AutoUtility currently tracks 21 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2019 Kia Rio. Engine & Cooling issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 6 complaints (28.6% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 4 filings cite a crash, 1 cites a fire, 4 report one or more injuries.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 21 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Engine & Cooling (6 reports • 28.6% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Air Bags & Restraints (3), Driver Assistance & Safety Tech (2)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 4 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 1 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 4 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2019 Kia Rio
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Engine & Cooling
Air Bags & Restraints
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech
Powertrain & Transmission
Brakes & Traction Control
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2019 Kia Rio
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"There was no accident the radio/backup camera shuts down completely on the inside of the car when the car is too hot inside"
"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..."
"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..."
"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..."
"360 car seat will not click lock will steady spin around"
Complaint History for Kia Rio
Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2023)
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Crash Reports | Safety Recalls | Detailed Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 Kia Rio | 52 | 4 | 1 | View 2015 Problems → |
| 2016 Kia Rio | 77 | 7 | 2 | View 2016 Problems → |
| 2017 Kia Rio | 31 | 3 | 2 | View 2017 Problems → |
| 2018 Kia Rio | 28 | 3 | 1 | View 2018 Problems → |
| 2019 Kia Rio Current Page | 21 | 4 | 1 | Current |
| 2020 Kia Rio | 26 | 3 | 1 | View 2020 Problems → |
| 2021 Kia Rio | 15 | 2 | 2 | View 2021 Problems → |
| 2022 Kia Rio | 11 | 2 | 1 | View 2022 Problems → |
| 2023 Kia Rio | 12 | 0 | 0 | View 2023 Problems → |
Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2019 Kia Rio
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 13 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Reported Injury Entries | Reported Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| OTHER/I AM NOT SURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering NHTSA category: STEERING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,SUSPENSION | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,BACK OVER PREVENTION | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.