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Exterior lightingPart report

2013 Kia RIO Exterior lighting Problems

Complaints
6about this part
Share
4%of 153 total for the year
Median mileage
55,000miles
Trend
Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.

NHTSA recorded 6 complaints about the exterior lighting of the 2013 Kia RIO, 4% of the 153 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 55,000 miles.

Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“When driving at night the headlights will go out. This usually happens when I use the blinker, or go over a safety speed bump, but the headlights have gone off on their own too. I contacted the Kia dealer but since there's no recall on the RIO they will not fix it. They did say there was a recall for the same issue on another type of Kia but not the RIO. This has been happening since I bought the used car in 2016. When I realized it was happening the warranty had expired”

NHTSA complaint #11256019, filed 2019-09, 17,000 miles

“Whenever car is running would here a knocking or rattling sound,had too replace parking light bulbs three times in first year they burnt out and on three other occasions the check engine light would kick on and when I would get car to service center check engine light would go back out and they would want to charge me to run a diagnostic if nothing showed after they ran it also said my warranty wouldn't cover faulty ignition and door lock first my door locks started getting jammed and I assumed that maybe someone had tried to break into car but then my car was in repair shop on a unrelated…”

NHTSA complaint #10704355, filed 2015-04, 11 miles

“A couple of days ago, air-bag warning light became on during driving. I tried to disconnect the battery but it won't go away. Nothing happened so far. No accident, no damage, and etc.”

NHTSA complaint #11229499, filed 2019-07, 65,800 miles

“The contact owns a 2013 Kia RIO. The contact stated that while driving various speeds, the headlights failed repeatedly. The contact mentioned that the headlights would flicker on and off multiple times as the lights on the instrument panel illuminated. The failure occurred several times. The vehicle was taken to dealer. The technician was unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 55,000.”

NHTSA complaint #10726621, filed 2015-06, 55,000 miles

Related service bulletins

Exterior lighting: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
202218%
202027%
201915%
201827%
201645%
201412%
201364%
200824%
200737%
200611%
200345%
200152%

Other parts of the 2013 Kia RIO

Engine
53 complaints
Air bags
34 complaints
Brakes
30 complaints
Electrical system
27 complaints
Other or unknown
19 complaints
Steering
10 complaints
Fuel system
8 complaints
Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
6 complaints
Transmission and drivetrain
5 complaints
Vehicle speed control
5 complaints
Engine cooling
3 complaints
Seat belts
3 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2013 Kia RIO

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology