There are 14 owner-reported engine complaints for the 2012 Kia Rioin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
Waiting to get air in my tire. Car was turned off and the car started fire under the hood.
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.
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.
Car started running oddly pulled over went to restart and Fire came up an engine compartment
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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
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
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 KIA RIO. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH, THE CONTACT HEARD A THUMPING NOISE AND BLACK SMOKE EMERGED FROM THE TAIL PIPE. ALSO, THE OIL WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED AND THE VEHICLE STARTED TO LOSE POWER UNTIL IT STALLED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER (SOUTHSIDE KIA, 9401 ATLANTIC BOULEVARD, JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA 32225) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE ENGINE FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 120,000.
ENGINE FAILURE WILL DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY. ENGINE STARTED KNOCKING AND OIL LEAKED OUT OF THE CAR AND IT BLEW UP.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026