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2019 Kia Niro

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2019 Kia Niro do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 34.5.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

Limited mileage data: 19 of 56 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Power Train. Review the 22 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 13 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine. Review the 10 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

4 crash reports2 fire reports2 injury reports

What owners actually said

56 reports
144,800 miles · Jan 6, 2025
Engine And Engine CoolingService BrakesCrash

The contact's customer owns a 2019 Kia Niro LX. The contact stated that his customer stated that the vehicle overheated. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who replaced the converter. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The owner stated that the vehicl…

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The contact's customer owns a 2019 Kia Niro LX. The contact stated that his customer stated that the vehicle overheated. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who replaced the converter. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The owner stated that the vehicle was randomly stopping. The vehicle was taken back to the independent mechanic. While test driving at 15 MPH, the brakes were operating as designed, and then after several attempts, the brake pedal was applied and depressed to the floorboard, and the driver crashed into a parked BMW X5. There were no warning lights illuminated. The brakes were inoperable. The air bags deployed. There were no reported injuries, fire or police report filed. The local dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the faikure. The failure mileage was approximately 144,800.

NHTSA ODI #11634419

Mileage unknown · Jan 6, 2025
Electrical SystemEngine

Car brought to dealership on 12/2 due to check engine light. scan showed cylinder 4 misfire. Car in shop for 1 week to fix cylinder head replacement. stated "operating as designed". Car returned to shop due to car turning off in the highway. All light were on. now showing hybrid system fault. Dealership had to open kia tech tic…

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Car brought to dealership on 12/2 due to check engine light. scan showed cylinder 4 misfire. Car in shop for 1 week to fix cylinder head replacement. stated "operating as designed". Car returned to shop due to car turning off in the highway. All light were on. now showing hybrid system fault. Dealership had to open kia tech ticket [XXX]. CONFIRMED LIGHTS ON DASH, HYBRID SYSTEM FAULT. DTC SCAN FOUND MCU,BMS DTC'S. REMOVED CONNECTIONS FROM THE HPCU TO INSPECT WIRING AND FOUND CENTER PIN IS MELTED AND THERE IS THERMAL DAMAGE TO WIRING. P0A3E DTC, OPEN TA#[XXX] TA HPCU REPLACEMENT IS NEEDED. CABLE REPLACEMENT IS NEEDED. 1/6 - now advised another part is needed. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI #11634268

32,000 miles · Dec 19, 2024
EngineEngine And Engine Cooling

The contact owns a 2019 Kia Niro. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that there was a misfire in cylinder #1. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a …

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The contact owns a 2019 Kia Niro. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that there was a misfire in cylinder #1. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the cylinder #4 injector. The dealer also informed the contact that the clutch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 32,000.

NHTSA ODI #11631681

Mileage unknown · Nov 13, 2024
Engine

Service bulletin eng212. 4th cylinder misfire. Diagnostic has been done at Dennis Dillon 9501west Fairview ave Boise id 83704. Engine shaking when increasing speeds above 30 mph. Started without warning while driving. It was recently serviced for routine items on October 16th 2024. On November 5th it had diagnostic performed. Ch…

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Service bulletin eng212. 4th cylinder misfire. Diagnostic has been done at Dennis Dillon 9501west Fairview ave Boise id 83704. Engine shaking when increasing speeds above 30 mph. Started without warning while driving. It was recently serviced for routine items on October 16th 2024. On November 5th it had diagnostic performed. Check engine light and display showed automatic diagnostics, engine control system, possible engine condition. I was on my way to vote. Yes it is available for inspection. I am currently not driving it but unsure what to do with it since the value of the car and amount of repairs needed are close in range.

NHTSA ODI #11624965

87,000 miles · Oct 18, 2024
Engine And Engine CoolingPower Train

The contact owns a 2019 Kia Niro. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power with the message "Stop Engine". The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed failures with the hydraulic clutch actuator and catalytic conv…

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The contact owns a 2019 Kia Niro. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power with the message "Stop Engine". The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed failures with the hydraulic clutch actuator and catalytic converter. The catalytic converter was replaced, but the hydraulic clutch actuator was not repaired due to lack of part availability. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V534000 (Power Train); the VIN was included, but parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and confirmed that the part was on backorder. The failure mileage was 87,000.

NHTSA ODI #11620633

120,000 miles · Aug 5, 2024
Engine

The contact owned a 2019 Kia Niro. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact noticed a ticking and a popping sound coming from the vehicle. The contact's friend who was following behind noticed white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The vehicle was driven to the destination. The following day, the…

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The contact owned a 2019 Kia Niro. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact noticed a ticking and a popping sound coming from the vehicle. The contact's friend who was following behind noticed white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The vehicle was driven to the destination. The following day, the oil level was checked, and the contact stated that the oil level was low; however, there was no sign of an oil leak. The contact stated that when the vehicle was started and made a rattling sound. The contact turned the vehicle off and the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with a hole in the crankcase. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

NHTSA ODI #11606590

Mileage unknown · May 18, 2024
Electrical SystemService BrakesUnknown Or Other

Car has warning message and several engine lights on dash come up and asks to stop car and check the regenerative brake system. Car loses all systems that are electrical, car is very hard to drive, even not operative. This has happened many times over the past four years. Each time the car has been taken to a authorized KIA Deal…

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Car has warning message and several engine lights on dash come up and asks to stop car and check the regenerative brake system. Car loses all systems that are electrical, car is very hard to drive, even not operative. This has happened many times over the past four years. Each time the car has been taken to a authorized KIA Dealership and they have not been able to fix the problem. It happened almost a week ago and dealership told us that they couldn't find anything wrong and were told to pick it up. Happened again today and it was while driving. Same issue, same warnings on dash.

NHTSA ODI #11589434

Mileage unknown · Mar 5, 2024
Electrical SystemStructureFire

Car caught fire

NHTSA ODI #11575526

61,473 miles · Feb 12, 2024
Power Train

The contact owns a 2019 Kia Niro. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V534000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while the vehicle …

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The contact owns a 2019 Kia Niro. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V534000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while the vehicle was at the dealer for the scheduled recall repair, the vehicle was inspected. The contact's wife was informed that the hydraulic clutch actuator (HCA) was faulty and needed to be replaced. The contact's wife was informed that the parts were unavailable, and the repair needed to be rescheduled. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was made aware of the failure but confirmed that parts were not yet available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 61,473. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ODI #11571396

Mileage unknown · Feb 10, 2024
Electrical SystemService Brakes

KIA NIRO 2019 SAFETY RECALL As described in the safety recall (previous page), my KIA Niro 2019 alarm went off with the following error message "Engine Overheating". Kia of America and its dealership refused to fix the problem. The car dealership -said- has no direction as to how or when to fix the problem, and the KIA consume…

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KIA NIRO 2019 SAFETY RECALL As described in the safety recall (previous page), my KIA Niro 2019 alarm went off with the following error message "Engine Overheating". Kia of America and its dealership refused to fix the problem. The car dealership -said- has no direction as to how or when to fix the problem, and the KIA consumer hotline is out of business.

NHTSA ODI #11571191

Official recalls

1

23V534000 · Power Train:automatic Transmission:internal:clutches/bands:actuators/solenoids

Jul 31, 2023

Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2017-2022 Niro and 2018-2022 Niro Plug-in Hybrid vehicles. Fluid may leak into the printed circuit board inside the hydraulic clutch actuator, which can result in an engine compartment fire.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A fire increases the risk of injury.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the hydraulic clutch actuator as necessary and install a new fuse, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 29, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC276.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

1

DP22005 · Pedestrian Alert Sounds

Opened Jan 27, 2023 · Closed Aug 7, 2023

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Electrical System:propulsion System

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matter described in the petition. On June 24, 2023 and as supplemented on June 25, 2023, the petitioner notified NHTSA he was withdrawing his petition. The petitioner indicated that, based on his review of data, there is no justification for asserting potential benefits that could be derived from actions sought by my petition. Based on the petitioner's withdrawal, DP22-005 is closed. Closure of this DP does not represent a determination by NHTSA regarding the subject matter of the petition.