2019 Kia Niro Ev

SINCE THE BEGINNING OF APRIL 2021, AND JUST AFTER THE ODOMETER TURNED OVER TO 10K MILES, MY E-NIRO HAS BEEN EXPERIENCING A BIZARRE BEHAVIOR THAT POSES A POTENTIALLY SERIOUS SAFETY RISK. THIS TAKES THE FORM OF TOTAL LOSS OF ACCELERATION POWER FOR A FEW SECONDS, USUALLY AFTER DEACCELERATING TO A NEAR STOP (USUALLY, BUT NOT ALWAYS, WHEN USING THE PADDLE ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE STEERING WHEEL TO REGENERATIVELY BRAKE) THEN PRESSING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL, OR WHEN MAKING A VERY TIGHT TURN (E.G., INTO A PARKING SPACE). POWER RETURNS A FEW SECONDS AFTER THE PAUSE, AND I CAN CONTINUE. I HAVE BEEN DRIVING THIS VEHICLE FOR ALMOST 2 YEARS, AND THERE HAS BEEN NOTHING SIMILAR HAPPEN PRIOR TO THE START OF THIS BEHAVIOR AT THE BEGINNING OF APRIL. THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN GARAGED AND CHARGED NORMALLY AND NO EXTREME WEATHER CONDITIONS OR OTHER FACTORS HAD BEEN PRESENT BEFORE THIS WAS FIRST NOTICED. INSTANCES NOW SEEM TO BE INCREASING IN FREQUENCY THE PAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, HOWEVER. ON 2 OR 3 OCCASIONS, THE VEHICLE ACTUALLY BACKED UP A COUPLE OF FEET (ON LEVEL GROUND), WHICH WAS FRIGHTENING BOTH FOR ME AND THE AUTO BEHIND ME AND COULD HAVE RESULTED IN AN ACCIDENT. ON THE OTHER OCCASIONS, BEING MOMENTARILY UNABLE TO ACCELERATE IS ALSO CONCERNING (FOR INSTANCE WHEN IT DIES HALFWAY INTO A TRAFFIC CIRCLE OR IN AN INTERSECTION WHEN STARTING TO MAKE A TURN). ALTHOUGH NO WARNING LIGHTS WERE INITIALLY SEEN, I NOW GET A "CHECK ELECTRICAL SYSTEM" WARNING WHEN THIS POWER LOSS HAPPENS, SOMETIMES EVEN WHEN THERE HAS BEEN NO LOSS OF POWER TO THE MOTOR. THE WARNING LIGHT DISAPPEARS AFTER THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN TURNED OFF AND ONLY REAPPEARS WHEN ANOTHER INCIDENT OCCURS. I HAVE ASKED THE DEALERSHIP SERVICE DEPARTMENT ABOUT THIS, WITH NO FIRM RESPONSE YET. I'M REPORTING TO DOCUMENT THIS IN THE EVENT OTHERS EXPERIENCE THIS PROBLEM.

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.