Niro had been exhibiting increasingly frequent "crunching" noises in the steering mechanism at lower speeds, like backing up and in-town driving. Issue started in late June 2024 at about 67K miles. A few times the steering wheel grabbed on turning and I had to fight it back. I called the dealer for a diagnostic appointment and they said they couldn't see it until mid-August 2024. I then took the car in to a local mechanic two times, who said they could feel the crunching on backing up, but weren't able to reliably reproduce the condition and refused to open up the steering column in the absence of a defined problem. I continued to drive car the throughout July. On 7/20/24, the crunching noise in the steering column got markedly more frequent, was witnessed and felt by passenger, and continued intermittently throughout the day through a number of short in-town drives at low speeds on typical city roads. The next day, 7/21/24, after about 1.5 hours of continuous highway, then local driving on curvy mountain road, a series of loud crunching noises suddenly came from the steering column, the EPS warning light came on, and I experienced a total loss of power steering, making the car extremely difficult to control. The failure occurred in a triple s-curve at the top of a hill with an approaching, very steep drop-off embankment and I was very scared I would not be able to keep it on the road, even at the low speed I was driving. It took both hands and considerable effort to wrest control of the wheel and to keep the car on the road, and I managed to drive the remaining two miles home with considerable effort and both hands forcefully steering the car through turns. Definitely NOT safe to drive in this condition. The car was towed to the dealer for diagnosis. Dealer confirmed "total failure of steering mechanism"

- Dahlonega, GA, USA

- my car started releasing white smoke - i took it to repair shop, stated it was fixed, white smoke continued -car started overheating -Took it to KIA dealership and was told i was responsible for fuel leaking into engine, was told my car was not covered under warranty, I also have an extended warranty at the dealership which they wouldn't honor stating it was not covered -Recently while driving the car flashed Hybrid system Failure and shut off -I was unable to move the car -I had the car towed to the original dealer (wiz autos) and it has been there since May 2023, it is now 4 months and the car still does not work -Wiz autos informed me the car had a "lock on it" and will need to be released by KIA its been 4 months with no answers from KIA, I have been having an issue with the coolant leaking into the engine since 11/22 and although this is a common problem in these cars(manufacturers defect) KIA will not fix, or replace. I believe the coolant leaking into the engine, is causing the cars to malfunction**** Please take a look at these forums: [XXX] [XXX] Although my car is not listed in this lawsuit by KIA, i believe more cars are affected: A federal court has granted final approval of a class action lawsuit known as In re: Hyundai and Kia Engine Litigation, No. 8:17-?'cv-?'00838-?'JLS-?'JDE and Flaherty v. Hyundai Motor Company, et al., No. 18-?'cv-?'02223 (C.D. Cal.) allege that 2011-?"2018 and certain 2019 Kia Optima, 2012-?"2018 and certain 2019 Kia Sorento, and 2011-?"2018 and certain 2019 Kia Sportage vehicles suffer from a defect that can cause engine seizure, stalling, engine failure, and engine fire, that engine seizure or stalling can be dangerous if experienced, and that some owners and lessees have been improperly denied repairs under the vehicle-??s warranty. Neither KMC nor KUS have been found liable for any of the INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Norwalk , CT, USA

Steering malfunction. Very difficult to turn right or left, steering wheel refuses to turn. Rattling noise of metal hitting metal when turning right or left

- Olney, MD, USA

The contact owns a 2017 Kia Niro. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel intermittently made an abnormal clicking sound upon turning the steering wheel in either direction without warning. Over time, the contact stated while driving at various speeds, excessive force was needed to steer the vehicle with the power steering warning light illuminated. The contact stated that upon restarting the vehicle, the power steering functionality returned. Upon investigation, the contact linked the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V159000 (Steering) however, the Vin was not included. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000.

- Battle Creek, MI, USA

Leased the 2017 Kia Niro ex hybrid car, late Sunday, February 19, 2017 and drove home 10+ miles. Odometer had 15 miles at start. Left the car in the garage for two days and attempted to drive it early Wednesday, February 22, 2017 at 4am. Backing out of the garage and was steering onto the street when the power steering warning light came on and steering was very difficult and noisy (growling) - vibrating while turning the wheel itself. Pulled back into the garage and all warning lights came on. Shut the car off and retried several times. Waited with the car idling. Battery - hybrid system warning light came on. Let the car sit and looked in the manual for answers. Tried backing out again and all the warning lights came on again, and steering was again very difficult. Drove back into the garage. Called the roadside assistance number and the flatbed truck took the 2017 Kia Niro ex back to the dealership. The tow driver had much trouble getting the car out of the garage and maneuvered onto the flatbed. This is a serious safety issue to us because of a catastrophic steering failure. Received call from service at Kia cerritos saying power steering motor had to be replaced and that Korean engineers were flying out to look at the car personally. Still do not have a car, but we are in limbo now about the brand itself. We do not want this car or a Kia product.

- Long Beach, CA, USA

Leased the car on Sunday and drove home 10+ miles. Odometer had 15 miles on it. Left the car in the garage for two days and attempted to drive it early Wednesday. (did not drive the car until Wednesday, and only attempted once. Owned the car for less than 3 days.) backing out of the garage and was steering onto the street when the power steering warning light came on and steering was very difficult and noisy - vibrating while turning the wheel itself. Pulled back into the garage and all warning lights came on. Shut the car off and retried several times. Waited with the car idling. Battery warning came on. Let the car sit and looked in the manual for answers. Tried backing up again and all the warning lights came on again, and steering was again very difficult. Drove back into the garage. Called the roadside assistance number and the flatbed truck took the 2017 Kia niro back to the dealership. Hoping to have our lease voided and will search safercar.gov for a new vehicle choice. No faith in the Kia brand now.

- Long Beach, CA, USA