2017 KIA NIRO Complaints

The heat exchanger (exhaust heat recovery system) on my 2017 Kia Niro has been diagnosed by an authorized Kia dealership as leaking coolant. The failed component can be available for inspection upon request. This failure poses a serious safety risk. The heat exchanger is part of the vehicle’s cooling system, and when it leaks, the engine can rapidly lose coolant while driving. This can lead to sudden overheating, reduced power, or potential engine shutdown in traffic. A driver may not receive immediate warning, and if the vehicle overheats unexpectedly at highway speeds, it can put both the occupants and surrounding drivers at risk of a collision. Coolant leaking into the exhaust system can also create steam and white smoke that may impair visibility for the driver or other vehicles. The problem has been confirmed by a Kia dealership, which inspected the vehicle and provided a repair estimate of over $3,500 for heat exchanger replacement. The vehicle has not been inspected by the police or insurance representatives. In my case, there were no warning lamps or messages prior to the diagnosis. The vehicle did not illuminate a check-engine light related to the failure or coolant warning, meaning the failure could easily occur without the driver’s knowledge until the engine overheats or loses power while on the road. This lack of warning significantly increases the safety risk. Given the number of owners reporting identical heat-exchanger failures, the high repair cost, and the potential for sudden overheating or power loss, this appears to be a widespread safety-related defect that warrants investigation.

The push buttons that lock/unlock the car in the outer front door handles fell out within two weeks of each other (passenger door and driver door). There was no sign of them being loose before falling out. There was no event that would cause them to fall out. Without the buttons, the lock circuitry is exposed. Kia dealership has seen the broken handles but unable to reinsert the buttons.

I am experiencing engine issues with my 2017 Kia Niro Touring Launch Edition at approximately 111,000 miles, including engine hesitation and lack of acceleration, along with engine code P0011. These symptoms started suddenly and have made highway driving difficult and potentially unsafe, as I was recently in the mountains unable to exceed 35 mph. This appears to be a widespread issue among 2017 Kia Niro owners, with many reporting CVVT (Continuously Variable Valve Timing) or solenoid failures around 100,000 miles shortly after the powertrain warranty expires suggesting a pattern of premature failure. My car was purchased certified preowned and is still within the 10 year timeframe. No official recall currently exists for this issue, but it should be investigated. Despite submitting service requests and making multiple attempts to contact the dealership to have these recalls addressed, I have received little to no follow up. I have not yet had the engine issue officially diagnosed by a Kia dealer due to lack of response but the pattern of failure and symptoms match what others are experiencing. There has been no crash, fire, or injury at this time, but the combination of the existing fire related recalls and the new engine malfunction creates serious concerns for long term safety and reliability.

Cooling system broke down at 140k miles. Water pump, EHRS failure EGR Cooler. Engine head gasket blown needs engine replacement 144k miles $9000 repair. Problems confirmed by dealership. Engine light never came on for cooling system, water pump coupling repair. Engine light did come on for head gasket and vehicle stopped working.

I was driving my car as usual and it began overheating. I took it to the mechanic and they could not find a coolant leak, even though the coolant was all gone. We added more coolant and I was on my way. A few weeks later, the same thing happened. The mechanic said to take it to the dealer because they would need to run a diagnostic. I took it to the dealer and they said there were some new recalls that needed to be repaired that could fix the issue. They did the recalls, I topped off my coolant, and I was on my way. One week later, while picking up my son from school, the engine had a catastrophic failure. This was not only dangerous to me and my kids, but to those around me. The car stopped and refused to start up again mid-driving. I had it towed to the Dealer (Kia of Carson) and they rand diagnostics. A few days later they send me a quote for $10K to replace the engine as well as the muffler system - more than the current market value of the car. The car has just over 70K miles on it, and since I bought it used from Carvana, it was not under Kia's warranty. This is NOT how things should be. They should not be allowed to put vehicles that break down like this and then charge people outrageous amounts for it with no compromise whatsoever. How can the engine be worth more than the whole car? I've talked with Kia customer service and they don't care. I've spent months trying to reason with them, but to no avail. Also, upon research online, there are tens of thousands of Kia Niro (and other kia car model) owners who've had the same problem - overheating that turns into engine failure. This is a systemic problem with a fraudulent company that is destroying the lives of their customers. This experience put my family in danger and has essentially ruined my life since it happened. I hope the NHTSA can do something about this!

The contact owns a 2017 Kia Niro. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check hybrid system warning light illuminated, and the hybrid system seized. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with power relay assembly failure. The contact was informed that the power relay assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be repaired. The contact referenced Technical Service Bulletin: SC256 as a possible fix for the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 87,000.

My Kia Niro 2017 began losing antifreeze back in January of 2024. Upon inspection by Folsom Lake KIA they determined that the EGR needed to be replaced. The dealership made the repair under my third-party warranty that I purchased when I bought the car preowned in 2020 (22,000 miles). In August 2024 the engine began to overheat triggering and engine light. The car had approximately 90,000 miles on it at the time. The antifreeze was gone, and I filled it up and took it to the dealership a few weeks later when they had an available appointment. They were not able to diagnose the issue during that visit. They said that I had to schedule a multiday appointment to get a diagnostic done. In the meantime, I was adding antifreeze every few days to keep the reservoir full. I took the car back to Folsom Lake KIA on October 14th and received a diagnostic on the 17th that the vehicle's heat exchange recover system was leaking the antifreeze into the exhaust which burns off as a white smoke. The recommendation was to replace the entire heat exchanger. I decided to do some research and found find out what exactly this part does. I discovered that it simply warms up the antifreeze faster using the engine exhaust and shuts off when the coolant temperature reaches a setpoint. After further research on the internet, it became clear to me that this is a systemic issue with these vehicles, but no recall has been made. My warranty claim was denied due to the part not being covered. When I took it to an independent shop, they said that the part was not available from anyone, but KIA and they said that there was no price listed, and you had to contact KIA for the part. KIA quoted 3,000.00 for the part and labor to replace the heat exchanger. All of this just seems very suspect. I believe KIA knows this is a systemic problem but refuse to recall the part. Instead, they are making a bundle replacing this part. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

I had some lurching when trying to accelerate for a month before the check engine and HEV warning beeping came on. Kia Niro EGR (Gas Recirculated Cooler) failed at 105K miles. It leaked on to the engine causing it to overheat. My children and I got smoked out and my child had an asthma attack from this issue. We were also stressed, thinking the engine would catch fire. Kia says there are no recalls for my 2017, yet the 2023 has a recall on this exact item. I would like this complaint to be filed due to a part failing 5K miles after a warrenty. The problem was diagnosed by the Kia Dealer. Quote is $1875.

I have had ongoing electrical issues with my 2017 Kia Niro. First, the back passenger (driver side window) was working intermittently. The back windows from the day I bought the car brand new are rarely used, but when it was used for the 3rd or 4th time I had already gone over the miles where it would have been covered. The dealership was going to charge me almost $300, so I never fixed it. I just don't use the back windows. Then, the driver side low beam bulb kept going out. Erlich Kia in Longmont kept replacing the bulb despite my concerns of it being an electrical issue. Finally, the dealership was transitioned to Fowler Kia. By that time the issue was no longer going to be covered. Fowler eventually determined that the socket and harness assembly needed to be replaced. That was last year. Now, the passenger side headlight is having the same exact issue. I find it extremely frustrating that there are so many electrical issues that I have had with this car, and the dealership just doesn't care to try and connect any of the other issues. I also had to have my car towed twice to fix issues with it in the past. I have never had a car that I bought brand new have so many issues with it.

I received a warning indication that the engine temperature is too hot while driving the vehicle to work. I opened the hood of my vehicle and discovered the vehicle’s coolant reservoir was empty which led me to believe there was a coolant leak. I took the vehicle to be inspected and diagnosed by an independent repair shop (non-dealership) and it was explained that there was in fact a coolant leak and it’s because the exhaust heater exchanger is failing. This is a serious safety concern because if there is a coolant leak the vehicle’s engine can overheat causing further and extensive damage to the engine which could result in a fire. Based on research, there have been other cases where this particular year/model vehicle has had or is experiencing issues with the exhaust heater exchange failing. This faulty system is causing customers who own the same year/model vehicle that I drive to either bypass the exhaust heater exchange all together—which I don’t believe is safe to do—or customers are being made to pay a huge bill just to repair the faulty system. My vehicle only has 73,000 miles and this is something that I should not be experiencing especially since Kia is aware of the fault with the exhaust heater exchange on these particular year/model vehicles. Kia should be recalling these vehicles with the faulty system for diagnosis and repair as this is a major safety concern on the road not only for the driver, but also for other motorists as well.