Your vehicle report
2008 Kia RIO
The problems owners report. The recalls to check. The evidence behind each.
Your vehicle at a glance
Complaint patterns and official recall records, kept distinct.
- Owner complaints
- 46
- Received Mar 2008 to Dec 2021
Owner reports
Most reported problems
- 1Airbag warning light stays on12 complaints · 26% of this vehicle’s complaints
- 2Airbags fail to deploy in crashes6 complaints · 13% of this vehicle’s complaints
- 3Passenger airbag sensor wrongly shows off5 complaints · 11% of this vehicle’s complaints
Official NHTSA records
Recalls to check
- Recall #12V244000Kia is recalling certain model year 2006-2008 rio vehicles, manufactured from february 20, 2005, through december 9, 2007. The front passenger seat occupant sensor mat can experience fatigue cracking. If sufficient cracking occurs, the occupant classification system (ocs) will cease to function such that the system will not be able to detect whether a child passenger is in the seat and the airbag will deploy during a crash necessitating deployment.
BrakeNews signals
Flagged complaint patterns
Unusual complaint patterns with no matched recall yet. A flag does not mean a recall will happen.
No problems currently meet BrakeNews’s flagging criteria. This is not a safety rating.
How flags are identifiedComplaint counts reflect reports submitted to NHTSA, not failure rates or a reliability ranking. Reported in these complaints: 11 crashes, 0 fires, 10 people injured, 0 deaths.
Explore by system
Where do owners report problems?
Choose an area on the car or a system below to explore the reported problems.
Illustrative only; not this vehicle’s exact design. Areas represent complaint categories, not confirmed defective parts.
Showing all 4 listed problems by system.
Engine & powertrain
Brakes
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Electrical & lights
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Airbags, belts & seats
Steering, suspension & tires
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Body, doors & glass
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Driver assistance
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Other
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Complaint history
When NHTSA received these reports. Changes in reporting alone do not establish a change in failure rates.
Show as a table
| Year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 6 |
| 2009 | 5 |
| 2010 | 7 |
| 2011 | 4 |
| 2012 | 1 |
| 2013 | 3 |
| 2014 | 4 |
| 2015 | 6 |
| 2016 | 6 |
| 2017 | 1 |
| 2018 | 0 |
| 2019 | 2 |
| 2020 | 0 |
| 2021 | 1 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2026 (to Oct 2026) | 0 |
| Total | 46 |
Problems owners report
Listed groups have at least 3 complaints. The page includes the 20 largest groups plus any additional flagged groups; some complaints are not assigned to a group.
| Problem | Complaints | Share | Share ratio | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbag warning light stays on | 12 | 26% | – | |
| Airbags fail to deploy in crashes | 6 | 13% | – | |
| Passenger airbag sensor wrongly shows off | 5 | 11% | – | NHTSA recall #12V244000 |
| Engine stalls and loses power while driving | 4 | 8.7% | – |
AI groups complaints by meaning; the groups are approximate. Share ratio compares the problem’s share of this vehicle’s complaints with its share on other vehicles over the last 24 months (shown from 3 recent complaints). A 2× ratio means twice the complaint share, not twice the failure risk. Flags mark unusual shares or recent surges after an AI review of the complaint content. “First signal” does not mean the pattern has persisted continuously.How recall estimates are calculated.
Recalls
NHTSA recall #12V244000May 31, 201272,568 vehicles affected
air bags: frontal: sensor/control module-inactive
Kia is recalling certain model year 2006-2008 Rio vehicles, manufactured from february 20, 2005, through december 9, 2007. The front passenger seat occupant sensor mat Can experience fatigue cracking. If sufficient cracking occurs, the occupant classification system (ocs) will cease to function such that the system will not be able to detect whether a child passenger is in the seat and the airbag will deploy during a crash necessitating deployment.
Air bag deployment with a child in the front passenger side seat increases the risk of injury to that child.
Remedy
Kia will notify owners, and dealers will replace the ocs seat sensor mat, free of charge. The recall began on july 26, 2012. Owners may contact Kia consumer assistance center at 1-800-333-4542.
Other model years
About this data
NHTSA complaints and recalls through October 2026. Complaints are counted once each, however many components they name. Original complaints are on NHTSA's page for the 2008 Kia RIO.
Problem groups are formed by AI and may be approximate. BrakeNews flags unusual complaint patterns; they are not official defect findings. Investigation reports are written and checked by AI, with no human review. Owner reports do not establish that a defect exists.
Read the methodology and track record · Check current recalls by VIN