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There are some hybrid vehicles that truly make a lasting impression, such as the 2020 Kia Niro. The newer models claim to be “a hybrid packed with style.” However, the reason the 2020 is so talked about is because of the defects, such as the faulty forward collision avoidance and malfunctioning lane departure system.
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NHTSA Complaints for the 2020 Kia Niro
| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Unknown Or Other | |
| Engine | |
| Lane Departure: Assist | |
| Electrical System | |
| Steering | |
| Service Brakes | |
| Air Bags | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Adaptive Cruise Control | |
| Power Train |
Problems with the Forward Collision Avoidance
With advanced systems on board, drivers think they are well protected in the Niro, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Here’s one NHTSA complaint worth reading. “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 significant failure, potentially life threatening.”
The problem comes in when an accident actually occurs because the NHTSA doesn’t have good things to say about the integrity. There’s a listed safety concern after seeing the results of the front barrier test. Plus, the front passenger side rating shows that there’s a higher chance of chest injury with certain impacts. So, this hybrid might be “packed with style,” but it surely can’t provide the safety to go with it, leading people in a lot of danger. But, hey, it looks good!
Problems with Lane Departure System
Another safety system that seems to be causing trouble is the lane departure technology.
Here’s an NHTSA complaint discussing the problems. “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.”
What a terrible issue to deal with, but not something that seems to surprise Kia. Service Bulletin #TSB_ELE231_R3 talks about how the front view camera needs to be replaced in some cars to fix problems with the forward collision avoidance system, smart cruise control, lane keep assistance, lane departure warning and driver attention warning. In fact, this one little defect can lead to a lot of safety trouble, which seems to be what the Niro is becoming famous for.
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Complaint Data
| Category | Electrical System |
| Date | Jan 10, 2023 |
| State | TX |
| Description | 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. |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Nov 08, 2022 |
| State | NJ |
| Description | I first bought the car brand new from the car dealership and the first problem was a check engine light came on when I bought it. I took it to the car dealership and could not find the problem. I bought the car in december 2020. And off and on the check engine light comes and goes. And they could not find the error. Lastly about two weeks before the car caught on fire. It was service for oil change and a catalytic converter replacement. After that while I was driving on the parkway in new jersey I heard a loud bang in the engine and I pulled over and I saw a fire starting underneath the engine. The whole car is consumed in fire. The fire department came and put it out. |
| Category | Steering |
| Date | Sep 29, 2022 |
| State | CA |
| Description | The bearings in the steering wheel is going bad. The car is a 2020 and should not have this issue. They're claiming it's not covered under basic warranty since my mileage is 77,637, over the 60,000 mileage. Even with this many mileage, a steering wheel bearing should not go bad this quickly. |
| Category | Engine, Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Sep 18, 2022 |
| State | PA |
| Description | My niro has been having issues with sputtering, jerking, chugging, and feeling like it's about to stall. Sometimes it happens right when I start the car and sometimes it happens while I am driving. The check engine light just started coming on yesterday. I believe the transmission is faulty and have spoken to or taken it to the dealer with this same issue multiple times as it is covered under warranty. They keep telling me that's just how the car drives but in the 8 cars I've owned in my life, I have never had a car that behaves this way before. An internet search of “kia niro transmission problems†proves that this is a common and known issue with this car that kia is doing nothing to resolve. I have a daily 20 mile commute to work and feel incredibly unsafe driving my car and letting my teenage daughter drive it. |
| Category | Service Brakes |
| Date | Sep 14, 2022 |
| State | IL |
| Description | The contact's wife owns a 2020 kia niro. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently decelerated. The contact stated that during the failure the regenerative brake warning light illuminated. The contact stated that his wife was able to coast into a parking lot. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure could not be duplicated. The manufacture was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was covered under warranty. The failure mileage was approximately 46,000. |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Mar 04, 2022 |
| State | IN |
| Description | I've had my kia niro ev approximately 1yr. I'm the only owner so far was brand new but it had set for a year or so. (purchase date: march 2021). I noticed about 6 mo./8k miles that listening the same thing that my 2012 kia sorento that was involved in the class action lawsuit was having. When I pressed the gas pedal my rpms go up to five to seven but the car doesn't really go it's like it's barely even going 10 miles an hour. This to me is a huge safety concern considering what if you were trying to get out of the way of a semi and you have the gas pressed all the way to the floor in your car is not going fast enough this really worries me considering how much I spent on the car I bought it new and traded in my old one that was having the crankshaft issue that would stall out no matter what speed you were going numerous times a day so that way I would be safe. Now here I am with a 20/20 vehicle and experiencing the same issues. Then the other day we are now march of 2022 and I start up my car and it says service vehicle immediately take it to your nearest dealership try to take a picture then this message disappears so then I turn off the car turn it back on to see if the message would reappear and it says service car in 20 something days but yeah I'm still having the same problem so then I'd use my new my uvo diagnostic thing button and it tells me there's no issues with the vehicle. I drove the vehicle every day and it doesn't do it all the time but this is exactly how my sorrento started out too I would sit there and tell my husband that I couldn't get enough power and the vehicle wasn't going shifting gears it's something with the gears I can feel it underneath the vehicle it's almost like something's blocking it or something's not connecting this could be a very serious issue and I feel like that you guys really do need to investigate this to prevent casualties 1 report of the issue should open an investigation. Not once innocent ppl get injured/die |
| Category | Air Bags, Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking |
| Date | Feb 04, 2022 |
| State | WA |
| Description | I was involved in a collision 11/2021. I had just left a stop sign and was starting to go when a semi hit my front end and spun my vehicle around. I do not understand why my air bags did not deploy and I feel like emergency braking did not work. I have had it work when someone get close to my bumper in the past. |
| Category | Lane Departure: Assist |
| Date | Nov 23, 2021 |
| State | CA |
| Description | 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. |
| Category | Lane Departure: Assist, Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Nov 22, 2021 |
| State | CA |
| Description | 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. |
| Category | Forward Collision Avoidance: Adaptive Cruise Control |
| Date | Nov 07, 2021 |
| State | CO |
| Description | 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. |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Dec 14, 2020 |
| State | WA |
| Description | 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. |
| Category | Power Train |
| Date | Oct 18, 2020 |
| State | AL |
| Description | We purchased a new 2020 kia niro ex premium phev on 10/10/2020 and regret it. Less than a week and 50 miles in we had the "check active air flap system" warning. Apparently this a known problem, https://www. Kianiroforum. Com/threads/2020-phev-check-active-air-flap-system. 9142/ how ridiculous that a well know and very widespread fault like this is not addressed by the manufacturer before the sale. The 1-800 people were well aware of the problem but could not answer even the most simple question. Q - is the vehicle safe to drive? A - if you feel the vehicle is unsafe then don't drive it. Very cavalier but I suspect the rep was not proved detail and script. I have attempted to contact kia directly and also via the bbb. From what I see the dealer is also a victim. I am building my case for a lemon law return. How sad a large and exciting purchase goes wrong so quickly and that basic safety questions can't be addressed. *ln consumer stated vehicle would randomly stop automatically and emergency brake would engage on it's own. Scan showed faulty body control module when consumer first purchased the vehicle.*jb *tr |
| Category | Engine |
| Date | Aug 03, 2020 |
| State | NJ |
| Description | The service engine valve with "check active air flap system" error message is displayed. The diagnostic error that comes up is aaf - p059f. According to the dealer air compression test were completed and properly functioning. I have submitted 3 pictures with the same error message code to the dealer and they state not all saved in the car's ecm. The lights came on when starting as well as while driving. Noticed that the car takes longer to change gears or go into ev mode. |
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About the Author:
Brian Jones spent more than 20 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.
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