAIN FUEL TUBE ASSEMBLIES. THE RECALL BEGAN JUNE 18, 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT KIA AT 1-800-333-4542.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 05V557000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    IN THE EVENT OF A VEHICLE CRASH, IF THE CHILD SEAT IS NOT PROPERLY INSTALLED, PERSONAL INJURY OR DEATH COULD OCCUR.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE LOWER ANCHORS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JANUARY 30, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT KIA AT 1-800-333-4542.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 06V294000

    Report date
    Component:
    SEAT BELTS
    Consequence:
    IF A CHILD SEAT IS NOT PROPERLY SECURED, THERE IS AN INCREASED RISK OF INJURY TO THE SEAT OCCUPANT IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPLACE BOTH REAR OUTBOARD SEATBELT ASSEMBLIES FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 15, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT HYUNDAI-KIA AT 1-800-333-4542.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 71 complaints · page 1 of 3

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources