2012 Kia Rio Owner Complaints

I went to honk my horn as someone was backing up and didn’t see me as we were on an incline . This vehicle sits low and they were in a jeep. Due to the failure of my horn, I was unable to give a warning and they hit my car. No airbag was deployed and my seatbelt/airbag light is on. No injuries reported thankfully. I was told these things were related and repairs needed which is going to be extensive. The airbag may not deploy and horn does not work. I consider this a definite safety issue.

NHTSA ID

11755293

Incident

Jul 15, 2025

The airbag warning light and the ABS warning light turned on simultaneously while driving. This is a severe safety hazard as both critical, life-saving safety features are currently compromised. I have already contacted Kia Customer Care regarding this issue, but I am filing this official complaint with the NHTSA to ensure a proper safety investigation is documented for this vehicle.

NHTSA ID

11740746

Incident

Jan 15, 2025

The airbag warning light illuminated on the dashboard and has stayed on permanently. This indicates a malfunction in the supplemental restraint system (SRS). Because the warning light is active, there is a severe safety risk that the airbags may not deploy correctly or at all in the event of a crash, putting the driver and passengers at risk of serious injury. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request

NHTSA ID

11740497

Incident

Feb 8, 2026

Waiting to get air in my tire. Car was turned off and the car started fire under the hood.

NHTSA ID

11716009

Incident

Jan 31, 2026

I brought my Kia in for a recall, and they determined the part was discontinued thus making my vehicle inoperable. When I brought my vehicle in, it was driveable-now I have been without my vehicle for over a month.

NHTSA ID

11701660

Incident

Oct 11, 2025

I went to the Kia dealership in Laredo Texas and was told that they cannot fix the fault, that my vehicle has had an aftermarket parts, that they are not going to fix the HECU. That they don't fix vehicle with aftermarket parts.

NHTSA ID

11677382

Incident

Jul 30, 2025

The GDI 1.6L engines are manufactured with a flaw that affects piston rings and makes oil consumption go up which in turn can make the engine run dry and damage the engine, which if you're in a bad location could be dangerous. My car has been dealing with the issue and I searched yet found no recalls for the engine. 2. It can put me and others at risk, if my car breaks and I'm driving in a snowy or hot area, or breaks when driving up hill or down hill. 3. Look all over the internet GDI 1.6 Oil consumption issue. 4. Yes, repair shop. 5. Plenty of times barely drove 200 miles and I get the red lamp for no oil/low oil level.

NHTSA ID

11648247

Incident

Jan 1, 2025

Our granddaughter bought this car from a private seller. My son is a mechanic and when he inspected the undercarriage he found a small leak in the seam of the gas tank. The local KIA dealer said it is not covered. This, to me, is a safety and emissions issue. Please assist. The car is available at any time for inspection. Thank you

NHTSA ID

11603120

Incident

Jul 16, 2024

The contact owns a 2012 Kia Rio. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ID

11583676

Incident

Apr 17, 2024

The contact's sister owns a 2012 Kia Rio. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic). The contact stated that when her sister started the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ID

11574695

Incident

Feb 29, 2024

The contact owns a 2012 Kia Rio. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ID

11566519

Incident

Jan 19, 2024

Car started running oddly pulled over went to restart and Fire came up an engine compartment

NHTSA ID

11519567

Incident

Apr 13, 2023

The contact owns a 2012 Kia Rio. The contact stated that after the niece had park and exited the vehicle smoke and flames were present coming from under the hood of the vehicle. The fire department was called to scene to extinguish the flames. During the incident the vehicle was destroyed and towed away. The cause of the failure was not determined. The contact indicated that prior to the incident the vehicle was experiencing excessive oil consumption but no assistance was offered from local dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 108,000.

NHTSA ID

11470688

Incident

Jun 21, 2022

Mileage

180,000 mi

Check engine light comes on. I pull the code of p050a. I looked that up and there is a Techincal Service Bulletin, from Kia on this problem of Cold start idle air control system performance. Kia only put out a recall on the Kia Soul and not the Kia Rio. They have the exact same engine and computer with the 1.6L. The bulletin list both vehicle but the recall is only for the 1 vehicle. I was told by Kia dealer sorry to fix this I would have to pay to reprogram the computer. Kia originally was replacing the throttle body on the engine than decided because of cost, to reprogram the computer.

NHTSA ID

11450464

Incident

Jan 31, 2022

The contact owns a 2012 Kia Rio. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, the RPMs was rising to the red line immediately. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that there was transmission maintenance needed on the vehicle. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired, and the failure continued. The vehicle was towed back to the dealer and the towing technician noticed that the accelerator pedal was stuck. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 64,000.

NHTSA ID

11446443

Incident

Jul 15, 2020

Mileage

64,000 mi

Will not start early morning, use about 3 quart oil a week, before warranty ran out Kia dealer check out and said to drive it another 900 miles, which made no sense, and bring back in Then they said it was out of warranty, what a scam Kia dealership is.they had overfill oil level 3 times before this problem

NHTSA ID

11439628

Incident

Nov 7, 2021

2012 KIA RIO, NOT CURRENTLY SUBJECT TO ANY RECALL, AND HAVING BEEN MAINTAINED CORRECTLY, IS EXPERIENCING DANGEROUS LEVELS OF OIL CONSUMPTION. CURRENT MILAGE 108,000. TWO WEEKS AGO I SENT THE ATTACHED LETTER VIA CASE TO KIA CONSUMER CUSTOMER AFFAIRS SEEKING SAFETY ADVICE FROM THE COMPANY RELATING TO THE ISSUE. KIA NEVER RESPONDED, OPTING TO CLOSE THE CASE WITHOUT A WORD REGARDING THE ISSUE. OIL CONSUMPTION IS VERY HIGH, AND EFFECTING ENGINE PERFORMANCE. I ASSUME THE ONLY RECOURSE IS TO HAVE THE ENGINE TAKEN APART AND EXAMINED, A COSTLY REVIEW, HOWEVER DUE TO LACK OF RESPONSE FROM KIA I HAVEN'T YET; I WAS HOPING THEY COULD COORDINATE THROUGH EITHER A DEALER OR 3RD PARTY INVESTIGATOR. CURRENTLY THE CAR IS NOT BEING USED, AS THIS ANOMALOUS ISSUE IS A CONCERN FOR SAFETY WHEN DRIVING. CONSIDERING THE RECENT RECALL, AS WELL AS HOW THE SYMPTOMS ALIGN WITH PREVIOUSLY RECORDED ISSUES TO SIMILAR ENGINES, I WISHED TO CREATE THIS REPORT, IF ONLY TO ADD MY CASE TO NHTSA'S ACCOUNTS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME JOSEPH ELLIOTT

NHTSA ID

11384228

Incident

Dec 2, 2020

I RECENTLY PURCHASED MY VEHICLE AND IMMEDIATELY NOTICED WHAT SEEMS TO BE OIL COMING FROM THE ENGINE, POOLING ON TOP OF THE BLOCK BUT ALSO LEAKING ONTO THE GROUND AFTER BEING PARKED FOR AN HOUR OR SO. THE WALLS AROUND THE ENGINE, MAINLY ON THE LEFT SIDE OR PASSENGER SIDE WERE SATURATED WITH PRESUMABLY THE SAME FLUID. UNDER THE CAR IS ALSO SATURATED FROM WHAT I AM GUESSING TO BE A LEAK, PERHAPS THE SAME LEAK FROM ATOP THE ENGINE BLOCK. I'VE HAD THE CAR REPAIRED AND PAID FOR A SYSTEM FAULT DIAGNOSTIC, AND IN BOTH CASES HAVEN'T RECEIVED ANY HELPFUL INFO AS TO WHAT IT IS, THE CAUSE OR WHERE THE LEAK IS COMING FROM, OR HOW TO TREAT IT. I VERY RECENTLY HAD THE OIL CHANGED AND THE INVOICE SHOWED A COMMENT STATING THAT MY CAR APPEARS TO BE LEAKING OIL. THERE WAS NO FURTHER COMMENTARY. I FEAR THAT MY KIA RIO MAY BE DANGEROUS TO DRIVE FOR REASONS SUCH AS A FIRE HAZARD OR BREAKDOWN FROM OVERHEATING POSSIBLY RESULTING IN LEAVING ME ON THE SIDE OF A HIGHWAY, STRANDED. ALSO THE A/C AND HEATER DO NOT OPERATE AS THEY SHOULD. THE PANEL CONTROLS ARE OUT OF WHACK AND NEITHER A/C OR HEAT PERFORM IN SYNC WITH THE COMMANDS. A MECHANIC HAS SAID THIS APPEARS TO BE DUE TO ELECTRICAL ISSUES, POSSIBLY WITH THE MAIN COMPUTER, THOUGH THE SYSTEMS FAULT DIAGNOSTICS WAS PERFORMED AFTER THE MECHANIC INFORMED ME OF THIS, AND SEEING THAT I WAS CHARGED FOR THAT SERVICE I CAN ONLY ASSUME THAT THE MAIN COMPUTER IS DOING WHAT IT IS MEANT TO DO, RELAYING THE INFO TO THE TECH'S COMPUTER. I JUST DON'T KNOW IF I HAVE A GOOD CAR THAT NEEDS A LOT OF WORK OR IF I'M DRIVING A DEATHTRAP. NO RECALLS FOR THIS VEHICLE BUT I SEE A LOT OF KIA'S VEHICLES BEING RECALLED. AND I BELIEVE THEY NO LONGER MAKE THE KIA RIO. JUST AT A LOSS AS TO WHAT IS HAPPENING AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT. TIMES ARE TOUGH FINANCIALLY OR I WOULD DEFINITELY HAVE MORE PROPER DETAILED INFO TO GIVE, THAT OR HAVE A GOOD RUNNING CAR...

NHTSA ID

11383239

Incident

Aug 11, 2020

I WAS DRIVING AND CHECH ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON . I HAD IT TESTED AND IT WAS THE KNOCK SENOR. I LOOKED IT UP AND THEIR WAS A RECALL I PURCHASED THE CAR 9/02/2019

NHTSA ID

11351526

Incident

Aug 26, 2020

Mileage

103,887 mi

I CAN NOT BELIEVE I TOOK THIS MUCH TIME TO ACTUAL FILE A COMPLAINT ON THE FOLLOWING PROBLEMS ON MY KIA. MY 2012 KIA RIO SX HATCHBACK HAS BEEN BURNING OIL SINCE IT REACHED THE 70,000 MILE MARK. I HAVE ALL RECEIPTS AND RECORDS FOR EVERY OIL CHANGE SINCE I BOUGHT THE CAR NEW BACK IN LATE 2011. OIL HAS BEEN CHANGED EVERY 3,000/4,000 MILES ON THIS VEHICLE. NO LEAKS HAVE BEEN FOUND BY MY LOCAL VALVOLINE SHOP AND IT CONTINUES TO BURN OIL NOW AT ITS CURRENT ODOMETER READING OF 113,000 MILES. THE OIL LEVEL NOW REACHES THE LAST DOTTED LINE ON THE OIL METAL READER STICK (LOW MARK) EVERY 300 TO 400 MILES. I HAVE TO ADD OIL 8 TO 10 TIMES BETWEEN OIL CHANGES. NO OIL LIGHT HAS EVER TURNED ON. MY DRIVER AIRBAG LIGHT HAS TURNED ON AND HAVE NO IDEA WHY. IT FIRST TURNED ON JUNE OF 2018 AND IT HAS NOT TURN OFF SINCE THEN. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN INVOLVED IN ANY ACCIDENTS AT ALL SINCE I BOUGHT NEW. *TR

NHTSA ID

11324212

Incident

Dec 28, 2016

I'M AT 96K MILES. THE MECHANIC PULLS CODES FOR THE AIRBAGS. THEY ARE SHOWING A DEFECT AND THE REASON IS UNKNOWN. I'M ALSO HEARING A RATTLING IN THE ENGINE. WE ARE DISCOVERING IT IS COMMON IN KIA RIO AND THE REASON KIA GIVES IS WE ARE GETTING OUR OIL CHANGES DONE AT PLACES OTHER THAN THEM. I USED ONLY EXPERIENCED, LICENSED MECHANICS. THE ISSUE CONTINUES TO GO UNDIAGNOSED AS TO KNOW IF THE ENGINE WILL CATCH FIRE CAUSING DEATH OR INJURY. THE CAR IS NOT SAFE. A FIX NEED FORCED.

NHTSA ID

11320096

Incident

Apr 2, 2020

Mileage

97,205 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2012 KIA RIO. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE HER SON WAS DRIVING AT 30 MPH, WHITE SMOKE APPEARED AND FLAMES STARTED FROM THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. FIRE IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED THE DRIVER PULLED OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND ALL OCCUPANTS WERE ABLE TO EXIT WITHOUT INJURIES. THE FLAMES QUICKLY ENGULFED THE ENTIRE VEHICLE WITHIN SECONDS. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS CALLED AND EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE. A POLICE A REPORT WAS FILED. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THEY WOULD INVESTIGATE AND OFFERED A LOW BOOK VALUE TO REPLACE THE VEHICLE. THE DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 155,000.

NHTSA ID

11318387

Incident

Feb 19, 2020

Mileage

155,000 mi

LOSS OF RPM IN CARS TACHOMETER DURING DRIVING, THEN LOSS POWER, THEN CAR STALLED AT IDLE. NOW THE CAR DOESN'T START (WORK) ANYMORE DURING IGNITION. CAR NOW TOTALLY FAILED TO START.

NHTSA ID

11315992

Incident

Mar 2, 2020

Mileage

97,066 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2012 KIA RIO. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 25 MPH, WHEN DEPRESSING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL THE VEHICLE FAILED TO ACCELERATE OVER 25 MPH. THE CONTACT STATED THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO HESITATE AND MADE AN ABNORMAL NOISE. THE CONTACT STATED THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO PARK ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD FOR 10 MINUTES BEFORE CONTINUING TO DRIVE. HOWEVER, HE CONTINUED TO EXPERIENCE THE FAILURE AND SAW SMOKE EXITING THE HOOD. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO PARK ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND OPEN THE HOOD AND SAW FIRE IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS NOTIFIED AND EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE. A FIRE REPORT WAS FILED. NO POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO UNKNOWN LOCATION FOR INSPECTIONS. THE INSURANCE ADJUSTER DEEMED THE VEHICLE WAS A TOTAL LOSS. A DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE MANUFACTURER HAD BEEN INFORMED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 97,000. *LN*JB

NHTSA ID

11310602

Incident

Feb 17, 2020

Mileage

97,000 mi

BRIEF LOSS OF THROTTLE CONTROL ALONG WITH ENGINE OVERSPEED POSSIBLY DUE TO DIRTY ELECTRICAL CONTACTS IN CONNECTOR AT ELECTRONIC THROTTLE BODY -- RESTORED PROPER OPERATION VIA FLUSHING OF ELECTRICAL CONTACTS IN CONNECTOR WITH 100% ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL AEROSOL SPRAY -- VEHICLE WAS BEING DRIVEN INTO A CROWDED PARKING LOT AT THE TIME -- BRAKES WERE EFFECTIVE IN KEEPING THE SPEED UNDER CONTROL -- HAD TO SHUT ENGINE OFF WHILE IN DRIVE IN ORDER TO KEEP IT FROM OVERSPEEDING -- ENGINE HAD BEEN RUNNING AND CAR HAD BEEN IN MOTION FOR PREVIOUS 45 MINS WITHOUT PROBLEMS

NHTSA ID

11280801

Incident

Nov 17, 2019

Mileage

80,300 mi