Control module (ECM/PCM/BCM) failure on the 2006 Kia Rio
Only 3 reports for this mode came with an odometer reading, which is too few for percentiles to mean anything. The page is here because someone linked to it; treat the figures as anecdotes, and see the full report for this year instead.
When control module (ecm/pcm/bcm) failure gets reported
There are 5 reports of control module (ECM/PCM/BCM) failure on the 2006 Kia Rio, 3 with a mileage attached. That is too few to place the failure on the odometer with any confidence.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 92,000 miles. It is the 3rd most-reported problem on this model year.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | 10,000 miles | — | — |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $700–$3,000 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 3 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2006, at a median of 10,000 miles, and latest on the 2003 at 60,000 miles.
By volume the 2001 carries the most reports, with 5; the 2006 has 5. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
Bought car in 01-06 started to get an air bag light on driver side in 05-06. First time was due to malfunction seat belt pretensioner ordered. Went back 06-21 replaced with seat belt retractor. Second time on 07-18 airbag light remained on was told due to seat covers. Airbag was reset, was told no seat covers. Hi-desert kia sells seat covers for 2006 rio. Third time 07-06 was told airbag system connection was knocked loose due to items under passenger seat, do not put items under seats. Air bag system was reset. Fourth time 08-06 was told air bag control unit needs replacement. Waiting for part to arrive 09-06. *jb
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 kia rio. The air bag warning light remained illuminated whenever a passenger was seated in the front seat. The dealer replaced the air bag sensor; however, the failure continued. The dealer re-inspected the vehicle, but was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer advised him to turn the vehicle off and restart it or have the passenger sit in the rear. The contact was dissatisfied with the remedy. The failure mileage was 1,000 and current mileage was 14,000. Updated 01/11/08. *lj updated
There is an airbag sensor on the right front passenger side of my 2006 kia rio that is supposed to keep the person on the passenger side safe but airbags in a disabled status when only the driver is in the front seat of the car. However, very often, when my wife (who weighs 220 lbs) is seated in the right front passenger side, this airbag sensor still indicates that the passenger side airbags are disabled. The last time this occurred, a diagnosis check stated that a 'small occupant' was in the seat. My wife was in the passenger seat when this last test was done this is a safety issue which hinders me from comfortably driving this vehicle, and it seldom gets driven. The dealer and kia have made many unsuccessful attempts to resolve this. They have been refusing to refund my money back to me. *tr
Also reported on the 2006 Kia Rio
Airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault
Airbag failed to deploy in a crash
Other engine problem
Other steering problem
Head gasket failure
Radiator or coolant leak
How far this goes
This page is kept out of search results because 5 reports is not enough to publish percentiles from. It stays reachable because somebody looking at this exact car would rather see the reports than be told there are none.
Complaints are voluntary, so 5 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does control module (ecm/pcm/bcm) failure happen on the 2006 Kia Rio?
Across 3 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 10,000 miles. A quarter were filed before — and a quarter after —. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is control module (ecm/pcm/bcm) failure on the 2006 Kia Rio?
5 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.2 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed