7.0

pretty bad
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
8,474 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2018 Kia Niro drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2018 Kia Niro Owner Comments

problem #17

Jan 292024

Niro

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I received KIA letter about the recall SC276 for HCA issue around 1/15/24. I brought my 2018 Kia Niro PHEV to Kia Dealer in San Jose. They inspected and concluded that the vehicle is safe with the recall SC276. However, they did not replace the fuse as stated in Kia's recall instructions. Ten days later, I was on the road, slowing down at the intersection and the car suddenly lost power, the Dashboard show the message for 'EV System failed'. My battery was fully charged at work, which is 2 miles away. My gas tank was full and I couldn't start my car again. Lucky enough, I was 1/4 mile away entering a Freeway. I couldn't imagine what would happen if I was on Freeway. Police stopped by, put road warning while I scrambled to get a tow truck. An hour later, they was able to move my car off the road. The first Kia Dealer is 3 miles away. They, however, refused to service my car because the other Dealer in San Jose already checked my car for recall before. I had to tow my car 36 miles to San Jose Kia Dealer. I asked them to check again if it was the issue with the recall. Kia Dealer diagnosed and concluded that the 'Relay Assembly Power' unit, Fuse-High Voltage failed for whatever reason. I asked for picture of the damage part and haven't received them. The Dealer said they still have system message which Kia's Engineers haven't figured out why. I am on the 3rd week without a car. I don't have a car to go to work and pick up my kids. I am renting a car at $300/week for my family and work tasks.

- San Jose, CA, USA

problem #16

Feb 022024

Niro

  • miles
The contact owns a 2018 Kia Niro. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V534000 (Power Train); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

- Oak Ridge, NJ, USA

problem #15

Feb 012024

Niro

  • miles
The contact owns a 2018 Kia Niro. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V534000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

- Herndon, VA, USA

problem #14

Nov 232023

Niro

  • 48,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2018 Kia Niro. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V534000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the vehicle was towed to the dealer for servicing however, while the vehicle was being inspected, the HCA was performed. The vehicle was diagnosed with a failed hydraulic clutch actuator (HCA). The contact was informed that the HCA needed to be replaced. The dealer was made aware of the failure but confirmed that parts were not yet available. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 48,000.

- Columbia, SC, USA

problem #13

Jan 192024

Niro

  • miles
The contact owns a 2018 Kia Niro. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V534000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

- Richmond, CA, USA

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problem #12

Jan 092024

Niro

  • miles
The contact owns a 2018 Kia Niro. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V534000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

- Carlsbad, CA, USA

problem #11

Jan 082024

Niro

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2018 Kia Niro. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V534000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

- Redding, CA, USA

problem #10

Oct 012023

Niro

  • miles
The contact owns a 2018 Kia Niro. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V534000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

- Portland, ME, USA

problem #9

Jul 312023

Niro

  • miles
The contact owns a 2018 Kia NIRO. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number 23V534000 (Power Train} however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact had stated that a warning light had been illuminated. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 160,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

- Whitsett, NC, USA

problem #8

Jul 312023

Niro

  • 0 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Kia Niro. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V534000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

- Lawndale, CA, USA

problem #7

Oct 262023

Niro

  • 0 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2018 Kia Niro. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V534000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

- Auburn, WA, USA

problem #6

Jul 122023

Niro

  • 91,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Kia Niro. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to restart. The hybrid system warning was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where the vehicle was diagnosed, but the cause of the failure could not be determined. The vehicle was then towed to a second dealer, Elgin Kia (909 E Chicago St, Elgin, IL 60120), where the cause of the failure could not be determined. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number:?23V534000?(Power Train); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 91,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

- Rolling Meadows, IL, USA

problem #5

Jul 232023

Niro

  • miles
The contact owns a 2018 Kia Niro. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V534000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. An undisclosed dealer was contacted and confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

- Rapid City, SD, USA

problem #4

Aug 292021

Niro

  • miles
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.

- Columbus, OH, USA

problem #3

Jan 122020

Niro

  • 5,000 miles
2018 Kia Niro plug-in hybrid, 16,235mi. Vehicle has been in 5 times in last several months for a total of over 30 days in shop. Transmission will do a very hard downshift intermittently when stopping. Makes vehicle dip hard..noticeable on dash cam video. On harder acceleration, power train has trouble deciding what to do and often there is a noticeable delay in acceleration. Feels sort of like it is slipping, but is a delay in powering the electric motor fully and starting the gas motor.this has caused a couple close calls when pulling into traffic expecting the car to react appropriately. Some online research shows this is not an uncommon occurrence. Dealer has replaced a hydraulic actuator, bled system and reprogrammed PCM. This fixed a squeak noise in power train but not the harsh/erratic operations. As for the brakes, recently, depressing the brake with more than light pressure causes a rubbery groan sound from under driver's dash. This happens more when the car is cold or sitting for some time, less after it has warmed up. During these episodes, the brake pedal take more effort to push and brake engagement is delayed. The noise will happen when you step on the brake to start car or when driving. Dealer has been dismissive about the issues. We were told we would get a 'flight recorder' to help them document the transmission issues and record vehicle data from the computers. Today we were told we will not be getting it and to come pick up the car. Kia corporate in irvine, ca has been notified and a case has been opened. We are waiting on a response now.

- Anaheim, CA, USA

problem #2

Jun 222019

Niro

  • 10 miles
I was driving on the freeway. After slowed down and stopped completely, suddenly it lose power to run. Trying to step deeper the gas pedal, but no reaction at all. After turn off and turn on engine few times, it can run again, but this time, the real problem occur. The engine sounds so loud..it's hybrid car supposed to so quiet (that's what sounds usually). Later on, I found out how to still can drove it, but with high risk suddenly lose power on the street. Later found out, when the car in motion, the hybrid system didn't worked completely, and the transmission sound very rough. Every time when come to brake or want to slow down, can feels obviously and heard the transmission is very rough making clutch loud sounds. The cruise control system also totally not function. When in stationary, very first when started the engine, made loud sounds on the engine, and can't reversed or move forward, just stayed in place. The dashboard display "check hybrid system". and on the middle screen displaying, "low voltage DC / DC converter".

- Covina, CA, USA

problem #1

Nov 022018

Niro

  • 50 miles
The transmission fails to engage immediately to the gear shifted to. When stationary and with the vehicle in reverse, if you proceed to press the accelerator and the vehicle starts to move backwards, the vehicle will continue to roll in the reverse direction even after switching the gear selector to drive and pressing the accelerator. This problem happens when switching from either drive to reverse or reverse to drive.

- Elk Grove, CA, USA

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