The contact called on behalf of her mother, who owned a 2013 Kia Rio. The contact stated that while the contact's mother was approaching a stop sign, the brake pedal was depressed, and the vehicle stalled. The contact's mother noticed smoke coming from under the hood. The contact's mother stated that the brake pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to stop. The contact's mother enabled the emergency brake to stop the vehicle. The contact's mother noticed that the entire front windshield was covered with black smoke. In addition, the contact's mother exited the vehicle. The contact's mother stated that upon exiting the vehicle, she noticed fire on the front driver's side door. The fire department arrived and extinguished the fire. The vehicle was consumed in the fire. In addition, the contact stated that some parts of the vehicle were burned into the cement. The remaining parts of the vehicle were towed to a local tow yard. A police report was filed. No injuries were sustained. The contact's mother received a recall notification the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic). The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
2013 Kia Rio: fire, smoke or burning smell
20 of the 153 complaints about the 2013 Kia Rio describe fire, smoke or burning smell.
- owner complaints
- 20
- of this car's complaints
- 13%
- typical mileage
- 57,000
- recalls
- 0
Fire, smoke or burning smell by model year
What owners say
On July 17, 2025, shortly before 4am, my son's 2013 Kia Rio caught fire, while sitting in the driveway turned off, and was totally destroyed. The car was parked in the driveway at his house and there were not any warning signs before it happened. On June 10, 2024 we had the HECU fuse replaced through a recall that could cause a fire. After we had it "fixed" we had no idea that it could still catch on fire! My son could have been in the car when this happened or other structures could have caught on fire! The fire department was called to put the fire out and the car was inspected by Kia and by our insurance company. Kia does not care that we had the part replaced and that the car STILL caught on fire. They have stated that they will not do one thing about it. They didn't offer a rental car, removal of the burned car or any money to replace the car. I do not know how they get away with this especially when the fire inspector for Kia told me that they knew that changing the fuse wasn't a "fix" but it would hopefully short the fuse before a fire would start! So they knew it was still possible! Kia should not be allowed to manufacture cars!! As of the past week, Kia will not even return my phone calls.
Engline starting smoking and the car was engulfed in flames.
UNKNOWN Was clearing my car of snow and had the defroster on when I smelled a burning smell coming from I assume the engine.
The contact owns a 2013 Kia Rio. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was smoke coming out from underneath the hood. The contact stated that the failure also occurred while the vehicle was parked. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was repaired under the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V652000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic); however, the failure persisted. The dealer was notified of the failure and charged a fee for diagnostic testing; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was unknown.
Slowed down on highway as there was a backup from an exit, then accelerated again and car would not accelerate correctly. Engine light came on and then turned off as I exited off the highway. I turned the car off once safely parked. Burning smell was noted. Car would not start and was towed to auto shop where it was checked and deemed as an internal engine failure.
Question answers in order: INCIDENT DATE/LOCATION: July 28, 2023 Glastonbury, CT 1. UNKNOWN which component or system failed/malfunctioned. Fire began under hood of vehicle. Vehicle is a total loss. Vehicle has been released to Copart in New Britain, CT. 2. The car caught on fire while I was inside. Escaped without injury. Burned in close proximity to other vehicles before they were moved. Glastonbury, CT 3. UNKNOWN if this problem was reproducible 4. The vehicle was inspected by the fire marshal, police, and insurance company. UNKNOWN if Kia assessed the damage. Police Case #[XXX] Glastonbury Police Department Glastonbury, CT 5. No check engine lights or warning indicators. Only symptom was a burning smell/smoke within a couple minutes before visible flames. “INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).”
Engine caught fire , oil consumption, miss firing, knocking brought to dealer they found nothing wrong with it back in December 2022. Car stopped working on March 11,2023 had fire underneath police had vehicle towed to the house. Insurance company will be here Monday. Will also be contacting Kia dealer in alliance Ohio on Monday. The engine light was on and checked missing firing cylinder one
I was driving home one night and my brakes stopped working, then all the lights on my dashboard came on. Thankfully I was able to pull over safely off the freeway exit and another car pulled over next to me to let me know my car was on fire. The fire looked like it was in the center bottom of the car. I lifted the hood to the front of the car. There were two bystanders who were able to get a bucket of water and put the fire out before it got too big. There is no visible damage to the outside of the car.
Driving car home Going about 35 Smelled car in front of me, that car smells, seems it was my own car try to do brake To pull over. No breaks loose able to coast into parking lot use emergency brake, stop flames shut up through Car into car got out people tried to help put it out fire trucks were called.
On 04/07/22, I took my vehicle into Covina Valley KIA to replace a fuel line that had melted being constructed too close to the engine. About a month before the line, I noticed smoke was coming from under the hood. Other parts were too close to the GDi engine and were melting, and/or burning. For instance, the ignition coil/engine wire(s) cluster plastic holder which is mounted on the engine, was melting, breaking, and burning. Also the foam from the engine cover had caught fire. My car had also been throwing a knock sensor code p0326 every year. Replace it each time. Then the last time I fixed it, I got another p0326 that changed into fuel too rich code p2192. I inquired to KIA Management about the 2015 Service Bulletin: SB-10089747-5448 concerning the constant codes. But manager said that a ECU Upgrade may not help and to come down just to clear the codes to see if that helped. The car has been maintained, oil/filter changes 3,000 miles and I am the second owner. But these problems occurred without warning. Bad manufacturing, had to also replace the Fuel Pressure Regulator Valve, Fuel Feed Pipe, and all four Injectors due to melted plastic making it into the Delivery Rail from the melted Fuel Line which is plastic. Will attached my service bill and main receipts for parts bought to rectify this problem.
Self destroying. Car cylinder can get impacted to the ceiling. Knock sensor not working correctly it is functioning properly but not working correctly, causing an engine to deteriorate at a rapid rate non-intended use, has same engine as other key is in hyundais in this one is not on the recall and is having the same issue same issues as the recalls. Knock sensor catastrophic failure. For the date of the start of the issue it was well before then don't remember the exact date. Car will not drive smells like the engines going to catch on fire
Service bulletins that may apply
- Customer satisfaction: anti-theft s/w logic upgrade & decal installation (CS2307)
- Owner notification
- Owner re-notification
- Customer satisfaction: kia genuine remote start control module upgrade for anti-theft logic compatibility...
- Kia genuine remote start control module upgrade for anti-theft logic compatibility (CS2310)
- Owner notification
- Owner notification
- Customer satisfaction: anti-theft s/w logic upgrade & decal installation (CS2307)
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2013 Kia Rio fire or smoke
Is fire, smoke or burning smell a common problem on the 2013 Kia Rio?
20 of 153 owner complaints about the 2013 Kia Rio (13%) mention fire, smoke or burning smell. The model year with the most reports is 2013.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2013 Kia Rio?
There are 0 recalls and 36 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2013 Kia Rio
Check engine light 18Airbag light 16Knocking 10Oil consumption 10Engine failure 9Stalling 9No deployment 7Door locks 6ABS 5Headlights 5
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