This paper aims at developing a novel method to assess the kinematic reliability of robotic manipulators based on the fuzzy theory. The kinematic reliability quantifies the probability of obtaining positioning errors within acceptable limits. For this purpose, the fuzzy reliability evaluates the effect of the joint clearances on the end effector position to compute a failure possibility index. As an alternative to the conventional methods reported in the literature, this failure possibility index conveys a novel assessment of the kinematic performance. The numerical results are compared with the well known probabilistic approach based on the Monte Carlo simulation (MCS).