KIA RIO Electrical System Problems
Owners have filed 152 complaints with NHTSA about electrical system problems on the KIA RIO across 22 model years. The 2013 model year has the most (27). The words owners use most often: “fire department” (8% of reports).
- 152electrical system complaints
- —median miles at failure
- 3mention a crash
- 4mention an injury
- 0related recalls
- 33%of reports with a speed happened at 50+ mph
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- Fire department: mentioned in 12 of 152 complaints (8%)
At what mileage do electrical system problems happen?
Based on 82 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 152 complaints, 3 mention a crash, 35 a fire, 4 an injury.
KIA RIO electrical system complaints by model year
| Model year | Electrical System complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 RIO | 2 | 17% | — |
| 2021 RIO | 1 | 7% | — |
| 2020 RIO | 5 | 19% | — |
| 2019 RIO | 1 | 5% | — |
| 2018 RIO | 5 | 18% | 5 |
| 2017 RIO | 3 | 10% | — |
| 2016 RIO | 8 | 10% | 35,500 |
| 2015 RIO | 9 | 17% | 38,500 |
| 2014 RIO | 5 | 10% | 20,000 |
| 2013 RIO | 27 | 18% | 67,126 |
| 2012 RIO | 6 | 11% | 17,000 |
| 2011 RIO | 5 | 21% | 46,000 |
| 2010 RIO | 4 | 15% | 84,000 |
| 2009 RIO | 2 | 5% | 826 |
| 2008 RIO | 1 | 2% | 30,000 |
| 2007 RIO | 8 | 17% | 68,000 |
| 2006 RIO | 3 | 4% | 72,000 |
| 2005 RIO | 4 | 11% | 89,000 |
| 2004 RIO | 5 | 13% | 23,750 |
| 2003 RIO | 15 | 20% | 4,768 |
| 2002 RIO | 8 | 6% | 36,000 |
| 2001 RIO | 25 | 11% | 36,279 |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (0)
No safety recall lists electrical system for the KIA RIO. A pattern of complaints does not always lead to a recall.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
My 2020 Kia Rio S caught fire spontaneously while parked and unattended for 5 hours at my work parking lot. The vehicle was turned off and had not been involved in a collision. I was notified of the fire after it had already started. The fire caused catastrophic damage to the passenger compartment…
The Components that have malfunctioned are the airbags, exaust system, electrical systems, sensors, gaskets, and a few other things. We had 5 failed clockspring repairs. The first (3?) under warranty, we paid for another when they said it was our fault, then that mechanic said that it needed to go…
Took my car in as the airbag light on the dashboard kept turning on and offâ with or without a passenger in the seat. The dealership ran a diagnostic inspection and turns out that the passenger side OCS Mat and ECU are faulty and need to be replaced (DTC codes B176700 and B17672F). I have not…
The first problem part is the airbag. The clockspring was fixed twice under warranty. Then the dealership said they wont keep doing it and blamed me wrongly. I had a private mechanic repair the same part twice due to the code it was giving but it turns out thats not what's wrong with it. The entire…
Was sleeping and heard a pop looked and there was a fire under the hood tried to extinguish it got it outside on the road, and it burned to the ground basically
Frequently asked questions
Do all KIA RIOs have electrical system problems?
No. NHTSA has 152 owner complaints about electrical system for the KIA RIO. Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the KIA RIO electrical system?
No recall currently lists electrical system for this vehicle.
What do owners say about electrical system problems on the KIA RIO?
The most frequent phrase is “fire department”, in 12 of 152 complaints.
Other KIA RIO problems
See all KIA RIO problems.