The 2018 Kia Rio has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 253,074 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 39 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the engine. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Forte 4-door, Forte Koup 2-door, and 2018-2019 Rio 4-door vehicles. The trunk latch may become damaged, preventing the opening of the trunk from the inside. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard…
Consequence
A person inside the trunk compartment may become trapped, increasing their risk of injury.
Remedy
Dealers will replace the trunk latch assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on February 10, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC216.
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Vehicle has excessive oil consumption defect acknowledged in kia tsb eng222. Repeated catalytic converter failures indicate potential overheating risk similar to 2019 gamma engine recall for fire hazard. Engine burning oil creates risk of critically low oil levels leading to engine…”
“My car is a 2018 kia rio that has a clean history and has never been in an accident. Recently my airbag light came on and I had a diagnostic run that showed a b1448 code indicating an ocs mat defect in the passenger seat. The 2015-2018 kia sedona models also had the same problem and were issued…”
“My car is a 2018 kia rio that has a clean history and has never been in an accident. Recently my airbag light came on and I had a diagnostic run that showed a b1448 code indicating an ocs mat defect in the passenger seat. The 2015-2018 kia sedona models also had the same problem and were issued…”
“Took my car in as the airbag light on the dashboard kept turning on and off— with or without a passenger in the seat. The dealership ran a diagnostic inspection and turns out that the passenger side ocs mat and ecu are faulty and need to be replaced (dtc codes b176700 and b17672f). I have not…”
“Took my car in as the airbag light on the dashboard kept turning on and off— with or without a passenger in the seat. The dealership ran a diagnostic inspection and turns out that the passenger side ocs mat and ecu are faulty and need to be replaced (dtc codes b176700 and b17672f). I have not…”
“2018 kia rio – severe oil consumption leading to low compression (30 psi on cylinder 2) and engine failure. Dealership installed incorrect non-oem spark plugs prior to failure. Kia denies warranty coverage although this matches known engine defects in other kia models”
“My 2018 kia rio s (vin [xxx] ) suffered sudden engine failure at approximately 84 000 miles. I pulled over immediately when the oil light came on, but the engine began rattling and was later diagnosed by the dealer as a bearing/seizure failure requiring full engine replacement (estimate ≈ $15…”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2018 Kia Rio as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.