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What 15 owners told NHTSA about the 2023 Kia Niro EV

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (15)Crash / fire / injury (2)Electrical system (8)Brakes (3)Fuel system (3)Driver assistance (2)Speed control (2)Transmission & drivetrain (2)Airbags (1)Body & structure (1)Seat belts (1)Seats (1)

3 of 15 complaints match · Fuel system · clear filters

Feb 21, 2026Transmission & drivetrainElectrical systemFuel system

The vehicle is a rental vehicle. It experienced two incidents of sudden loss of propulsion within the first two days of operation. During both events, the vehicle became completely unresponsive to accelerator pedal input and would not move despite being placed in Drive. I attempted to shift the vehicle into Park and then back into Drive, but propulsion was not restored. No warning lights, malfunction indicators, or system messages were displayed before or during the failure. The first incident occurred while exiting a car wash. The vehicle became immobilized in an active traffic lane and would not respond to throttle input, creating an immediate risk of rear-end collision. Vehicles were approaching from behind and I narrowly avoided being struck. The second incident occurred later the same day in a parking lot while the vehicle was charging. Again, the vehicle became unresponsive without warning and would not move. The intermittent and unpredictable loss of motive power presents a serious safety hazard because it prevents the driver from maintaining control and safely operating the vehicle in traffic conditions.

NHTSA ODI 11719665

Jan 23, 2026Electrical systemFuel system

I did an OTA update that made the rear view camera work intermittently. It would just flash an image every couple of seconds instead of a live stream. I took it into the dealer, and on the way, it totally gave out in the middle of traffic in a very unsafe way. I was flashed with many warning signs and was not able to get it started again for 5min by just turning it on/off again. I finally got it to the dealer and after 6 weeks they told me that something spilled in the cup holders and fried the backup camera and drivetrain components. I find it extremely off the drivetrain and safety critical components are stored under a cup holder with no protection.

NHTSA ODI 11712990

Sep 11, 2024Electrical systemFuel system

While driving on freeway, at a speed of 65-70MPH. Vehicle appeared to lose power. Navigation screen turned off, dash display dimmed and vehicle seemed to coast and not accelerate. Speed did drop down a bit, but then powered came back on, screen turned on and was able to accelerate again. No warning lights or error messages appeared on screen.

NHTSA ODI 11613910

Working with the data? Download all 15 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 12, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2023 Kia Niro EV verdict →