have had a serious issue with my 2025 Kia Niro PHEV. I first reported the problem to the dealer when the car was a few months old and they were of no help. I had an accident as a result of this issue. I was very fortunate that the only result was a completely ruined drivers door. I have had a problem of the car freezing in neutral after starting. It will not turn off or shift. After 5-10 minutes it seems to unfreeze and will allow me to turn it off and start over successfully. This has happened about 6-8 times since I got the car. The dealer was unable to address it since I could not duplicate the problem at the dealership. Aug.25 this happened in my garage. I started to get out of the car as I have done on other occasions when this occurred, and just after I stepped out, it shifted into reverse. I was able to jump in the car and hit the break. The car door (opened) crashed into the wall next to the garage causing extensive damage to the door of the car and to an adjacent bike. Other than a few bruises , I was very fortunate not to have been seriously injured or to have injured someone else. If this had happened in a parking lot, it would have posed serious danger to passerby's and other vehicles.
- NHTSA ID
- 11685023
- Incident
- Aug 25, 2025