2011 Kia Rio

Coils, I have been through 6 sets of coils since I bought this car in 2011. This causes the engine to run rough , sputter & have no pick up when trying to accelerate. The 1st set I paid the dealer $125 a piece bc they said I must replace all 4 at once even though when 1 coil burned out under warranty they only replaced the 1. I got smart after dealing with the dealer. I bought lifetime coils from autozone and about every 1.5 to 2 years I am replacing them. It's easy to do but thats not the point. I've never had or heard of any car doing this except mine. And please let's not talk about resetting the computer brain. That is an impossible task in LA the land of teaffic....please take a moment & read the hoops you have to go through on kia's Rio forum. After trying to get my car slogged for a year I paid a guy 135.00 gave him my car for the night so he could do it. Utter [XXX] ! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11649950

Incident

Mar 12, 2012

Painting peeling off the whole car. It’s going to cause the car to rust.Defect in Kia painting process.

NHTSA ID

11632991

Incident

Feb 12, 2014

The engine and all electrical shuts down without warning. This happened three times in heavy traffic and nearly caused an accident. The engine stops running and the electrical components turn off which shuts down power steering and power brakes. Each time this has happened the electrical is disabled and the car is completely dead with zero response when the ignition key is turned; no dash lights, no starter, no power. After the first incident the plugs and coil packs were changed out. After the second incident the fuse block was changed out which was said to have been overheating. After the third incident the car was parked and has not been driven since. After the "dead" car is towed and it sits for a couple of hours it will start again and run for indeterminable amount of time before shutting down.

NHTSA ID

11542347

Incident

Apr 1, 2019

It was 12/21/2022 at about 3:15 PM in the afternoon and I had just turned right into the parking lot of St. Alexius Medical Center, 1555 Barrington Rd, Hoffman Estates, IL 60169. I took a left turn, and went north about fifty feet and stopped at a stop sign. A car was stopped at the same intersection from the right facing west. As I waited for the other car to turn in front of me, my 2011 Kia Rio started to surge in speed without my foot on the accelerator. I instinctively jammed on my brake pedal to avoid hitting the car turning in front of me. Luckily, I did not hit the other vehicle, but I am concerned that this might happen again unexpectedly. The temperature at the time was about 20 degrees outside.

NHTSA ID

11498472

Incident

Dec 21, 2022

AS I WAS DRIVING STRAIGHT THROUGH AN INTERSECTION OF WHICH I HAD A GREEN LIGHT, THE VEHICLE COMING THE OPPOSITE WAY THROUGH THE INTERSECTION FAILED TO YIELD AND TOOK A LEFT TURN HITTING ME HEAD-ON. WE WERE EACH GOING BETWEEN 30-35 MILES PER HOUR. I SLAMMED MY HEAD ON THE STEERING WHEEL, SHEARING MY BRAIN FROM THE INSIDE OF MY SKULL RESULTING IN A MASSIVE INTERNAL BLEED. I ALSO SUFFERED A SEVERE CONCUSSION AND TORE SEVERAL LIGAMENTS IN MY NECK. I CURRENTLY CONTINUE TO SUFFER FROM TERRIBLE MIGRAINES AND HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO RESUME MY PREVIOUS PROFESSION AS AN ARCHITECT. WHY DID MY AIRBAG NOT PROTECT ME FROM SLAMMING MY HEAD ON THE STEERING WHEEL? IT SEEMS MY AIRBAG ONLY PARTIALLY DEPLOYED. I REMEMBER IT TOUCHED MY FACE BUT DEFINITELY DID NOT PROTECT ME FROM HITTING MY HEAD ON THE STEERING WHEEL. I WAS IN A SERIOUS BRAIN FOG FOR MONTHS AFTER THE ACCIDENT AND MY LAWYER MIS-ADVISED ME IN NOT PURSUING LEGAL ACTION AGAINST THE AIRBAG MANUFACTURER. NOW THE CAR HAS BEEN SOLD FOR PARTS.

NHTSA ID

11320026

Incident

Sep 27, 2018

Mileage

76,090 mi

I WAS DRIVING ON INTERSTATE 8 IN LA MESA CALIFORNIA AT APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH WHEN THE THROTTLE ON MY VEHICLE STUCK. I WAS ABLE TO SHIFT MY VEHICLE INTO NEUTRAL AND PULL OVER. THE ENGINE CONTINUED REVVING UNTIL I SHUT OFF THE IGNITION. THE THROTTLE CABLE WAS STUCK. I HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO KIA OF EL CAJON WHERE THEY DIAGNOSED A FAULTY THROTTLE CABLE AND THROTTLE BODY. THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT STOP ACCELERATING, AND IF THERE HAD BEEN MORE TRAFFIC, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN A COLLISION.

NHTSA ID

11280415

Incident

Oct 18, 2019

Mileage

85,000 mi

IGNITION COILS. EVER SINCE I BOUGHT MY KIA IN 2015 I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THE IGNITION COILS EVERY 3-6 MONTHS. AT FIRST, WHEN IT WAS STILL UNDER FACTORY WARRANTY, THE DEALERSHIP KEPT TELLING ME THEY CANNOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR EVEN THOUGH IT WOULD JUMP AND EVEN SHUT OFF ON ME WHEN IDLING. IT TOOK 3 MONTHS OF ME TAKING THE CAR BACK AND FORTH TO THE KIA DEALERSHIP BEFORE THE FIGURED OUT WHAT WAS GOING ON WITH MY CAR BECAUSE THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT NEVER CAME ON. IT TURNED OUT TO BE THE IGNITION COILS. ONCE THEY WERE REPLACED EVERYTHING WAS FINE. ON TOP OF THIS, I WAS SO STRESSED OUT ABOUT MY CAR THAT IT MADE ME PHYSICALLY ILL AND GAVE ME A RASH ALL OVER MY BODY (I HAVE MEDICAL RECORDS TO PROVE IT) AND ONCE THE ISSUE WAS FIXED, ALL OF MY PHYSICAL AILMENTS DISAPPEARED. SINCE THEN, I HAVE HAD TO CHANGE ALL 4 COILS EVERY 3-6 MONTHS. THIS LAST SET ONLY LASTED ME 2 MONTHS BEFORE IT STARTED WITH THE SAME ISSUES AGAIN. I HAVE RESEARCHED THIS ISSUE AND FOUND DOZEN OF FORUMS REGARDING THIS SAME ISSUE WITH MY SAME EXACT MAKE, YEAR, MODEL. THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING THAT IS CAUSING THIS TO HAPPEN SO OFTEN. I KNOW IT'S A KIA BUT I SHOULD BE ABLE TO DRIVE MY CAR MORE THAN A FEW MONTHS BEFORE IT BREAKS DOWN. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHERE I AM, WHAT SPEED I AM GOING OR HOW LONG I AM TRAVELING, THIS ISSUE STILL OCCURS.

NHTSA ID

11182851

Incident

Feb 26, 2019

Mileage

100,000 mi

I WAS DRIVING AND THE CAR STARTED DRIVING ROUGH AND FINALLY STOPPED.

NHTSA ID

11164526

Incident

Apr 26, 2018

Mileage

113,000 mi

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 provides information to install a Theft Deterrent Ignition Cylinder Protector on certain 2010-2022MY Kia vehicles outlined on page 20, which may not have been equipped with an immobilizer and whose Integrated Body Control Unit (IBU) / Body Control Module (BCM) are not able to receive the Anti-Theft Software Logic upgrade under CS2301/02/03/04/05/06/07/08/09 TSBs. In an effort to help prevent thefts of Kia vehicles that are not equipped with an immobilizer, a protective cover will be permanently affixed to the ignition cylinder. This Theft Deterrent Ignition Cylinder Protector prevents the removal of the key lock cylinder thereby preventing access to the ignition tumbler.

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 cylinder location to provide additional protection against the social media theft method. Prior notifications stated that this modification had to be performed by July 1, 2025, but the subject vehicles are now eligible until March 31, 2027, to have the ignition cylinder protector installed—if requested—at no cost through an authorized Kia dealership. (Mailing of these notifications to vehicle owners will be completed from December 19, 2025 through December 31, 2025)

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 transmission and reception times between the vehicle (ultrasonic sensor) and an object. The membrane film of the ultrasonic sensor is used for object detention and can be damaged by stone chips or foreign substances while driving. Damage to the cover of the ultrasonic sensor can also lead to damage to the internal circuit. As a result of this external damage, the PDW system may not receive the proper signal from the ultrasonic sensor. In some cases, the system may cause a false alarm, no alert, or phantom warnings by a “Warning Lamp’ to be displayed on the cluster. The ultrasonic sensor membrane film should be always inspected for external damage and if any part replacement should be treated as a general repair, not as a warranty claim repair for this concern. (Please note that this Pitstop only applies to models/trims that are equipped with the ultrasonic sensors.)

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 type and fill quantity requirement for each Kia model. A flush is required ONLY when a transmission is replaced, and the transmission oil cooler is transferred to the new transmission.

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 provides information to install a Theft Deterrent Ignition Cylinder Protector on certain 2010-2022MY Kia vehicles outlined on page 15, which may not have been equipped with an immobilizer and whose Integrated Body Control Unit (IBU) / Body Control Module (BCM) are not able to receive the Anti-Theft Software Logic upgrade under CS2301/02/03/04/05/06/07/08/09 TSBs. In an effort to help prevent thefts of Kia vehicles that are not equipped with an immobilizer, a protective cover will be permanently affixed to the ignition cylinder. This Theft Deterrent Ignition Cylinder Protector prevents the removal of the key lock cylinder thereby preventing access to the ignition tumbler.

This bulletin provides information relating to the correct transmission fluid type and fill quantity requirement for each Kia model. A flush is required ONLY when a transmission is replaced.