2013 Kia Rio: owner complaints and recalls

Owners have filed 153 complaints about the 2013 Kia Rio and NHTSA has issued 1 recall campaign. The most-reported system is engine, named in 53 of them.

153
Complaints
1
Recalls
8
Crash reports
18
Fire reports
8
Injuries
133.3
Severity index

Severity index 133.3 - High. It weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints, so a vehicle attracting serious reports scores above one attracting many trivial ones (how this is calculated).

Middle half of all tracked vehiclesThis vehicle: 133.3p25 35p75 96cleanestworst
Where the 2013 Kia Rio sits against the quartiles of every vehicle we track.

Among the 145 2013 vehicles we track with at least 40 complaints on file, the 2013 Kia Rio ranks 17 of 145 by severity, where 1 is the worst. Its severity is higher than 88% of its model-year peers. See the full 2013 ranking.

What actually fails

EngineEngine: 53 complaints (34.6%)53 35%Air BagsAir Bags: 34 complaints (22.2%)34 22%Service BrakesService Brakes: 30 complaints (19.6%)30 20%Electrical SystemElectrical System: 27 complaints (17.6%)27 18%HydraulicHydraulic: 21 complaints (13.7%)21 14%Unknown Or OtherUnknown Or Other: 19 complaints (12.4%)19 12%SteeringSteering: 10 complaints (6.5%)10 7%Fuel/Propulsion SystemFuel/Propulsion System: 7 complaints (4.6%)7 5%
Systems named in complaints. One complaint can name several, so shares overlap.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
ENGINE5334.6%
AIR BAGS3422.2%
SERVICE BRAKES3019.6%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM2717.6%
HYDRAULIC2113.7%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER1912.4%
STEERING106.5%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM74.6%

Complaints filed per year

012232012: 22013: 102014: 72015: 112016: 52017: 72018: 122019: 182020: 102021: 62022: 182023: 142024: 232025: 62026: 4 (partial year)12131415161718192021222324232526
Complaints filed per calendar year, not model year. The hatched bar is the current year and is still incomplete.
YearComplaints
20122
201310
20147
201511
20165
20177
201812
201918
202010
20216
202218
202314
202423
20256
2026 (year to date)4
Complaint volume is broadly steady year over year.

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
23V65200025/09/2023SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP:CONTROL UNIT/MODULEKia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2010-2019 Borrego, 2014-2016 Cadenza, 2010-2013 Forte, Forte Koup, Sportage, 2015-2018 K900, 2011-2015 Optima, 2011-2013 Optima Hybrid, Soul, 2012-2017 Rio, 2011-2014 Sorento, and 2010-2011 Rondo vehicles. The Hydraulic Electronic Con
Source. US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-07-25. Complaints are unverified consumer reports; volume is influenced by how many units were sold and how long the vehicle has been on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.