2021 Kia Rio problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Steering (3) · Service Brakes (2) · Power Train (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 (2)
Steering:column 2022-05-05 · campaign 22V304000 · 30 vehicles
Defect: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Rio and Forte vehicles. A bolt in the steering column may not be secured properly, which can cause the steering column to detach from the steering rack and result in a loss of steering control.
Risk: Loss of steering control can increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will tighten the lower steering column u-joint retention bolt, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 27, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall SC235.
Service Brakes, Hydraulic:foundation Components:master Cylinder 2021-12-01 · campaign 21V936000 · 87 vehicles
Defect: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Rio vehicles. The brake master cylinder may have been manufactured with sharp edges that can damage the inner oil seal, resulting in reduced braking performance.
Risk: Reduced braking performance can cause longer brake pedal travel or extend the distance required to stop the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the brake master cylinder, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 11, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall SC223.
Service bulletins (59)
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
Electrical System 2026-05-28 · TSB_ELE422 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: infotainment system software update using update.kia.com - this bulletin provides information and service procedures for updating the infotainment systems on applicable kia vehicles using the kia navigation updater available at update.kia.com. the software update may impr
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
Showing the 6 most recent of 59 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2025-12-28 · Unknown Or Other“back up camera sometimes flips sides, so that obstacles on the right side of the car are shown on the left side of the camera screen. sometimes the camera doesn't work at all.…”
2025-05-14 · Steering“steering gear assembly completely broke at 81,000 miles. my daughter was backing up in a busy street at 5pm and lost 100 percent of steering control. lucking cars dodged her and she didn’t get hurt or worse.…”
2023-11-14 · Unknown Or Other“placed car in park got out to open a gate. car took off forward even when shifter was in park position and almost ran a child over. …”
2023-08-24 · Electrical System“center console display blank (screen black) upon startup unable to see cameras and backing up affected creating safety concern.…”
2023-05-02 · Unknown Or Other“seatbelts in rear are inoperable/anti theft not working. kia dealership told me that its not their issue about the anti theft. i have been told on 3 separate occasions that my seatbelts have been ordered but they haven’t!!!! no one is following up with me, when i call i get told “until they can get in contact with the dealership kia the corporate c…”
2023-03-26 · Unknown Or Other“at speeds over 20 miles per hours there is a “flapping” noise that sounds like a bag or piece of paper that is blowing in the wind. although i don’t know were the noise originates, i can hear it clearly from the driver’s side b-pillar. it is incredibly annoying and greatly diminishes what is otherwise a solid entry, level vehicle. …”
2023-03-20 · Steering“on 3/19/23, as i was driving on a dry, straight, two lane road at the posted speed of 40mph, the car began to try to steer into oncoming traffic. i had to exert moderate force to keep the car in my lane. this continued continuously for about 1/2 mile. no low tire pressure indicator lights were illuminated, however the lane assist icon was on and gr…”
2023-01-07 · Unknown Or Other“the contol post for lights, turn signal, and high beams is too sensitive. to control the lights, you twist the top of lever. to turn on turn signals, you flip the lever up or down. to turn on brights, the lever goes forward. to turn of lights, the lever is pulled back. the issue..... if you have brights on, when you pull lever back to dim light…”
2022-11-30 · Steering · 💥 crash“having been complaining about a noise from under the front right tire, i was initially told it was a little piece of plastic and that got cut off. i was still hear the scraping and squealing and i kept check the from right tire because i thought that's where it was coming from. i mentioned this to every mechanic at kia and was told "that's just how…”
2022-10-29 · Power Train“i had driven my wife to her school about 5 miles and headed back to my work another 5 miles when i tried to accelerate pass car i lost almost all power barely making it up a slight hill i kept going trying to make it to my house barely going 10 miles an hour. i thought the transmission had let go cause while i had the gas peddle floored i went a…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.