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2006 Kia Rio

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2006 Kia Rio do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 38.5.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

55 reports with mileage · 19 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Air Bags. Review the 50 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 6 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Steering. Review the 4 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

12 crash reports0 fire reports11 injury reports

Power Train complaints

2 reports
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96,200 miles · Aug 24, 2011
Power Train

RESUME EDITING I BOUGHT MY CAR IN '06, BEGINNING MY KIA NIGHTMARE...RECENTLY MY TRANSMISSION AND CLUTCH WENT OUT...IN KIA AGREED TO FIX IT UNDER THE 100,000 MILE WARRANTY...WITH ME PAYING THE LABOR COST OF $1250..BECAUSE THE CLUTCH WAS NOT A COVERED PART...AFTER AGREEING TO THE REPAIRS AND MY CAR BEING IN THE SHOP FOR NOW 3…

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RESUME EDITING I BOUGHT MY CAR IN '06, BEGINNING MY KIA NIGHTMARE...RECENTLY MY TRANSMISSION AND CLUTCH WENT OUT...IN KIA AGREED TO FIX IT UNDER THE 100,000 MILE WARRANTY...WITH ME PAYING THE LABOR COST OF $1250..BECAUSE THE CLUTCH WAS NOT A COVERED PART...AFTER AGREEING TO THE REPAIRS AND MY CAR BEING IN THE SHOP FOR NOW 3 WEEKS, I GET A CALL TODAY WITH THE NEWS THAT THEY WILL NOT LONGER HONOR THE WARRANTY BECAUSE THEY REALIZED THE ODOMETER AND SPEEDOMETER WERE NOT WORKING....WHICH WAS WORKED ON BY YOU GEUESSED IT KIA....BACK IN JAN...!! MMMMMM.....I'M NOT A HAPPY CAMPER......KIA HAS ACCESS TO MY REPAIR RECORDS...THEIR MECHANIC CHECKED MY CAR BFORE AGREEING TO THE REPAIRS AND AGREEING TO COVERING AND HONORING THE WARRANTY........!! NOW THEY DO NOT WANT TO HONOR THE AGREE AFTER THE REPAIRS ARE DONE! I CAN NOT HAVE MY CAR UNTIL I PAY THE COST !! O...........REALLY????? IS THIS LEGAL..???? I STILL OWE $1661 IN THIS CAR.....WHAT THE [XXX]!! THIS CAR HAS COST ME UPWARDS OF $20,000 AND THE KELLY BBV IS ONLY $2300-$3000 IF I'M LUCKY AND COULD EVEN SELL THE THING!!!! THY AT IS RIDICULOUS!!! I AM MORTIFIED AT THE DISHONESTY OF KIA....I HAVE ORDERED ME A LEMON SHAPE MAGNET WITH THE WORDS (IN RED) "ASK ME ABOUT MY LEMON" "IT IS A KIA DUD!! " WHEN THIS IS OVER I WILL PROUDLY SPORT THESE MAGNETS ,ONE ON EACH SIDE OF MY CAR...FOR THE WORLD TO BE AWARE THAT KIA SELLS LEMONS! I WILL POST ON FB TO WARN MY FRIENDS AND FRIENDS OF MY FRIENDS, I WILL MAKE BUMPER STICKERS AND GIVE THEM TO EVERYONE I SEE UNTIL I AM SATISFIED THAT THE WORD IS OUT AND PEOPLE ARE MADE AWARE THAT KIA IS A DISHONORABLE COMPANY AND WILL NOT MAKE GOOD ON THEIR WORD AND THE FACT THEY OFFER A WARRANTY....ACTUALLY MEANS SQUAT!!.... 6 YEARS I HAVE MADE PAYMENTS ON THIS CAR...I WAS LATE ON ONE PAYMENT...AND NOW...BEING SO CLOSE TO MY PAYOFF....KIA WANTS TO REALLY SCREW ME! $20,000 FOR A CAR THEY NOW REFUSE TO GIVE ME!! I HAVE BEEN RAPED BY KIA!! YOU ARE DISHONORABLE, UNTRUSWORTHY AND JUST DOWN RIGHT CROOKED! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDO

NHTSA ODI #10421380

85,000 miles · Mar 16, 2011
Air BagsPower Train

PURCHASED A 2006 KIA RIO NEW. ABOUT EIGHT MONTHS AGO OR SO THE "AIR BAG OFF" LIGHT WOULD BE ON WHEN SOMEONE WAS SEATED IN THE PASSENGER SEAT, KIA REPLACED THE SEAT SENSORS, BUT NOTHING ELSE IN THE SYSTEM. A FACTORY MECHANIC INSPECTED THE CAR AND SAID IT WAS WORKING PROPERLY. THEY COULD NOT FIX THE PROBLEM TO THIS DAY. I HAVE BEE…

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PURCHASED A 2006 KIA RIO NEW. ABOUT EIGHT MONTHS AGO OR SO THE "AIR BAG OFF" LIGHT WOULD BE ON WHEN SOMEONE WAS SEATED IN THE PASSENGER SEAT, KIA REPLACED THE SEAT SENSORS, BUT NOTHING ELSE IN THE SYSTEM. A FACTORY MECHANIC INSPECTED THE CAR AND SAID IT WAS WORKING PROPERLY. THEY COULD NOT FIX THE PROBLEM TO THIS DAY. I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT WHEN THE LIGHT IS ON THAT THE AIR BAG WILL NOT DEPLOY IN AN ACCIDENT. KIA MAKES A VERY POOR PRODUCT. I HAVE A TRANSMISSION LEAK AND I WENT TO THE DEALER AND THEY SAID THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED, BUT KIA WOULD NOT HONOR THEIR WARRANTY EVEN THOUGH I CHANGED THE TRANSMISSION FLUID EVERY 30,000 MILES AS THEY RECOMMEND. KIA DOES NOT TAKE CARE OF THEIR CUSTOMERS. SOMEONE NEEDS TO HOLD THEIR FEET TO THE FIRE AND MAKE THEM HONOR THEIR 100,000 MILE WARRANTY. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10390360

Official recalls

1

12V244000 · Air Bags:frontal:sensor/control MODULE-INACTIVE

May 31, 2012

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.

Consequence & remedy

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.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.