2018 KIA NIRO — Problems, Recalls & Safety Data

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N/A

Safety Rating

71

Owner Complaints

6 Crashes

3

Recalls

ACTIVE RECALL

33

Service Bulletins

0

Investigations

Overview of the 2018 KIA NIRO

The 2018 KIA NIRO has received a total of 71 safety complaints filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). There have been 5 recall campaigns affecting this vehicle, covering issues with POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:INTERNAL:CLUTCHES/BANDS:ACTUATORS/SOLENOIDS. 33 technical service bulletins have been issued by Kia America, Inc. for this model year. The most commonly reported problems involve the Electrical System (15 complaints), Engine (15 complaints), and Power Train (14 complaints).

Recalls for the 2018 KIA NIRO

NHTSA has recorded 5 recalls for the 2018 KIA NIRO, potentially affecting up to 418,293 vehicles.

Recall 23V534000 — POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:INTERNAL:CLUTCHES/BANDS:ACTUATORS/SOLENOIDS

| 121,411 vehicles affected

Defect: 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: 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...

View full details →

Recall 23V534000 — POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:INTERNAL:CLUTCHES/BANDS:ACTUATORS/SOLENOIDS

| 121,411 vehicles affected

Defect: 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: 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...

View full details →

Recall 23V534000 — POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:INTERNAL:CLUTCHES/BANDS:ACTUATORS/SOLENOIDS

| 121,411 vehicles affected

Defect: 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: 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...

View full details →

Recall 22V836000 — HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM

| 27,030 vehicles affected

Defect: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Kia Niro hybrid electric vehicles previously recalled under recall 18V-666. The Main Relay within the Power Relay Assembly (PRA) may have inadequate connections between its contacts, causing increased electrical resistance, which can overheat the rear seats.

Consequence: Overheated rear seats increase the risk of a fire.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect the PRA and replace either the PRA or the Main Relay, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 9, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall...

View full details →

Recall 18V666000 — HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM

| 27,030 vehicles affected

Defect: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Kia Niro hybrid electric vehicles. The Main Relay within the Power Relay Assembly (PRA) may have inadequate connections between its contacts, causing increased electrical resistance.

Consequence: The increased electrical resistance can overheat the rear seat which is above the PRA, increasing the risk of a fire.

Remedy: Kia will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the Power Relay Assembly (PRA) for damage. If no damage is found, the main relay will be replaced. If damage is found, the PRA will be replaced. These repairs will be performed...

View full details →

Owner Complaints for the 2018 KIA NIRO

71 complaints have been filed with NHTSA for the 2018 KIA NIRO. Below is a breakdown by vehicle component.

Most Recent Complaints

#11718030 | STRUCTURE:BODY | | N/A miles
Everything is falling off the bottom of this vehicle
#11712850 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | | N/A miles
Ever since the purchase of the car I been bringing this attention to the dealership but they always turn down and avoiding the situation at first electrical issues like turning signals goes in and out window stop rolling up sometimes had to try for hours just rolls up fog light check light headlight and turn signal all together went out in the beginning started to work in and out and now window turn signal front both and one fog light now won't come back and front Air Flap won't operate that's from the few months into the car check light and also in the beginning car transmission always felt rough not gears smoothly change I brought this attention but they always ask change the transmission fluid but it's was a new car felt that but never bothered looking into but over time got worst now it hit you when picking up like gear just stuck and your whole body gets that shock like someone hit you from the back every time and when comes to slow stopping making crying sound. It's like I made the biggest mistake why I decided to buy the new car because I know old cars have problems but this is Brand New I bought shouldn't have problems, and from it's was new always heard the click sound when move from complete stop like go from on red light or from any stop position click hear it from front never worried but was not feeling good why but now all of sudden it's unbearable sound when turning or making u turn loud like anything when acceleration but not in straight drive asked dealership about all the problems I been getting since was a brand new car the answered I got it's now not in the warrenty will cost to check wow what a rip off and when I use to say those problems when was in the warrenty they would say it's not the major issue and yes one time one of the tech specialists I mentioned he you know what he said made me sick we would try something but warrenty is BS it's a piece of *** we never get money easily so this is why they always refuse to take this seriously wow
#11712850 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | | N/A miles
Ever since the purchase of the car I been bringing this attention to the dealership but they always turn down and avoiding the situation at first electrical issues like turning signals goes in and out window stop rolling up sometimes had to try for hours just rolls up fog light check light headlight and turn signal all together went out in the beginning started to work in and out and now window turn signal front both and one fog light now won't come back and front Air Flap won't operate that's from the few months into the car check light and also in the beginning car transmission always felt rough not gears smoothly change I brought this attention but they always ask change the transmission fluid but it's was a new car felt that but never bothered looking into but over time got worst now it hit you when picking up like gear just stuck and your whole body gets that shock like someone hit you from the back every time and when comes to slow stopping making crying sound. It's like I made the biggest mistake why I decided to buy the new car because I know old cars have problems but this is Brand New I bought shouldn't have problems, and from it's was new always heard the click sound when move from complete stop like go from on red light or from any stop position click hear it from front never worried but was not feeling good why but now all of sudden it's unbearable sound when turning or making u turn loud like anything when acceleration but not in straight drive asked dealership about all the problems I been getting since was a brand new car the answered I got it's now not in the warrenty will cost to check wow what a rip off and when I use to say those problems when was in the warrenty they would say it's not the major issue and yes one time one of the tech specialists I mentioned he you know what he said made me sick we would try something but warrenty is BS it's a piece of *** we never get money easily so this is why they always refuse to take this seriously wow
#11712850 | POWER TRAIN | | N/A miles
Ever since the purchase of the car I been bringing this attention to the dealership but they always turn down and avoiding the situation at first electrical issues like turning signals goes in and out window stop rolling up sometimes had to try for hours just rolls up fog light check light headlight and turn signal all together went out in the beginning started to work in and out and now window turn signal front both and one fog light now won't come back and front Air Flap won't operate that's from the few months into the car check light and also in the beginning car transmission always felt rough not gears smoothly change I brought this attention but they always ask change the transmission fluid but it's was a new car felt that but never bothered looking into but over time got worst now it hit you when picking up like gear just stuck and your whole body gets that shock like someone hit you from the back every time and when comes to slow stopping making crying sound. It's like I made the biggest mistake why I decided to buy the new car because I know old cars have problems but this is Brand New I bought shouldn't have problems, and from it's was new always heard the click sound when move from complete stop like go from on red light or from any stop position click hear it from front never worried but was not feeling good why but now all of sudden it's unbearable sound when turning or making u turn loud like anything when acceleration but not in straight drive asked dealership about all the problems I been getting since was a brand new car the answered I got it's now not in the warrenty will cost to check wow what a rip off and when I use to say those problems when was in the warrenty they would say it's not the major issue and yes one time one of the tech specialists I mentioned he you know what he said made me sick we would try something but warrenty is BS it's a piece of *** we never get money easily so this is why they always refuse to take this seriously wow
#11709595 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | | N/A miles 1 Injury
Driver heated seat shorted out and caused burn to leg. System has not been repaired, will wait to hear from Kia Customer Affairs prior to decision to repair. I was injured by this and have concerns about the safety of the vehicle, will this happen again if a new grid is installed. Kia dealership confirmed that the grid showed high resistivity but also claimed since nothing is melted I couldn't have been burned. The vehicle has only been inspected by the dealership currently. there were and are no indicators, warning lights or messages about the failure available. Kia dealerships claims there no way to tell with the electrical systems.

View all Electrical System complaints →

Safety Rating for the 2018 KIA NIRO

NHTSA has not yet tested the 2018 KIA NIRO in its New Car Assessment Program.

Technical Service Bulletins for the 2018 KIA NIRO

Kia America, Inc. has issued 33 technical service bulletins (TSBs) for the 2018 KIA NIRO. TSBs are notices sent by manufacturers to their dealers describing a known issue and the recommended repair procedure.

TSB_BOD314 — STRUCTURE

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: OVERHEAD CONSOLE SUNGLASS DOOR-LATCH REPAIR - This bulletin provides information to repair the overhead console lamp assembly and sunglass door latch on some 2012-2023MY model vehicles listed in the table below, which may encounter the sunglass case of the overhead console lamp not closing properly.

PS709 — EQUIPMENT:OTHER:OWNERS/SERVICE/OTHER MANUAL

PITSTOP: ENGINE OVERHEATING IN NIRO HEV/PHEV - This Pitstop provides information to help troubleshoot an overheating symptom on some 2017-2022MY Niro HEV (DE HEV) and 2018-2022MY Niro PHEV (DE PHEV) which may exhibit coolant boiling in the reservoir. Overheating may occur due to a bypass valve in the Exhaust Heat...

TSB_CHA098_R2 — SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: IBAU SYSTEM REPAIR FOR NOISE AND AIR BLEEDING - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. This bulletin provides the repair procedure for the Integrated Brake Actuation Unit (iBAU) system on some 2014-2019MY EV/Hybrid/Plug-In Hybrid vehicles listed (see table), which may exhibit a “Honking” (Hissing)...

TSB_ENG211 — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: HEV/PHEV P0128 LOGIC IMPROVEMENT - This bulletin provides the procedure to improve the logic of the Engine Control Module (ECU) on some 2017-2019MY Niro (DE HEV/PHEV) vehicles, produced from November 1, 2016 through November 25, 2019 and equipped with Kappa 1.6 GDI engine, regarding DTC (P0128) judgement...

TSBCHA098_R1 — SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

TSBCHA098_R1: IBAU SYSTEM REPAIR FOR NOISE AND AIR BLEEDING - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. This bulletin provides the repair procedure for the Integrated Brake Actuation Unit (iBAU) system on some 2014-2019MY EV/Hybrid/Plug-In Hybrid vehicles listed (see table), which may exhibit a "€œHonking"€ (Hissing) noise due...

PS593 — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

PITSTOP: MIL ON WITH DTC U029F00 - Some 2017-2019MY Niro (DE HEV) vehicles may have a malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) illumination with DTC U029F00 (Lost Communication with Evaporative Emission System Leak Detection Control Module ) active. Prior to following the standard diagnostic steps for the DTC as outlined in KGIS,...

TSBENG178_R2 — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

TSB: DATA COLLECTION: EXTRACT CALIFORNIA EMISSIONS DATA FROM ECU (DC18) - This bulletin provides information related to extracting "in use performance tracking" emissions data from the Engine Control Unit (ECU) of certain vehicles sold in California. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) requires the emissions data from vehicles with a...

TSBELE161 — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

TSB -COMBINATION TSB / SERVICE ACTION: COOLANT LEAK ? OBC INLET HOSE DETACHING (SA365) - This bulletin provides the procedure to install an onboard charger (OBC) quick disconnect spacer on some 2018-2019MY Niro (DE PHEV) vehicles, produced from March 21, 2018 through August 22, 2018, which may experience the OBC...

TSBELE162 — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

TSB - SERVICE ACTION: UVO 3.0 LOGIC IMPROVEMENT FOR BLACK SCREEN (SA366) - This bulletin provides the procedure to improve the logic of the UVO 3.0 (D-Audio) head unit on some 2018MY Stinger (CK) vehicles, produced from May 3, 2018 through June 5, 2018, and 2018-2019MY Niro Plug-in (DE PHEV)...

TSBBOD173_R1 — STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR

TSB: OUTSIDE DOOR HANDLE COVER REPLACEMENT - This TSB has been revised to include additional information. This bulletin provides the procedure to replace all three (3) outside door handle covers (all except the front driver?s door) on some 2017-2018MY Niro (DE P/HEV) vehicles, produced from November 1, 2016 through July...

Showing 10 of 33 technical service bulletins.

NHTSA Investigations for the 2018 KIA NIRO

There are no NHTSA defect investigations on record for this vehicle.

Other Model Years of the KIA NIRO

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Other KIA Models

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