The 2007 Kia Rio has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 72,568 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 64 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the air bags. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
AIR BAGS12V2440002012-05-3172,568 affected
Defect
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…
Consequence
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.
Complaints by component
AIR BAGS
18
7crashes3injuries
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
8
1fires
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
4
2crashes1injuries
SEATS
3
SERVICE BRAKES
3
1crashes
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
2
2crashes2injuries
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
2
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
2
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES
2
TIRES
2
Total complaints64
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“The engine has very bad loss of oil pressure it consumption of a lot oil the engine knock very bad that engine has decreased its power the engine oil light always on so I stop driving the car and car blows white smoke from the engine my mechanic told he did not want to work on the car because of…”
“The contact owns a 2007 kia rio. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was determined that the occupant classification system (ocs) seat sensor needed to be replaced. The…”
“Tl* the contact owns 2007 kia rio equipped with bf goodrich tires, tire line: g-force sport, tire size: 195/55/r15, dot number: beln3p1107-15. The contact stated that the driver's and passenger's side front tires sounded like they were flat while driving. The contact inspected the tires and found…”
“I driving up to wisconsin dells from illinois and the vit woulnt go over twenty miles per hr I hate this vehicle and a tune up was done before I left I have a 2007 kia rio and vehicle just died and then started and had no power I had to have it towed back to illinois which cost me 300 dollars has…”
“I driving up to wisconsin dells from illinois and the vit woulnt go over twenty miles per hr I hate this vehicle and a tune up was done before I left I have a 2007 kia rio and vehicle just died and then started and had no power I had to have it towed back to illinois which cost me 300 dollars has…”
“2007 kia rio has an airbag light on all the time, with a code specifying the passenger seat mat sensor. When clearing the code for the airbag, the code is rethrown after about 10 seconds. Nhtsa recall #12v244000 applied to certain models of the 2005-2007 model era, but didn't include all of them,…”
“2007 kia rio has an airbag light on all the time, with a code specifying the passenger seat mat sensor. When clearing the code for the airbag, the code is rethrown after about 10 seconds. Nhtsa recall #12v244000 applied to certain models of the 2005-2007 model era, but didn't include all of them,…”
“I just recent had the battery put in my car. An now the air bag light stays on for the driver on that dash board. An don't know why it's on. The car has been driven in the past few months. So we are scared to be out on the road an it doesn't protect us if we get into an accident an someone gets…”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2007 Kia Rio as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.