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All cars · Kia Rio · Transmission

Kia Rio transmission problems by year.

Worst years for transmission complaints per car sold: 2003 (15 complaints), 2001 (23 complaints), 2002 (10 complaints). Fewest since 2010: 2019, 2010, 2015.

Kia Rio
Photo shows a 2012 Kia Rio. Elise240SX, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · background removed

Transmission complaints owners filed with the U.S. government (NHTSA) for each model year, per 100,000 cars sold. A complaint counts when it's filed under the transmission, or under the power train and the owner describes the transmission (shifting, slipping, gears, CVT). It's an owner's report, not a confirmed defect, and older years have had longer to collect complaints.

20012333.7 per 100K sold20021019.5 per 100K sold20031536.3 per 100K sold2004718.2 per 100K sold200513.3 per 100K sold200627 per 100K sold200726 per 100K sold200825.5 per 100K sold200912.9 per 100K sold201014.1 per 100K sold20110no sales data20120no sales data201324.9 per 100K sold201425.6 per 100K sold201514.2 per 100K sold20160no sales data20180no sales data201914 per 100K sold202028.4 per 100K sold202126.4 per 100K sold20220no sales data202327.5 per 100K sold

What owners describe

Lost power while driving24%
Transmission replaced11%
Slipping9%
Rolled away or park trouble8%
Hard or jerky shifting5%
Delay or hesitation5%

Share of this model's transmission complaints that mention each symptom. One complaint can mention several.

In owners' words

There is a knocking noise in the transmission, that results in the transmission needing to be replaced every 37,000 miles.

2001 Kia Rio owner · NHTSA complaint

While driving at any speed and with no warning transmission will stall when vehicle manually switches gears. Dealer notified.

2001 Kia Rio owner · NHTSA complaint

Quick answers

Which Kia Rio years have transmission problems?

By transmission complaints filed with NHTSA per car sold, the worst Kia Rio years are 2003, 2001, 2002.

What are common Kia Rio transmission problems?

Owners most often describe lost power while driving, transmission replaced, slipping.

Which Kia Rio years have the fewest transmission complaints?

Since 2010, the Kia Rio years with the fewest transmission complaints per car sold are 2019, 2010, 2015.

See every problem, not just the transmission: Kia Rio reliability by year. How we count

Updated

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