Ford Transit Connect vs KIA RIO

Both cars' complete complaint records, side by side.

Read the totals carefully. NHTSA publishes no sales figures, so the car that sold more collects more complaints regardless of quality. The rows worth weighing are the proportions — the share of complaints that involved harm, and which part dominates.

Measure	Ford Transit Connect	KIA RIO
Complaints on file	742	1,816
Model years covered	2010–2023	2000–2023
Worst model year	2014	2002
Best model year	2021	2023
Crashes reported	27	229
Fires reported	9	149
Injuries reported	16	163
Deaths reported	0	8
Most complained-about part	Transmission & Drivetrain	Engine & Cooling
Share of complaints involving harm	7%	30.2%

Ford Transit Connect by year

56 30 35 38 159 79 146 33 32 72 40 14 7 1

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Transmission & Drivetrain 99 13.3%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 76 10.2%

Other & Unspecified 75 10.1%

Brakes 73 9.8%

Electrical System 71 9.6%

Body & Structure 67 9.0%

Engine & Cooling 62 8.4%

Steering 32 4.3%

KIA RIO by year

4 355 171 103 53 46 89 64 57 54 38 32 75 218 75 69 110 37 42 29 37 23 15 20

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Engine & Cooling 399 22.0%

Airbags 274 15.1%

Brakes 184 10.1%

Electrical System 159 8.8%

Other & Unspecified 130 7.2%

Fuel & Propulsion 102 5.6%

Transmission & Drivetrain 98 5.4%

Seat Belts 64 3.5%