2012 KIA RIO — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 54 complaints · 1 recalls
Most-reported system: ENGINE (17 complaints · 31.5%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 3
  • Fires 9
  • Injuries 4
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2011 →
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 17 of 54 owner complaints (31.5%) in this vehicle snapshot. ENGINE: 17 complaints, 31.5% of reports ENGINE 17 · 31.5% · 6 fire reports FUEL SYSTEM: 8 complaints, 14.8% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 8 · 14.8% AIR BAGS: 5 complaints, 9.3% of reports AIR BAGS 5 · 9.3% VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 5 complaints, 9.3% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 5 · 9.3% · 1 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 4 complaints, 7.4% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 4 · 7.4% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 3 complaints, 5.6% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 3 · 5.6% · 2 fire reports SEAT BELTS: 3 complaints, 5.6% of reports SEAT BELTS 3 · 5.6% · 2 crash reports WHEELS: 2 complaints, 3.7% of reports WHEELS 2 · 3.7% SUSPENSION: 1 complaints, 1.9% of reports SUSPENSION 1 · 1.9% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 10 complaints, 18.5% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 10 · 18.5% · 1 fire 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 17 31.5% 0 crashes · 6 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 8 14.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 5 9.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 5 9.3% 1 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 4 7.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 3 5.6% 0 crashes · 2 fires
SEAT BELTS 3 5.6% 2 crashes · 0 fires
WHEELS 2 3.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 1 1.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 10 18.5% 0 crashes · 1 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 Apr 2012; the first recall shown was reported in Sep 2023. 2012-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2015-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2015-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2017-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2019-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2020-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2021-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2022-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2024-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2026-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2026-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2026-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 Owner reports Apr 2012 Jul 2026 Recall campaign 23V652000 ◆ Recall campaign 23V652000 Investigation EA21003 ● Investigation EA21003 Investigation AQ23002 ● Investigation AQ23002
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2012-Q2 Owner reports 1
2012-Q3 Owner reports 1
2013-Q1 Owner reports 2
2014-Q1 Owner reports 1
2014-Q2 Owner reports 1
2014-Q3 Owner reports 1
2014-Q4 Owner reports 1
2015-Q1 Owner reports 2
2015-Q3 Owner reports 2
2015-Q4 Owner reports 1
2016-Q2 Owner reports 2
2016-Q3 Owner reports 2
2017-Q1 Owner reports 3
2017-Q4 Owner reports 1
2018-Q2 Owner reports 2
2018-Q4 Owner reports 1
2019-Q1 Owner reports 1
2019-Q2 Owner reports 3
2019-Q4 Owner reports 1
2020-Q1 Owner reports 3
2020-Q2 Owner reports 2
2020-Q3 Owner reports 1
2020-Q4 Owner reports 2
2021-Q4 Owner reports 1
2022-Q1 Owner reports 2
2022-Q2 Owner reports 1
2023-Q2 Owner reports 1
2024-Q1 Owner reports 2
2024-Q2 Owner reports 1
2024-Q3 Owner reports 1
2025-Q1 Owner reports 1
2025-Q3 Owner reports 1
2025-Q4 Owner reports 1
2026-Q1 Owner reports 1
2026-Q2 Owner reports 2
2026-Q3 Owner reports 2
Recall campaign 1 23V652000
Defect investigation 1 EA21003
Defect investigation 1 AQ23002
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (1)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 23V652000

    Report date
    Component:
    SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
    Consequence:
    An engine compartment fire while parked or driving can increase the risk of injury.
    Remedy:
    Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will replace the HECU fuse, free of charge. Interim notification letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed November 14, 2023. Owner notification letters were mailed March 29, 2024 through June 18, 2024. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC284.
    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 54 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