The Used Car Index

2018 Kia RIO problems

NHTSA lists 28 complaints for the 2018 Kia RIO, 3 of them mention a crash and 2 mention a fire. 1 complaints mention an injury, with 1 injuries and 0 deaths reported.

Data build 2026-10-08.

NHTSA lists this vehicle as KIA RIO.

At a glance

Complaints
28
With crash
3
With fire
2
With injury (complaints)
1
Injuries
1
Deaths
0
Recalls
1
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
253,074
Investigations
0
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
70

Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. The available sales group does not match this vehicle variant.

Where the complaints are

Top systems
SystemComplaintsShare of this vehicle's complaints
ENGINE1553.6%
AIR BAGS517.9%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM517.9%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER517.9%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING27.1%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM27.1%
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES27.1%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING13.6%
POWER TRAIN13.6%
SEATS13.6%
Top subsystems
SystemSubsystemComplaints
ELECTRICAL SYSTEMIGNITION1
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGESTAILGATE1
STRUCTUREBODY1

One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.

Model-generated complaint tags

These labels are model-generated, not NHTSA data.

Failure modes
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
mechanical failure828.6%0.73
restraint or airbag517.9%0.91
fire or overheating414.3%0.72
loss of control310.7%0.82
electrical electronic27.1%0.73
fluid or fuel leak27.1%0.56
structural or corrosion27.1%0.57
unclear27.1%0.65
Severities
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
moderate1553.6%0.73
low828.6%0.73
high310.7%0.89
critical13.6%0.98
none13.6%0.43

Model: typesafe/jev-1.13-20260917; schema version: tag-v1. 28 tagged complaints of 28 complaints (100.0%).

Confidence is the model's own probability for the label it chose (0 to 1), not accuracy.

Model-generated labels on tagged complaints only. Model years 2013 and newer are tagged in full; 2012 in part (see tagged_share); earlier model years have no tags. NHTSA's own flags remain separate in the complaints block.

Recalls

See new recalls and investigations this week.

1 recalls.

21V622000

Date: 2021-08-09. Systems: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES.

Defect: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Forte 4-door, Forte Koup 2-door, and 2018-2019 Rio 4-door vehicles. The trunk latch may become damaged, preventing the opening of the trunk from the inside. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 401, "Internal Trunk Release."

Consequence: A person inside the trunk compartment may become trapped, increasing their risk of injury.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the trunk latch assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on February 10, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC216.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

Investigations

0 investigations; 0 open.

Manufacturer communications

70 manufacturer communications.

Communications by system
SystemCount
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM28
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING16
STRUCTURE14
EQUIPMENT10
STEERING10
EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY3
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES3
POWER TRAIN3

11033803

Date: 2026-06-09. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE.

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: THEFT DETERRENT IGNITION: CYLINDER PROTECTOR & DECAL INSTALLATION (CS2311) - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. This bulletin provi

11034003

Date: 2026-06-08. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE.

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: THEFT DETERRENT IGNITION CYLINDER PROTECTOR AND DECAL INSTALLATION (CS2312) - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. This bulletin prov

11028908

Date: 2026-02-19. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE.

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: THEFT DETERRENT IGNITION CYLINDER PROTECTOR AND DECAL INSTALLATION (CS2312) - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. This bulletin prov

11026989

Date: 2025-12-19. Type: Other. Systems: STRUCTURE.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION CAMPAIGN: POSTCARD OWNER RENOTIFICATION (CS2311) - This document is the owner renotification advising that Kia is conducting Customer Satisfaction Campaign. Kia has developed a new zinc-reinforced ignition cylinder protector hardware upgrade and can be installed at the ignition

11026825

Date: 2025-12-18. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE.

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: THEFT DETERRENT IGNITION CYLINDER PROTECTOR AND DECAL INSTALLATION (CS2312) - This bulletin provides information to install a Theft Deterrent Ignition Cylinder Protector on certain 2010-2022MY Kia vehicles outlined on page 19, which may not have bee

11026980

Date: 2025-12-17. Type: Other. Systems: STRUCTURE.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION CAMPAIGN: OWNER NOTIFICATION (CS2312) - This document is the owner notification advising that Kia is conducting Customer Satisfaction Campaign. A software upgrade that addresses the social media theft method has been made available to owners of eligible Kia model vehicles free

11026698

Date: 2025-12-09. Type: Other. Systems: BACK OVER PREVENTION.

PITSTOP: TECHNICAL OPERATIONS: EXTERNAL DAMAGE TO ULTRASONIC SENSOR: This Pitstop provides information related to Parking Distance Warning (PDW) alerts and repairs involving ultrasonic sensors. The PDW system alerts the driver while parking, by calculating distance based on the difference in signal

11017172

Date: 2025-04-17. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: POWER TRAIN.

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: TRANSMISSION FLUID APPLICATION GUIDE - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. This bulletin provides information relating to the correct transmission fluid ty

11017109

Date: 2025-04-03. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE.

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION NU/GAMMA/THETA/KAPPA ENGINES - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. This bulletin provides information on diagnosing and/or repair

11014912

Date: 2025-02-28. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE.

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION NU/GAMMA/THETA/KAPPA ENGINES - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. This bulletin provides information on diagnosing and/or repair

Notes on this record

  • Complaints from the API and bulk file are merged and deduplicated by ODI number; the API alone misses records.
  • System and subsystem counts are numbers of distinct complaints, recalls or communications that name them. One record can name several systems, so shares across systems can add to more than 100 percent; a single share never exceeds 100 percent.
  • Recalls are counted once per campaign, investigations once per action and manufacturer communications once per NHTSA id, even when NHTSA lists several model names for the same record.
  • A sales denominator is a calendar-year proxy, not the population of vehicles still in use. Rates are copied from verified pipeline output.

Other names NHTSA uses

None listed.

Matched NHTSA models

Matched labels and complaints
NHTSA model labelComplaints
RIO28

Same model, other years

All model years | All Kia models

Other Kia models, 2018

Sources

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