7.0

fairly significant
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
8,636 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.

2019 Kia Niro drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2019 Kia Niro Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #30

Jun 152024

Niro

  • miles

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

Car made loud whinning noise for 6 months, due to defective transmission. KIA refused to fix because car was out of warranty- but has TSB: ELE234. My extended warranty did not cover because it was a known defect from KIA.' Car stopped working, transmission was repaired. Please see below attached 16k invoice.

- Redwood Shores, CA, USA

problem #29

May 012024

Niro

  • 87,000 miles
The contact owns a 2019 Kia Niro. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power with the message "Stop Engine". The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed failures with the hydraulic clutch actuator and catalytic converter. The catalytic converter was replaced, but the hydraulic clutch actuator was not repaired due to lack of part availability. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V534000 (Power Train); the VIN was included, but parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and confirmed that the part was on backorder. The failure mileage was 87,000.

- Amesbury, MA, USA

problem #28

Mar 142024

Niro

  • miles
There-??s motor rumble due to a misalignment of the traction motor and reduction gear. It-??s a known issue with these vehicles and a technical bulletin was issued but no recall. I-??ve brought the vehicle in twice and the first time the dealer told me there was nothing wrong. Now a year later they admit it is wrong and is unsafe to drive without a $10k replacement.

- Louisville , KY, USA

problem #27

Jul 302024

Niro

  • miles

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

When accelerating from a dead stop, sometimes the car makes a very loud 'clunk' noise and lurches forward. Similar to the feeling when someone drives a manual transmission and takes the clutch out too fast. The car eventually finds the first gear and keeps driving, but this problem happens daily. Maybe around 5-10% of the time after every stop. There are multiple similar complaints on the NHTSA website and on online forums. It is a well-documented issue.

- Temecula, CA, USA

problem #26

Mar 302023

Niro

  • miles
Constantly get a refill inverter coolant light on dash, have taken it in to dealer and are unable to correct it.

- Glendale, CA, USA

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problem #25

Feb 122024

Niro

  • 61,473 miles
The contact owns a 2019 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 contact stated that while the vehicle was at the dealer for the scheduled recall repair, the vehicle was inspected. The contact's wife was informed that the hydraulic clutch actuator (HCA) was faulty and needed to be replaced. The contact's wife was informed that the parts were unavailable, and the repair needed to be rescheduled. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was made aware of the failure but confirmed that parts were not yet available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 61,473. Parts distribution disconnect.

- Austell, GA, USA

problem #24

Dec 272023

Niro

  • miles

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

The contact owns a 2019 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. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

- South Yarmouth, MA, USA

problem #23

Nov 052023

Niro

  • miles
This is a published TSB but it doesn't appear when searching for this vehicle. I have to search in google for specific phrases to find this on your website. "DRIVE UNIT INSPECTION & REPLACEMENT FOR EV MOTOR RUMBLE NOISE " Kia Niro EV: [XXX] Hyundai Kona EV: [XXX] Known issue with many customers reporting Kia and Hyundai Motor failures. But since it is not an official recall campaign, it doesn't pop up when researching Kia Niro, Soul, Hyundai Kona, Ioniq EVs. Many consumers report that service centers will gaslight, dismiss, downplay, or falsely blame on brakes, rotors, other unrelated parts. Some have reported they flat out refuse to work on their car even if they bought it there, stating that they don't have technicians trained for EV service. And when/if we are lucky enough for service departments to do repairs, the parts are on backorder. They have to replace brackets/mounts that never resolve issue until finally replacing the motor/gearbox. Often the problem comes back in a few months as the replacement parts don't actually address the root causes. This should certainly be a full recall campaign that the public is made aware of. A final note here on the problem with these extensive complicated long services, is that people are without a vehicle during the whole process. Dealerships and Manufacturers pass the buck, point the finger to each other. Dealerships don't offer loaners, they say check with Kia for rental reimbursement. No one who plans a budget for a new car payment, ever factors in $2-3000 for months of car rental payments that the Manufacturer won't pay until the service is fully finished. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #22

Nov 222023

Niro

  • miles
The contact owns a 2019 Kia Niro. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V534000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. 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. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

- Yukon, OK, USA

problem #21

Mar 172023

Niro

  • miles
My car sometimes lurches when I am moving from a stopped position. This is dangerous as it causes the car to hesitate when I am sometimes pulling out across traffic for a left turn. It is especially frequent when I am on a slight incline. It feels like it might have something to do with the transmission shifting from the EV mode. I have read about other people having the same problem with this car on online forums but there have been no recalls and they have the same trouble getting their dealerships to fix it. I took my car to the dealership multiple times, and they were able to reproduce the issue and thought it was initially something to do with calibrating the computers. It seemed to temporarily "fix" it so I picked it back up, just to have the same problem a week later. Since it happens sporadically, it has been difficult to get the dealership to fix the issue as sometimes they are unable to reproduce the issue.

- Galveston, TX, USA

problem #20

Oct 232023

Niro

  • miles

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

I-??ve had this repaired by Kia and immediately failed again, but a component to the alternator and ac unit is attached to the drive train and will cause an alarm that hybrid battery failure and sudden power loss(they told me this with the first -??fix-?? but failed within an hour of leaving Kia. It-??s happened again tonight and nearly caused a crash on the freeway and I-??ve seen many others with this issue and I want to drive my kid home safely so any help would be wonderful with this issue. Thank you!!

- Sacramento, CA, USA

problem #19

Oct 162023

Niro

  • miles
The contact owns a 2019 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 confirmed that parts were 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 and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

- Bloomington, IN, USA

problem #18

Aug 112023

Niro

  • miles
Kia has a recall on this model for the power train automatic internal clutch under NHTSA Campaign ID 23V534000 Kia Recall number is SC276. My vehicle had the HEV light come on so it is currently at the Dealership for service. They have told me the Hydraulic clutch fluid has leaked into the fuse panel and needs replaced. According to Kia my VIN number is not included in the recall, but the issue is the exact issue being explained by this national recall. It seems they need to expand the recall to include more Niro's than in this recall to include my VIN.

- Mount Pleasant, SC, USA

problem #17

Jul 142023

Niro

  • miles
From a stop, I step on the gas quickly and it feels like the transmission has just broken. It causes my pulse to increase and scares and distracts me so much I've almost had an accident a several times. I have scheduled an appointment with Kia to assess the problem. I will provide an update once they have concluded their assessment.

- Vista, CA, USA

problem #16

Mar 012019

Niro

  • miles
When coming to a stop, the car will jerk forward with a loud clack sound. Sometimes it's mild, but other times it is as if the car had been rear-ended, causing it to lurch forward abruptly. There is no rhyme or reason to when it will happen, but it is always when coming to a stop, usually at a very slow speed.

- Port Saint Lucie, FL, USA

problem #15

Mar 012020

Niro 4-cyl

  • miles
Within the first 6 months of owning our 2019 Kia Plugin Hybrid, we started experiencing a clunk with a lurch when accelerating from a stopped position. The issue became progressively worse over time - increasing in frequency and severity. The car has been to the Kia Lupient dealership in Brooklyn Park, MN multiple times for this issue. At our most recent visit on November 7th, 2022, the service advisor acknowledged that the issue may be due to shipping the vehicle with the wrong transmission fluid. The transmission fluid was replaced with the correct fluid. However, we experienced the issue again on December 2, 2022. Could the wrong fluid have caused permanent damage to the transmission? This Technical Service Bulletin (https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2020/MC-10174520-0001.pdf) indicates that could be true. We are pursing arbitration with the dealership.

- Fridley, MN, USA

problem #14

Oct 012019

Niro

  • miles
The vehicle has an intermittent jerk/clunk sound when accelerating or coming to a stop. Occasionally it can feel as if the clutch is coming engaging/disengaging roughly and cause passenger's heads to shake forward. In a few instances there has been a delay when pressing on the brakes to initiate stopping before the vehicle, this momentary loss of control is alarming. It feels as if the clutch and brakes did not react to the pedal immediately. I have taken the vehicle to the Kearny Mesa Kia dealership to diagnose the issue on 3 separate occasions starting from 2 months after purchasing the vehicle. On the most recent visit they have diagnosed that dual clutch failed a calibration test - it is unclear if they performed this test on the previous visits. Repairs have not yet been performed as I am disputing the out of warranty claim by the dealership

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #13

Mar 242021

Niro

  • miles
12 volt starting battery (Lithium Ion Polymer) pn 37507-G2120. battery swollen and will not take charge (2.5 years old) 15,000 miles on vehicle. This battery powers dash and all related safety systems. Dealer refuses to look into problem as batteries are on national back order status and cannot fix due to parts availability. 3 dealerships have been contacted, all have been making excuses for other systems at fault to avoid recognizing battery is defective. I have been without use since Mar2021.

- Vero , FL, USA

problem #12

Nov 202021

Niro

  • miles
There is a pause upon acceleration from a stop (unresponsive). Then the vehicle will lunge forward and make a loud noise. For both driver and passengers, it can be quite startling and feels as though the car has been hit from behind. This started happening in the fall of 2021, when the car was about two years old with about 18,000 miles. It has happened about a dozen times in the six months since first noticed. It seems that this may be a software issue related to the hybrid system - a lag in triggering which motor to use for acceleration.

- Henderson, KY, USA

problem #11

Dec 062021

Niro 4-cyl

  • miles
Multiple problems with transmission and electrical. Electrical: 1) While traveling 80mph in the far left lane of the highway, I had to make a hard break when someone changed lanes and moved into my path. When I did that, the car turned off completely. (The key fob was still secured in my cup holder.) I could no longer accelerate and it was slowing down quickly. There was no way for me to turn the car back on using the start button. I could do nothing but try to cross 6 lanes of oncoming traffic to get to the roadside in order to stop, which was extremely dangerous on a busy highway. I was very luck I didn't get slammed from behind and end up in a horrible accident. Once I got to the roadside, I stopped the car and was able to re-start it. Kia mechanics said a diagnostic turned up nothing, and they could not "duplicate" the problem. Of course, they can't guarantee it won't happen again. 2) Another time, I turned off the car after parking, grabbed my key and exited the vehicle. It started loudly beeping at me. It's the sound it make when the key fob is taken from the car while it's on, or you try to lock the car and leave when it's still on. I had to turn the car back on and then back off in order to resolve the issue. Transmission: Transmission was replaced at 19,000 miles because the gears were grinding when I was downshifting and it wasn't shifting from 3rd to 4th well. I'd put my foot on the gas and it just wouldn't go, and then it would finally kick in. I was also having issues with it when parking or coming to a stop. It would get to a point when the car was slowing down and should now coast slowly, and instead, it would come to a sudden stop, then it would jerk forward. When on any kind of an incline, it would stop, roll backward, then catch and roll forward. It seems to suddenly shift into neutral when I'm not in neutral and it should be moving forward. New transmission addressed grinding, but other issues remain. I also multiple issues accelerating now. On May 12, after driving the car to a nearby sto

- Atlanta, GA, USA

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