3.0

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
47,067 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2013 Kia Rio:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

problem #3

Jun 212022

Rio

  • 138,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Rio. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was restarted but stalled again. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who informed the contact that the radiator, transmission, and other parts were melted. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no additional assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 138,000.

- Dekalb, IL, USA

problem #2

May 162012

Rio 4-cyl

  • Manual transmission
  • 500 miles
Defective engine overheat warning system this vehicle, 2013 Kia Rio, 1.6L gdi, 6-speed manual, does not have a coolant temperature gauge. It supposedly relies on one warning light on the instrument panel to indicate an overheated engine, a light whose correct operation cannot be verified. This supposed engine overheat warning light never comes on during the light bulb check phase, so that the operation of its light bulb cannot be verified. Note that the other warning lights, oil pressure, brakes, etc come on during this phase and their warning systems can be verified. If the overheat light bulb filament burns out (this frequently happens with any bulb), then the driver is never given a chance to verify the bulbs operation, and this engine overheat warning system becomes useless as there cannot be any warning indication ever given to the driver if the engine does overheat. A likely result of this defective engine overheat warning system may be a vehicle crash at high speed, whereby the driver is never given an overheated engine warning if its warning systems light bulb burns out, the engine shatters from excessive heat, the hood and engine fluids fly into the windshield blocking the drivers view, the driver loses control of the vehicle, and the Kia vehicle crashes off the road or into other vehicles. This problem affects the 2013 Kia Rio, and also 2012 and possibly 2011 Kia Rios as well.

- Wilmer, TX, USA

problem #1

Jul 092012

Rio 4-cyl

  • 2,700 miles
When we pulled up to the red light, the idle stop and go system engaged and stopped the engine. When the light turned green, I released the brake and, as we were on a downslope, we immediately began rolling into the intersection. Unfortunately the go part didn't work and the engine didn't restart. The light had turned red again before I could figure out that I had to put the car into neutral to restart it with the key.

- Chattanooga, TN, USA