2019 Kia Rio problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Engine (3) · Air Bags (3) · Vehicle Speed Control (1)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Kia Rio model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (1)
Latches/Locks/Linkages:trunk Lid:latch 2021-08-09 · campaign 21V622000 · 253,074 vehicles
Defect: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Forte 4-door, Forte Koup 2-door, and 2018-2019 Rio 4-door vehicles. The trunk latch may become damaged, preventing the opening of the trunk from the inside. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 401, "Internal Trunk Release."
Risk: A person inside the trunk compartment may become trapped, increasing their risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the trunk latch assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on February 10, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC216.
Service bulletins (60)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Structure:body 2026-06-09 · CS2311_TSB_R4 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
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 provi
Structure:body 2026-06-08 · CS2312_TSB_R2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: customer satisfaction: theft deterrent ignition cylinder protector and decal installation (cs2312) - 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 prov
Structure:body 2026-02-19 · TSB_CS2312_R1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: customer satisfaction: theft deterrent ignition cylinder protector and decal installation (cs2312) - 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 prov
Structure:body 2025-12-19 · CS2311_OWNR_PC201 · Other
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
Structure:body 2025-12-18 · TSB_CS2312 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: customer satisfaction: theft deterrent ignition cylinder protector and decal installation (cs2312) - this bulletin provides information to install a theft deterrent ignition cylinder protector on certain 2010-2022my kia vehicles outlined on page 19, which may not have bee
Structure:body 2025-12-17 · CS2312_OWNR · Other
customer satisfaction campaign: owner notification (cs2312) - this document is the owner notification advising that kia is conducting customer satisfaction campaign. a software upgrade that addresses the social media theft method has been made available to owners of eligible kia model vehicles free
Showing the 6 most recent of 60 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-08 · Lane Departure: Warning“the trunk latch is broken which is a known recall for kia but not for my car model. there is no way to access the trunk otherwise. now my tail light is out and cannot be fixed because i cannot access the trunk. there is no other way to access the trunk.…”
2026-06-14 · Unknown Or Other“there was no accident the radio/backup camera shuts down completely on the inside of the car when the car is too hot inside…”
2026-04-21 · Structure:body“2019 kia rio hatchback trunk latch failure buzzing actuator but won't open emergency release does not work dealer says not covered under recall #21v622000 which covers the trunk for 4 door 2019 kia rio and this appears to be the same or similar issue with the trunk emergency release not opening creating a safety risk…”
2026-01-13 · Engine“on the morning of october 15th, the oil light of my 2019 kia rio came on, immediately followed by extreme engine noise, just before the engine locked. i had the vehicle towed to a nearby service center. they checked and reported that all oil had leaked out and motor had locked. i then had vehicle towed to kia dealer and requested a motor replacemen…”
2025-12-17 · Engine“the engine experienced a rod bearing failure resulting in internal engine damage and sudden loss of normal engine operation. the vehicle and failed engine components are currently available for inspection upon request. the engine failure occurred while the vehicle was traveling at high speed on the freeway, resulting in sudden loss of engine power…”
2025-10-20 · Other/I Am Not Sure“360 car seat will not click lock will steady spin around…”
2024-10-31 · Power Train“the oil light flashed in the car once after an oil change, so i took the car back the very next day to the mechanic and he said there was no oil in the car at the time. he filled the car back up with oil, and by the end of the week, the car needed oil again, but no light indicated the car was low on oil. months went by with constant oil changes and…”
2023-12-12 · Electrical System“my car had been broken into and was attempted to be stolen on december 22, 2022. a few months ago, a neighbor left a note on my car stating that someone was looking through the windows suspiciously. today, december 12, 2023, my car was stolen from a paid for parking garage at my apartment complex with no cameras. the issue should have been resolved…”
2023-08-15 · Unknown Or Other“my car is only 3 years old 70k miles.. i have regularly serviced and never had any issues until all of a sudden i was driving i heard a sound and my hood started smoking. my car quickly came to a stop and wouldn’t turn back on. the engine block threw a rod and left a giant hole in my engine. kia is refusing to repair and my insurance won’t cover sa…”
2023-08-09 · Engine“unknown. i was driving and my car slowed to a stop and started smoking. the engine stopped and i couldn’t restart the car. kia says the engine block threw a rod. but they won’t cover saying i don’t have sufficient service records.. i can’t get records from an out of business shop. insurance won’t cover saying this is a warranty thing. i bought this…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.