2020 Kia Niro EV Owner Complaints

The contact owns a 2020 Kia Niro EV. The contact stated that the rearview camera intermittently failed to display an image when the vehicle was shifted into reverse. The contact stated that reverse engaged normally, and the audible alert was sounded; however, the display screen periodically remained blank. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent but had occurred several times. The contact stated that the rearview camera operated properly for a while before the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken to a dealer prior to the expiration of the warranty. The dealer was unable to duplicate the failure, and the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and suggested that the vehicle be taken for additional diagnostic tests, and the dealer would consult with technical assistance from the manufacturer to determine how to repair the vehicle. The failure mileage was approximately 11,000.

NHTSA ID

11745741

Incident

Oct 30, 2025

Mileage

11,000 mi

The contact owns a 2020 Kia Niro EV. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired under an undisclosed recall on two separate occasions; however, the part failed a third time after the vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer declined to offer additional repairs under the recall. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V899000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM); and associated the failures with the recall. The vehicle was driven to a dealer but was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 55,000.

NHTSA ID

11716865

Incident

Dec 6, 2022

Mileage

55,000 mi

I had just left my doctor after a protracted visit and was almost late for dinner guests. I noticed a thumping and thought it was the road, but it was a 3/8" bolt in my tire tread.I pulled up at Costco, hoping they could repair it quickly but was told I had to wait 2.5 hours when I had guests coming in an hour. I decided I would have to change the tire. When opening the trunk I found there is no spare, but saw a kit to fix the flat, which I vaguely remember reading about. I'm in a huge hurry to get home but I open the Owner's manual and there is: NADA about the flat repair. So I look at the components. There is a container of the repair solution and a pump with cartoons on it and a hose with a needle to insert into the puncture. After studying the cartoons for about 5 minutes (I am a highly technical, retired 82 year old ex IT professional), I figured out how to connect the can into the pump the hose to the pump and the power cord into the cigarette lighter (how many people still smoke and what would happen if the 12v socket disappears). I was then able to try to repair the puncture but it was for nought as the hole - duh - was too big. I also apparently ruined any chance the repair shop could repair the hole. The tire shop said my repair solution ruined the chance to repair the tire. Heaven help me if I get a flat in the rural boondocks!!!!! My complaint is: 1. What if this happened on a dark 2 lane country road 100 miles from nowhere and I were a single female or aged, frail couple? How would they manage to put together the repair flat kit with the hieroglyphic documentation on the repair kit pump? Could they be stranded for days without food, water, survival gear like coats or blankets? 2. Not supplying a spare doughnut tire could be imperiling vulnerable people. 3. The Owner's manual does not mention tire repair at all.

NHTSA ID

11687177

Incident

Sep 12, 2025

The contact owns a 2021 Kia Niro. The contact stated that when the vehicle was started, the refill inverter coolant warning light illuminated. In addition, the contact stated that the refill inverter warning light illuminated while driving the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with debris and corrosion in the inverters and electronic water pump. The contact was informed that the radiator and the water pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that in November 2023, the contact received Technical Service Bulletin: SA512, and the dealer attempted four times to perform the repair but was unsuccessful. In addition, the contact stated that the dealer who performed the Technical Service Bulletin: SA512, had not diagnosed the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an alternate dealer, who investigated and informed the contact that the Technical Service Bulletin: SA512, repair was not properly performed, and stated that this was the reason for the corrosion and debris in the water pump. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was filed. The contact stated that a buy-back by the manufacturer was requested; however, the buy-back request was denied. The failure mileage was approximately 44,910.

NHTSA ID

11675157

Incident

Nov 13, 2023

Mileage

44,910 mi

There is a silver strip that runs horizontally along the middle of the dashboard from one side to the other. It’s made out of a very reflective material. During the midday hours, it brightly shines the sun directly into the driver’s and passenger’s eyes—it’s very blinding!–and makes it difficult and unsafe to drive. I can’t even begin to think about teaching our teenage son how to drive in this car because of this safety issue.

NHTSA ID

11665097

Incident

Jun 4, 2025

About 7 months ago, "Refill Inverter Coolant" warning came up. Since then, I've scheduled service appoitment wtih Van Nuys Kia dealership 5 times to resolve this issue, but even after recent appoitment 2 weeks ago, this warning is still came up on my dashboard. Every time I start the car, the persistent refill inverter coolant light comes on. I believe I am experiencing this issue because KIA and their dealership where I bought my car doesn't want take ownership of this issue and resolve it. I am deeply concerned about my safety and the safety of my children when I drive my Kia vehicle.

NHTSA ID

11633536

Incident

Mar 1, 2024

vehicle started jerking suddenly and uncontrollably. It jerked to the side almost gliding into another vehicle there is a smell also coming from the car and wheels have extensive loss of threading due to abrupt change of speed and direction. Controlling the vehicle does this more regularly but this time I almost hit a vehicle to the side of me and I could not get cargo straight for a second it was a quick incident but it's pretty much made me want to check into this recall because it was very scary. And I don't know if it'll get worse because it seems to have gradually gotten worse and is messing up certain parts of the car that I need and I can tell the difference and I have not been in an accident thank God because I was able to control the vehicle but I do feel that it's only going to get worse and I don't like the smell I endure and I know that's one of the signs of the recall. But I do not like to drive with danger so think this is becoming more important.

NHTSA ID

11628061

Incident

Nov 30, 2024

The interior instrument panel horizontal angled trim has a shiny metal surface that when the sun shines on it, reflects into the driver's eyes causing a blinding experience. The driver cannot see the instrument panel, the display, the controls, and causes a total white out/ washout of visibility. Due to a camera's light sensitivity and auto adjustment of same, pictures don't serve well as to the actual blinding experience.

NHTSA ID

11590270

Incident

May 21, 2024

Car lost power, turtle warning lamp came on with “power limited” warning. This happened as I was slowing down in the fast lane of [XXX] just outside Novato CA. Fortunately, the cars behind me slowed down and stopped while I turned off the power and restarted the car. The car was fine after that, but this is the second time this has happened to us in less than a week. The other time it happened while we were idling at a red light. When the light turned green, the car lost power. We had to turn off the ignition and restart the vehicle. We will not drive the car again until we can get it repaired because of the fear for our safety. If the car had lost power while I was at full speed in the fast lane of the freeway, I could easily have been rear ended by a car traveling at the same speed or faster. We have not taken the car to a Kia dealership yet, but we will as soon as possible. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11577713

Incident

Mar 15, 2024

Faulty EPCU and circuit board damaged from coolant leak, as described by Kia technician. Other components have been affected. Estimated $3,000 in parts left to replace. Total repair cost is looking to exceed $13,000. On last failure of car, I was driving as the Electical Vehicle Systems error occurred and the car went into neutral and when it slowed down, went into Park. Car would start and drive 10-15 feet before becoming inoperable again. Dealership says they fixed by adding coolant and they couldn't replicate the error. It took me 200 ft of driving to do it. I turned on the AC and the error happened. Could have been coincidental. Kia has declined/refused repairs because serious fault happened at 60,800 miles and they say its out of warranty. Issue had been going on for about 30,000 miles at that point with no resolution ever being reached. Car has been throwing errors and codes and repeated attempts to have Kia check my car for the recall that had been issued were ignored and i was told the recall wasnt the issue. April 29, 2023 was the first time I contacted Kia service about the Low Inverter Coolant message I was getting. Kia insisted that coolant just needed to be flushed. Coolant Issue persisted. They bled and flushed the system and put new coolant in. Issue peristed. Car was taken to dealership at least 3 or 4 times. On one occasion, technician informed me that if the coolant message goes away when you turn the car off and it doesn't constantly flash, there's no urgent issue. He was apparently misinformed. I have now had the exact thing happen to my car that the recall was meant to prevent. My car was produced in 8/20 so within recall time-frame. My car should be recalled and Kia should be made to rectify the situation. All repair documents and estimates are included in my submission.

NHTSA ID

11569415

Incident

Oct 14, 2023

Drive unit defect in EV motor/reduction gear. These vehicles have a manufacturing defect that causes a percentage of them to experience a loud noise while under acceleration, loudest at around 30mph. It is described as a "card in spokes", "motor rumble", "wheel of fortune", "clicking/tapping" sound. There is a TSB that Kia has released for this issue, ELE234, but Kia continually denies and obstructs owners from getting their vehicles repaired under warranty. It typically begins quietly at around 20-30k miles, gradually getting louder. Currently at 68k, Kia continues to deny repairs. It has been inspected and diagnosed several times by a Kia dealership, acknowledging the defect referenced in their own TSB, but Kia will not authorize the repair.

NHTSA ID

11560828

Incident

Dec 19, 2023

-Abnormal Reduction Gear and/or EV motor Rumble noise as identified in KIA TSB-234. The car is available for inspection. -Car not working properly/increasing the risk of stall or breakdown while driving and therefore increasing the risk of collision/accident. There is a loss of power and increased revolution noise from the reduction gear/EV motor increasing the incidence of vehicle failure during operation and accident, therefore increasing the incidence of property and bodily injury/damage due to known issues by KIA currently being serviced only under TSB and not as a recall. -This problem was confirmed by the dealer technician. The technician also identified that a TSB exists for the identified issue. Per technician same issue has been previously serviced by the dealership for other Niro EV customers when under 100K (warranty period). Per the technician, this problem occurred outside of the 100K and would require authorization from KIA corporate. Kia customer service was contacted and was unwilling to resolve the issue. -Yes a test drive was performed with the technician who was knowledgeable about the issue and the TSB who immediately identified the issue as the one identified in TSB-234 and informed that some vehicles in the past have been serviced for the exact same issue but require KIA Motors authorization for service outside of 100K. KIA is unwilling to provide authorization. -No prior warning signs/warning lamps, Issues started happening after 100K. The dealer was notified at the time of service of another recall on the current vehicle. No resolution was provided for the safety issue being experienced.

NHTSA ID

11557339

Incident

Sep 20, 2023

The contact owns a 2020 Kia Niro. The contact stated that after charging the battery to 80 percent, the vehicle immediately turned off while reversing out of the charging station. After restarting the vehicle and driving, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who cleared the failure codes and tested drove the vehicle, but no failure was identified. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 17,972.

NHTSA ID

11501010

Incident

Dec 20, 2022

Mileage

17,972 mi

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.

NHTSA ID

11441412

Incident

Nov 16, 2021

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.

NHTSA ID

11441346

Incident

Oct 29, 2021

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.

NHTSA ID

11439629

Incident

Nov 7, 2021

VOLUME ON VESS AND BACKUP ALERT SYSTEM GREATLY EXCEEDS RECOMMENDED LEVELS, TO THE POINT WHERE BACKING UP OUT OF GARAGE CAN ANNOY NEIGHBORS IN THEIR HOMES. WHEN BACKING OUT OF A PARKING SPOT AT A LOCAL STRIP MALL, THE VOLUME OF THE BACKUP ALERT FROM THE VESS WAS SO SHOCKING THAT IT STARTLED A PEDESTRIAN, CAUSING THEM TO TRIP AND ALMOST FALL ON THEIR FACE. KIA DOES NOT PROVIDE A WAY TO REDUCE VESS VOLUME TO CLOSER TO NHTSA RECOMMENDED LEVELS. ALSO, VESS STAYS ENGAGED UP TO AROUND 23 MPH, MAKING IT AN ANNOYANCE TO PEOPLE WE SHARE THE ROAD WITH UNDER LOWER SPEED CONDITIONS SUCH AS NEIGHBORHOOD STREETS.

NHTSA ID

11383350

Incident

Dec 11, 2020

Mileage

89 mi