Kia Niro Complaints

531 consumer complaints on file.

#11453100February 20, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN
Starting battery (which operates the safety systems) was getting progressively worse until vehicle could not be started. Upon inspection it was determined that the 1.5 year old starting battery was swollen and defective. NOTE: Vehicle did sit for 12 months in estate litigation.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11452958February 19, 2022
ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN
I don't know what components are involved. When attempting to move forward from a stop the car does not respond immediately. Then there is clunk noise and a lurch forward. Sometimes when this happens it feels like the car has been hit from behind. The problem began about a year ago and has been into the dealer's service center several times. I believe during one of those service visits a reset of something was done that seemed to resolve the issue for several months. The problem is intermittent. Dealer has been unable to reproduce the issue, but stated the last time the car was in for service that another customer with the same year and make was having the same symptoms and a tech that had been allowed to use the car for over a week did not experience the issue. No warning lights or codes are associated with the issue. A car that fails to move forward on a green light is in danger of being rear-ended placing the people in the vehicle and surrounding vehicles at risk of bodily injury. The vehicle has not been inspected by anyone other than service staff at the FOlsom Lake Kia dealership. On February 18, 2022, the vehicle had no power (automatic doorlocks didn't work, etc) could not be started and was towed to the dealership where it is now.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11452082February 15, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
On 2/15/2022 around 10:00AM, I was driving my vehicle as normal. Noticed brake lights ahead, I was about 3 car lengths back, which I always try to drive since I am on the road a lot and I prefer not to have an accident. Well this time, I put my foot on the brake as normal and the vehicle felt like brakes were not even working, pushed harder with my foot and waited for that pumping feeling (which I have felt before) and literally nothing! Once I was about a car lengths away, I knew my vehicle was not stopping so I sat up straight and leaned back before the air bags deployed in my face. I have since come home and found several complaints from other 2018 Kia Niro owners that have made a complaint about this on other forums and with the NHTSA and Carcomplaints.com - This issue has been ignored by Kia about braking system.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11451321February 10, 2022
POWER TRAIN, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
After putting the car in park on a moderate slope, I exited the car and about 2 seconds later, as I was connecting the charger, the car rolled backward 4 feet before coming to a stop. I immediately confirmed that the car was in park. The parking brake was *not* on. (Or at least, I did not manually set it- I don't know if this car activates the brake automatically when in park.) The right front wheel was on ice. All other wheels on bare gravel. The temperature was 36 deg F. This is an EV, so it may have some sort of event recorder built in. If so, look at roughly 9:10 EST on 2/10/22. This is a short-term rental from Enterprise, so I'll set the parking brake manually for the remainder of the rental and report it to them on return. Contact them if you want to inspect it. The registration lists the owner as "EAN Holdings LLC"
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11450462February 4, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
On January 30, 2022 I was driving my 2017 Kia Niro (133,500 miles) when my car broke down. I was driving along at 45 MPH when I had three or so warning lights flash on my dash. I don't clearly remember what they said, but it was something about the hybrid system and then the check engine light came on along with the warning label for the hybrid system again and the car died. I managed to get off the highway and come to a safe stop into a parking lot of a hotel. I tried turning my car off and back on but nothing happened except for the dash panel lights going on saying check hybrid. The last time I did it I waited a couple of minutes before attempting to turn it back on and again, no change. At this point I ended up having to call AAA and had my car towed to my dealership. (40 miles away) Besides being scary to have this happen, I learned that this problem is common in Kia Niro’s. The part I am talking about is the “high voltage fuse”. Evidently manufacturer installs a 125amp fuse and the fuse needed is 175amps. I feel this is a huge problem and will eventually if not already end up causing a serious accident. I look forward to a response and hopefully a solution to get this $434.72 service charge recovered plus tow fees.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11450471February 4, 2022
AIR BAGS, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
I was involved in a collision 11/2021. I had just left a stop sign and was starting to go when a semi hit my front end and spun my vehicle around. I do not understand why my air bags did not deploy and I feel like emergency braking did not work. I have had it work when someone get close to my bumper in the past.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11450489February 4, 2022
POWER TRAIN
When the KIA is shifted into "park", it will sometimes roll forward or backwards until the brakes are applied by the driver. This doesn't happen all the time and we have not figured out a way to predictably reproduce the results, but it happens a lot. My wife is the primary driver and I have only driven the car about 10 times. It has happened to just me twice in that time frame. It's such a common problem that we have started trying to routinely activate the emergency brake, as the transmission is not reliable in shifting the vehicle into park. During one incident, my wife forgot to use the emergency brake after shifting the car into park. She got out, the vehicle began rolling in park and her leg almost got ran over in an attempt to stop the vehicle. We have taken the car to Mike Miller KIA in Peoria, IL, but they were unable to reproduce the results, so did not take action to fix the vehicle. We have also reached out to KIA on this issue and are awaiting a response. A quick Google search indicated that KIA is not exactly reliable safety-related issues, so I wanted to be proactive in exposing this potential vehicle hazard.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11443095December 8, 2021
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
The contact owns a 2019 Kia Niro. The contact stated that while driving at night with the low-beam headlights activated, the illumination was either too bright or improperly position causing the light beam to become visibility hazards to the oncoming drivers. The contact indicated that oncoming motorist constantly flashed their lights indicating that the high-beam headlights were activated even though only the low-beam headlights were illuminated. The cause of the failure was not determined. The contact referenced the NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V771000 (Exterior Lighting). The local dealer was notified of the issue. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 50.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11442817December 6, 2021
ENGINE
On 12/03/2021 I noticed white steam coming from the exhaust of my vehicle. Very shortly after noticing this issue I lost all heat and the engine temperature began to rise. I immediately checked the engine coolant level and noticed the reservoir was empty. On 12/04/2021 an authorized dealer diagnosed the issue as a cracked catalytic converter/heat recovery unit. This assembly allows exhaust gases to heat up engine coolant to improve gas efficiency. When the system fails it allows engine coolant to burn off an causes the vehicle to unexpectedly over heat, hence putting the occupants at great risk. Simple internet research has shown that this is a common problem with this vehicle yet the dealer is refusing to pay for the replacement of this defective part.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11441412November 23, 2021
LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST
Driving in my 2020 Kia Niro EV EX in the right lane of a 2-lane northbound highway at 3PM on a weekday, clear-weather, I changed lanes into the left lane when all of the sudden the Lane Keeping Assist malfunctioned and startlingly and abruptly jerked me across the double yellow lines into oncoming southbound traffic. I tried to steer the car back into the northbound lanes but the steering wheel was frozen. The malfunctioning Lane Keeping Assist seemed to have completely taken control of the steering wheel. An oncoming southbound car hit me colliding with my front passenger hood, panel and front passenger wheel. Upon impact, my dashboard lit up with warning messages, as the collision sent my car sailing back into the northbound side of the highway crashing perpendicularly into the highway perimeter chainlink fence and parking post. My airbags did NOT deploy! That is 100% airbag failure in a front wheel collision in a front-wheel drive vehicle. Police report taken at site of the incident. My insurance was notified. Insurance advised me to report these mechanical malfunctions to the Kia dealership. I reported to Kia Van Nuys dealership who set up service diagnostics in the dealership Service center. However, Kia Van Nuys Service refused to diagnose the car telling me to "take the car to a body shop" because they could not diagnose the mechanical/technical issue before body damage was repaired.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11441346November 22, 2021
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST
My husband and I have both experienced an abrupt jolt when the Lane Keeping Assist is activated. It's not the "normal" tug that alerts you when drifting. And sometimes this startling jolt is activated when not changing lanes. Also, for a split second when the Lane Keeping Assist has this unexpected abrupt jolting that tries to force you into the lane, the steering wheel locks for a split second which is more frightening because for a split second you lose control of the car. In my other Kia Niro EV, I reported this to Kia Van Nuys dealership and went on a "test" drive with a mechanic. At that time my other vehicle (also reported here due to a collision) did not exhibit this "jolting, jerking" experience. I have asked other people I know who own or lease this Kia Niro EV if they experienced anything unusual with the Lane Keeping Assist. All reported this same "abrupt jolting" experience which was so concerning, they were "forced to disable the Lane Keeping Assist" for fear it might cause an accident.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11439629November 7, 2021
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
The Adaptive Cruise Control System is not working. It is available for inspection upon request. The cruise control system does not reset, but rather retains the last set point. When I start the car and touch the accelerator, the car assumes the last set speed setting. In my case that is 60mph. It does not matter what I do, the car accelerates to 60mph. I can "cancel" the setting", tap on the brakes, or try to reset the system to a different speed. I am trying to get an appointment with the dealer for his evaluation. There have been no accidents on my part, but it is very scary that the car just takes off. there were no warnings, lamps, or messages on any of the car consoles. This is a a significant failure, potentially life threatening.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11438434October 27, 2021
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The contact had a loaner 2017 Kia Niro. The contact stated while driving and stopping at a red light when the light turned green the contact depressed on the accelerator pedal and was going about 5 MPH when suddenly the power steering failed. The contact manually steered the vehicle and caused the driver to rear-end and crash the vehicle in front of her that also caused that vehicle to rear-end the vehicle in front of them which caused a 3 car accident. There were no warning lights illuminated from the vehicle, The air bag did not deploy. No one was injured. There was no medical treatment needed at the scene. A police report was filed. The contact was able to drive the vehicle back to the local dealer where they loaned the vehicle to have it returned. The contact was informed a week after the accident there was a recall for that year and model of vehicle for power steering and the contact reached out to a local dealer to inquire if that particular vehicle was part of the recall but did not get any response. The vehicle was repaired. However, the contact was told the vehicle was sold shortly after the repair to an individual without knowing if the vehicle had a recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11435950October 7, 2021
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM
Received automated message that my engine may be compromised and to schedule maintenance, I took my car to the dealership service that same day. I was advised that the fuel injectors needed replaced, the car still was not working the was advised a cylinder needed to be replaced that did not correct the issues and was advised the engine needed to be replaced on my 2019 Kia Niro PHEV that has 17,801 miles. Dealership has my vehicle now for over 5 weeks With no estimated completion date.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11434645September 28, 2021
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
This complaint is about a vehicle design and implementation issue rather than a malfunction. The implementation of the low speed warning alert for this vehicle is dangerous to pedestrians. Several times, as I was backing out of a parking spot pedestrians have stopped directly behind the moving vehicle and could have been hit. When put into reverse this vehicle emits beeping tone from a speaker mounted in the FRONT bumper of the vehicle. Because the backup alert tone is emitted from the front bumper of the vehicle, the sound is reflected off other cars and structures and is perceived as completely non-directional to anyone standing behind the car. When people hear the beeping, they tend to stop and look around for the source of the sound, which is some cases seems to be coming from 1 or 2 aisles over in the parking lot, or from another direction altogether. The tone that the car emits is also inconsistent with the usual and expected 1000Hz tone that most people associate with backup beepers, causing further confusion to pedestrians. As implemented, the backup alert system on this vehicle does more harm than good and has the potential to cause a pedestrian accident because of the confusing, non standard and non-directionality of the sound. A blind or vision impaired person would have a very hard time discerning the direction that the sound is coming from and could get hit by this vehicle as it is backing up. To be effective, the backup beeper should be mounted in the rear of the car and emit the standard tone that people generally associate with backup alarms.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11432667September 12, 2021
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My 2018 Kia Niro EX keeps overheating. We purchased the vehicle July 21st 2018. Three months after purchase, the vehicle dies, flashing warning lights and a message appeared to shut the engine off. Our car was towed to the dealership we purchased it from. After over three months, the dealership calls and tells us to pick the car up from them. The entire engine had to be replaced. We sued Kia Motors through the lemon law. We settled for the payment option because the engine was replaced. Now, our hands are tied due to once we took the cash settlement, we were no longer able to take legal action again if we had any additional issues. Over the course of the last three years, we had to have it repaired for a wiring issue, now, our vehicle continually overheats. Our dealership where we purchased the vehicle does not have a hybrid technician to work on it. We have to drive to another location of theirs to have it serviced. That location is over an hour drive. Our car is unable to be driven to have it properly service by the correct technician. There is an online forum, www.kianiroforum.com. This forum explains in detail what type of issue the consumer is experiencing with this vehicle. I am reaching out due to this overheating issue could cause serious harm to someone. We have spoken with Kia corporate headquarters, their advice is to have it looked at by a Kia dealership and they will go from there. We have exhausted all of our options to have these issues looked into and now reaching out to you for assistance. Myself included, it appears this vehicle has many many issues and needs to be brought to someone’s attention that has the power to get something done.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11431326September 1, 2021
POWER TRAIN
The power train, engine, and breaks are defective. The vehicle has malfunctioned over 10 times in the past 5 months and it happens randomly. The same issues occur each time which where the car will not drive or will be extremely jolty, the gears will not shift, the breaks are delayed, and the engine will rev (RPMs will go up and down) when put in park. This has happened in the middle of an intersection and on major roads and highways. This issue puts myself and others around me at risk. The problem has been reproduced at an authorized Kia dealership and has been attempted to be fixed on many occasions. It has been inspected and serviced by Kia service technicians. There are many warning lights and error messages that appear when the malfunction happens including: check engine light, hybrid battery light, ABS system warning, BDS system warning, emergency braking system error message, electric power steering light, master warning light, engine oil pressure light, charging system light, regenerative breaking warning light, along with engine control system and battery control system error warning messages.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11427104July 30, 2021
BACK OVER PREVENTION: BACK-UP ALARM
I'm a new Niro Ev driver. The VESS noise when reversing the vehicle is very loud. It is too loud, I live in close proximity to neighbors and have to get up early for work and the sound is a major nuisance, I would not want a neighbor that has this car . I understand VESS in place for safety but the reverse backup beeping is just a step down from a garbage truck backing up, especially in the silence of a residential neighborhood in the early AM hours. Furthermore, I and others as seen on web forums will reverse faster than we normally would do to be able to take the car out of reverse as quickly as possible to stop the blaring beeping. This creates its own risk, as if there is less time to react if there is a pedestrian behind the vehicle. The volume of the noise should be greatly reduced. It is also unnecessary noise pollution. Kia, please fix this.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11425119July 16, 2021
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
For no apparent reason (other than a stress crack or other manufacturer or design defect), a long crack appeared in my windshield (start from the bottom left and going up and over about 20 inches). It is an interior window crack that cannot be felt from the inside or outside. Vehicle was simply parked at the time. Not caused by accident, rock or other impact. Dealer so far refused to replace the windshield under warranty although it is clear within the Basic Warranty Coverage and not excluded from coverage. Based on Google search, it appears that Kia has a long history of knowing about windshield cracks on different models, not just the Telluride which is part of class action lawsuit. Kia needs to be replacing cracked windshields like this per its Basic Warranty terms. It is a significant safety hazard.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11423414July 4, 2021
VISIBILITY/WIPER
There is a silver strip of "trim" running completely across the dashboard just above the radio controls. It is so reflective that a glare occurs periodically throughout the day when the sun hits it. It's so bad that it blocks the left side mirror with the reflection and can even blind the driver. This needs to be addressed by Kia. Easy solution is to have Kia remove the strips, paint them black, and re-install them.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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