What are the most common problems on the 2018 Kia Rio?

NHTSA has 27 owner complaint(s) on record for the 2018 Kia Rio. Engine is the most-reported problem area on the 2018 Kia Rio, cited in 14 of 27 filed complaints (52%).

Problems › Kia › 2018 Rio

2018 Kia Rio Problems & Owner Complaints

27 NHTSA owner complaints

3 crash 2 fire 1 injury

Age-normalised, this year draws ~3.0 complaints per year on the road — ranking 9 of 14 Kia Rio years we track (1 = most complaints per year).

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What owners report

Engine is the most-reported problem area on the 2018 Kia Rio, cited in 14 of 27 filed complaints (52%).

Air Bags is next (4 complaints, 15%), followed by Electrical System (4), Exterior Lighting (2), Fuel/Propulsion System (2).

Across all complaints, 3 report a crash, 2 report a fire, 1 report injuries.

The most safety-critical cluster is Engine: 1 crash, 1 fire, 1 injury report(s).

Complaints by vehicle system

Owner complaints filed with the U.S. NHTSA for the 2018 Kia Rio, grouped by the vehicle system each cites. A single complaint can name more than one system, so the group totals can add up to more than 27.

Engine 14 1 crash 1 fire 1 injury

“On 10/02/2021 - Was at a stop, put car in drive press the peddle car accelerated at high speed, miss another car and hit tree. Accident cause by acceleration issue with KIA Rio. Need advice on how to get KIA to replace total vehicle. Auto Insurance is just calling it a accident.”
NHTSA complaint #11436781, 2021 · crash · 1 injury(ies)

“My 2018 Kia Rio actually lit up on fire as I was driving down the highway on way to work. As I drove down the highway, I noticed that I had trouble using the brakes. It seemed as if they were working one second and then not working the next. At that time, I noticed fire coming from underneath the car and I was able to get the vehicle to the side of the road. As I was exiting the vehicle, the flames were coming up on either side of the driver and passenger doors. Within the next couple minutes the car exploded. Fire rescue put out the fire and the interstate was closed to all traffic. Since t…”
NHTSA complaint #11593284, 2024 · fire

“Vehicle has excessive oil consumption defect acknowledged in Kia TSB ENG222. Repeated catalytic converter failures indicate potential overheating risk similar to 2019 Gamma engine recall for fire hazard. Engine burning oil creates risk of critically low oil levels leading to engine failure/stalling while driving. Multiple emission system failures (oil consumption, catalytic converter) suggest unsafe vehicle condition. Vehicle failed Kia’s own oil consumption tests in December 2023 and March 2024. Kia dealership recommended engine replacement per TSB ENG222 in March 2024. Kia denied coverage ci…”
NHTSA complaint #11739727, 2026

Unknown Or Other 5 1 crash

“My vehicle was stolen while parked with a club on the steering wheel then damaged and abandoned. I was without a vehicle for a month during repairs. It has been reported on the news that Kias are easily stolen due to the type of ignition system. A recall to fix this is need immediately!”
NHTSA complaint #11498683, 2022 · crash

“Auto theft alarm listed as standard. There is NO THEFT DETECTION AT ALL. There is only a bogus flashing led that does nothing when parked. This is fraud.”
NHTSA complaint #11501364, 2023

“I received notice on 2/10/22 that there was a remedy part for my 2018 Kia Rio. The letter said it was a recall part involving a latch that opens my trunk from the inside. I tried repeatedly since then to make an appointment at Glendale, CA or Alhambra, CA Kia dealerships thru the Kia website but the website malfunctions every time I make an attempt. I tried at least 3 times to call, and the service department did not answer. On 7.20.22, I sent a request through the website chatbox, asking for an appointment and so far, no response.”
NHTSA complaint #11475215, 2022

Air Bags 4 1 crash

“I HIT A DEER HEAD ON GOING 74 MPH ON THE PENNSYLVANIA TURNPIKE. SEVERE FRONT END DAMAGE. AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY”
NHTSA complaint #11385131, 2020 · crash

“My car is a 2018 Kia Rio that has a clean history and has never been in an accident. Recently my airbag light came on and I had a diagnostic run that showed a B1448 code indicating an OCS mat defect in the passenger seat. The 2015-2018 Kia Sedona models also had the same problem and were issued safety recalls. Due to this previous history I believe there could be a safety recall needed for the Kia Rio models as well.”
NHTSA complaint #11713726, 2026

“Took my car in as the airbag light on the dashboard kept turning on and off— 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 been in a crash and there are no obvious signs of damage to the seat that might have caused this. There’s no active recall for this but it does seem that one other person has reported issues with the passenger airbag system and I know other Kia models have had recalls in the past. The car had about 90,000…”
NHTSA complaint #11727369, 2025

Electrical System 4

“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 airbag and electrical components are bad, that is why the two repairs the dealership as well as the private mechanic made did not work. We also have some engine problems they wont continue to fix because my warranty is now surpassed. The car burns through 20 quarts of oil in between changes, it has…”
NHTSA complaint #11727159, 2023

“Auto theft alarm listed as standard. There is NO THEFT DETECTION AT ALL. There is only a bogus flashing led that does nothing when parked. This is fraud.”
NHTSA complaint #11501364, 2023

Exterior Lighting 2

“Excessive oil consumption 1 quart every 1000 miles. The brake light socket overheats causing fast bulb burn outs.”
NHTSA complaint #11497523, 2021

“ON TWO OCCASIONS MY VEHICLE (IN MOTION) HAS GOTTEN SMOKE, I SMELLED BURNT, AND IT WAS ELECTRIC SHOCK WHEN I TOUCHED THE BOARD, I HAVE ALREADY REPORTED IT TO THE AGENCY THAT CORRESPONDS TO ME, HOWEVER THEY HAVE NOT SOLVED MY PROBLEM, I AM AFRAID THAT IT COULD BURN MY VEHICLE, MY PHONE NUMBER IS [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR”
NHTSA complaint #11193460, 2019

Fuel/Propulsion System 2 1 crash 1 fire 1 injury

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Latches/Locks/Linkages 2

“The contact owns a 2018 Kia Rio. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V622000 (Latches/Locks/Linkages) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.”
NHTSA complaint #11442870, 2021

“The contact owns a 2018 Kia Rio. The contact stated while attempting to open the rear trunk a clicking noise was heard coming from the trunk as the trunk failed to open. The contact attempted multiple times to open the trunk but it would not open. The contact took their vehicle to a local dealer who inspected the vehicle and diagnosed the failure as the latch for the trunk was broken and that the only way to repair the failure was to break the latch from the inside of the trunk. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 17,570.”
NHTSA complaint #11421816, 2021

Engine And Engine Cooling 1 1 fire

“The contact owned a 2018 Kia Rio. The contact stated that while driving on the highway at 85 MPH, the engine emitted abnormal noise with no warning lights illuminated. The contact proceeded to exit the highway and enter a gas station parking lot, and upon exiting the vehicle, it was apparent that the engine had begun to catch on fire. The location of the fire was the front engine compartment. The fire was extinguished by bystanders using fire extinguishers. A fire department report was not filed. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed. No injuries were reported. The local dealer…”
NHTSA complaint #11652874, 2025 · fire

Power Train 1 1 crash 1 injury

Seats 1

Service Brakes 1 1 fire

Steering 1

“OUR 2018 KIA RIO WAS BOUGHT NEW. I WAS TRAINING MY WIFE TO PARALLEL PARK WHEN IT HAD ONLY 100 MILES ON IT. AS SHE KEPT REPEATING THE PROCEDURE OF PARALLEL PARKING, THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED UP AND WOULD NOT ALLOW MOVEMENT UNTIL THE ELECTRICAL CONTROL COOLED DOWN. WE THEN TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER, BOB UTTER IN SHERMAN, TEXAS WHERE WE HAD PURCHASED THE CAR TO HAVE THEM DETERMINE THE PROBLEM AND FIX IT. THEY DID NOTHING TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM AND TOLD US THAT THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR! TERRIBLE DEALERSHIP! SO NOW, AFTER THE CAR IS NEARLY THREE YEARS OLD AND WITH LESS THAN 300 MILES O…”
NHTSA complaint #11376665, 2018

Structure 1

How we read this (methodology)

How to read this: raw complaint totals are not a clean reliability score — a model year with more cars sold, or simply more years on the road, accumulates more complaints regardless of how good it is. So this page leans on two signals that are not distorted by sales volume: the share of complaints falling on each vehicle system (the breakdown above) and NHTSA's own crash / fire / injury / death flags. When we compare model years of the same model, we normalise by years on the road (complaints ÷ vehicle age) rather than comparing raw totals. Age-normalised, the 2018 Kia Rio draws about 3.0 complaints per year on the road, ranking 9 of 14 among the Kia Rio model years we have ingested (1 = most complaints per year on road).

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Data source: U.S. NHTSA (nhtsa.gov). SaveVIN surfaces public recall data and is not affiliated with or endorsed by NHTSA.