2019 Kia Niro Ev

- While driving, we received a notice on the dashboard to "stop driving and check regenerative brakes". Simultaneously we lose 95% of our braking power and all of the acceleration. Slamming on the brakes all the way to the floor provided some minor braking ability, but it was significantly diminished and frankly terrifying. We turn the car off, turn it back on again, and everything seems totally normal. - We cannot recreate the error, but we call the dealership. They say they can get us in in a week to service us. As this is our only car we keep driving it cautiously. - This happens again once more, before we bring it into the dealership. - The dealership runs a bunch of tests, tells us its the 12V battery, replaces the 12V battery, charges us $500 and tells us its fixed. - one week later (today) the same thing happens. Clearly it's not fixed, but even if it had been fixed, why is so much of the braking tied to the 12V? The dealership cannot get us in for days and is suggesting this may not be covered under our warranty.

During driving or while parked, the vehicle will shut off power brakes, and display an error "Stop Vehicle and Check Regenrative Brakes". When the power brakes shut off, the brake pedal location and feedback change sharply and the responsiveness is severely impaired. This error can occur at any time, which is very dangerous especially at highway speeds or when coming to a stop. I have let an authorized Kia dealership inspect the car for 31 days and did not see the issue. I took the vehicle back, and it happens frequently, so I drove it in with the issue active again and they have had it for another 7 days so far after seeing the issue actively reported. The first occurrence occurred at approximately 18000 miles, about 2.75 years of operation on May 12, 2022. since then, it occurs about twice per week. These trouble codes are asserted when this happens: C1360(81) Raw code: 536081 ECU: Adaptive cruise-control Status: Test failed, Confirmed, Warning indicator requested C1741(81) Raw code: 574181 ECU: Adaptive cruise-control Status: Test failed, Confirmed, Warning indicator requested C2405(27) Raw code: 640527 ECU: ABS control unit Status: Test failed, Confirmed, Warning indicator requested

MY BRAKES FAILED AS I TRIED TO STOP FOR A TRAFFIC LIGHT ON A CITY STREET. THERE WAS A CAR ALREADY STOPPED AT THE LIGHT, WHICH I BUMPED INTO. AS I WAS DEPRESSING THE BRAKE PEDAL, IT 'GAVE', AND THE CAR CONTINUED TO MOVE FORWARD; I WAS UNABLE TO STOP. LUCKILY, I HAD ALREADY SLOWED CONSIDERABLY PRIOR TO THE BRAKES FAILING, SO NO ONE WAS HURT AND THERE WAS MINIMAL DAMAGE. THE OTHER DRIVER LEFT THE SCENE WITHOUT EXCHANGING INFORMATION, AND NO POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE KIA SERVICE TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE: NO CODES SHOWED UP REGARDING ANY PROBLEMS; NOTHING WAS IN THE ONLINE HISTORY REPORT; NO LEAKS OR DAMAGED BRAKE COMPONENTS WERE OBSERVED; TEST DRIVING FAILED TO REPLICATE THE PROBLEM. ALTHOUGH HE SAID I COULD PICK IT UP, SO FAR I HAVEN'T ' I WON'T DRIVE IT IF THE BRAKES ARE NOT RELIABLE! THE ACCIDENT COULD'VE HAPPENED ON THE HIGHWAY AT HIGH SPEEDS; SOMEONE COULD'VE BEEN GRAVELY HURT OR KILLED... I FOUND AN ARTICLE ONLINE THAT DESCRIBED A RECALL OF KIA OPTIMAS FOR WHAT SOUNDS LIKE THE PRECISE PROBLEM: THE 'SOFTWARE FOR FORWARD COLLISION WARNING (FCW) MAY PREVENT THE AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING (AEB) SYSTEM FROM ENGAGING AS EXPECTED WHEN FCW SENSES A POTENTIAL COLLISION WITH A STATIONARY VEHICLE.' NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 19V539. ARTICLE AT WWW.CONSUMERREPORTS.ORG/CAR-RECALLS-DEFECTS/KIA-OPTIMA-RECALLED-BECAUSE-AUTOMATIC-BRAKING-COULD-FAIL/ WHEN I BROUGHT THIS ARTICLE TO THE TECHNICIAN'S ATTENTION, I WAS TOLD THEY COULDN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT UNLESS A RECALL SPECIFIC TO THE NIRO WAS ISSUED. I THEN CALLED THE KIA CUSTOMER SERVICE NUMBER IN THE ARTICLE I FOUND, AND WAS TOLD THEY WOULD INITIATE AN INVESTIGATION; SO FAR I HAVEN'T HEARD BACK FROM THEM.