[naomik]

Hey!!! I bought a 2019 Kia Niro last summer with this problem. (Build date was 07/19.) It's currently at the dealership and of course (of COURSE) they can't reproduce the problem. I will forward the service bulletin to them -- it's infuriating, since the car is still under warranty (it sat on the lot for extra time, in my case, so the warranty is actually dated starting in 2021) but it would be worth the $225 to get this resolved.

 

[mrdangran]

I just bought a Niro PHEV two weeks ago and after driving it for a couple of days i started getting a loud jerk when starting from a full stop. At first it started happened in EV mode only but I've had it happen in Hybrid mode a couple of times ( not sure if the engine is actually working or just on for Heating). The sound and jerk can best be described as what happens when you drive a stick shift and you pull the clutch too quickly in first gear without any gas and the car jerks forward.

The challenge here is that is happens RANDOMLY and is impossible to replicate accurately. It's happened in 'cold' weather early morning ( 40 degrees F) when the car has been running for a while, when I back up and then switch to drive. The dealership is giving me the run around since they haven't been able to replicate the problem when they drive it so they refuse to take the car in and open a ticket. I have a video where you can clearly hear the loud noise and se the 'jerk' but can;t attach it here. If anybody else has seen this problem please advise. The dealer says they checked the worldwide Kia database and haven't found any similar problem ( therefore refuse to work on it). They drove it around with the sensors and 'testing kit' and say all the reading are fine. I believe the car is unsafe to drive but apparently the dealer doesn't agree.

The car has less than 500 miles on it so this is clearly a factory defect. I have escalated the issue to customer service and I'm waiting to hear what they come back with.

Please let me know if anyone has had a similar problem, the more information i have the quicker they can get to the bottom of this!!

thanks.

Yeah it's annoying. I has the same issue so I had to drive around the block with a mechanic for 15 - 20 minutes. On mine if I stepped on the gas quickly from a stop I get the problem and finally it happened while he was in the car. They did the procedure as described in the bulletin and I haven't had that issue since.

 

[naomik]

The dealership refused to do the fix unless the car did the thing while they were driving it. Insisted this was due to Kia's policies.

Should I try a different dealership? Or does anyone have any tips on triggering the problem? It seems to do it totally randomly.

 

[SDeemer]

Hey!!! I bought a 2019 Kia Niro last summer with this problem. (Build date was 07/19.) It's currently at the dealership and of course (of COURSE) they can't reproduce the problem. I will forward the service bulletin to them -- it's infuriating, since the car is still under warranty (it sat on the lot for extra time, in my case, so the warranty is actually dated starting in 2021) but it would be worth the $225 to get this resolved.

A Niro built in July 2019 is not "brand new," it's 4.5 years old —a lot of things can happen, starting with brake system corrosion. You could try the Brake Disc Cleaning (which is described in the owner's manual). I doubt it would work, but it's free, and doesn't take long.

As a guess, if the car has been sitting on a lot for a long time, the most likely cause is sticking caliper pins on one or more of the brakes. It's not hard to remove the wheels and dab a little bit of caliper grease on the pins (just don't get any on the rotor). Or, you can pay the dealer $225.

The dealer is not being unreasonable, as they can't fix something that they cannot observe, although if there is a TSB, you would think they would at least consider it. Try another dealer. Maybe you'll get lucky, and it will have the problem while you are there.

 

[mrdangran]

The dealership refused to do the fix unless the car did the thing while they were driving it. Insisted this was due to Kia's policies.

Should I try a different dealership? Or does anyone have any tips on triggering the problem? It seems to do it totally randomly.

You could try another dealership. Otherwise just keep driving with them. Mine used to activate whenever I went from forward to reverse or a sudden start.

 

[Richard A McDavid]

I had the same problem. The problem was that they put the wrong oil in the transmission at the factory. I went to the dealer and have them change the transmission fluid and my problem was solved. Hope this works for you. I believe there is a service bulletin about this somewhere. Good luck!

 

[Summerjamsam]

Omg, thank you for this thread. I've been searching the internet, and was led here by a Reddit forum. It's the exact issue I'm having. Printed out the Service Bulletin and will head to the dealer

 

[jedebel]

Good luck. If there is a recall, they are required to fix it for free. If it's a TSB, it's not required if the vehicle is out of warranty. The Difference Between Recalls and Technical Service Bulletins

It was definitely not out of warranty. Interesting update, I started hearing a loud 'whirring' sound a low speeds when the vehicle was shifting. Took it to the dealership Monday and they said it needs a new transmission. Can't help but wonder if this current issue is related to the fact it was filled at the factory with the wrong transmission fluid. Currently at 82k and the new transmission is covered by the warranty.

 

[jedebel]

I got my car back last week and it was covered under the warranty. No charge. But it also might be because my scheduler 'agent' screwed up my appointment and did me solid. Not sure. I did have to personally go to the dealership and drive around with the technician and after about 5-10 mins , it happened and we took it back and he followed the instructions on the NTSB Bulletin. Hopefully this helps anyone who happens to have this issue.

Interesting. I started hearing a loud whirring sound from the transmission at low speeds a few weeks ago. Took it to the dealership and it needs a new transmission. Currently has 82k. Can't help but wonder if the wrong transmission fluid has something to do with this. The new transmission is covered by warranty. Go figure.

 

[Summerjamsam]

Omg, thank you for this thread. I've been searching the internet, and was led here by a Reddit forum. It's the exact issue I'm having. Printed out the Service Bulletin and will head to the dealer

Went to the dealer. They replaced the gear oil under warranty. Let's see if it makes the issue stop. I was armed with a printout of a QR code that the tech could scan to see a dashcam video of the issue, and a printout of TSB 093 & 046.

 

[pcherndon]

I had the exact same problem on my 2019 niro. If you go on YouTube and type in 2019 Kia niro jerking from stop I have the same sound. In this forum I have posted the TSB that was issued by Kia and also what they did to fix my car. It’s posted on thread 284. Thread 274 is the posted TSB that you print off and take in with you as well to show them there is an issue that Kia has a recall for.

I'm also getting same issue. i gave to dealer shop on last 4 days before still they didnot replicate that issue.
they are asking me to take that car not sure what to do this movement.

 

[Summerjamsam]

Went to the dealer. They replaced the gear oil under warranty. Let's see if it makes the issue stop. I was armed with a printout of a QR code that the tech could scan to see a dashcam video of the issue, and a printout of TSB 093 & 046.

Changing the gear oil (free with the TSB) completely made the issue go away

 

[Summerjamsam]

I'm also getting same issue. i gave to dealer shop on last 4 days before still they didnot replicate that issue.
they are asking me to take that car not sure what to do this movement.

Did you let the dealer know about the TSB? I would also get a dashcam or mount your phone and get the issue on video.

 

[pcherndon]

Did you let the dealer know about the TSB? I would also get a dashcam or mount your phone and get the issue on video.

Not yet. I will take the TSB printout tomorrow and going to produce them.

 

[pcherndon]

Not yet. I will take the TSB printout tomorrow and going to produce them.

thank you for your quick response. Mine is 2019 NIRO model with out EV plug. I gave to dealer on second time. they are not able to reproduce finally i got required info on this forum. thank you all for your quick response.

I will bring the TSB TRA093 document to them on tomorrow first morning.

 

[pcherndon]

thank you for your quick response. I went and replicated the issue. They started looking the problem now.

 

[pcherndon]

after a week of back and forth I FINALLY got an update from Kia. they managed to replicate the problem and are looking into it. they suspect it's a transmission problem but admit they have not seen it before.

@PNWJane - yes, that's exactly how it started with me.then it gets worse. I recommend you contact customer service right away because it takes them about 4-5 days to assign an escalation case manager. Take it to the dealer and have them try and replicate it. they should contact Kia of Portland Service department and talk to Chris McNight.

I'm also facing same issue; do you have the contact email for kia service department?
so that i will send email with this problem.

 

[Megaroeny]

So I got my initial transmission flush a couple years ago now, but the issue seems to come back at least once a year. I'm curious if someone that's done the same has had to get the DCT oil replaced every year to prevent the issue I'm coming back?

 

[Tim Hays]

So I got my initial transmission flush a couple years ago now, but the issue seems to come back at least once a year. I'm curious if someone that's done the same has had to get the DCT oil replaced every year to prevent the issue I'm coming back?

I also got my transmission flush about 1 year ago and have had rare but obvious return of the issue, average is about once a week, but sometimes twice in one day, and sometimes not for 3 weeks or so. I haven't bothered reporting it to KIA since I was told that covered portion of the warranty is only 5 years and I'm now past that. It's very frustrating, but I'm just glad I don't have some of the other more serious issues I've heard about in this forum. Even after 5 1/2 years, I still get about 30miles distance from my PHEV on pure electric, so I'm very happy with the battery life, and the MPG performance is still better than anything I've owned.

 

[jedebel]

I had this problem and after Kia finally diagnosed it they told me some Niros came from the factory with the wrong transmission fluid. They replaced it with the correct fluid and the problem never occurred again. Sadly, the transmission failed about a year later. Thankfully, I was still within the warranty period and it was replaced at no cost to me.