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How reliable has your Niro Been?

37293 Views 101 Replies 55 Participants Last post by jaxterra, 6 d ago

Roadkill401

Discussion Starter · Nov 14, 2019

There are a number of threads about catastrophic failures in their car, but without a context to how likely this is for all owners. So why not have a poll to see if having a failure is for Niro owners

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41 - 60 of 102 Posts

Robert Dee

· #41 · Jun 27, 2020

My Niro is less than a week old so no problems yet. However, I do find myself cursing the car where I feel my old car was better. My last car was a Honda Jazz (Fit) and although I would never want a car with a CVT box again I find some small annoyances in the Niro.

The first is that the automatic lights feature can be turned off during driving so no lights are on at all; that was impossible in the Honda Jazz. The Niro has no speed sign recognition but the Jazz does. The Niro has no proximity detector at the front (only at the rear) The Jazz has them front and rear. The front head restraints cannot be tilted to a better position. The Jazz can be easily adjusted to do this. Of course, I will forget these differences and will probably similarly moan when I get another car in three years time just as I did when I got my Jazz and compared it to a previous car.

What I am really trying to say, is I am an older guy (nearly seventy) and adapting to change is not so easy, especially in this technological world.

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yticolev

· #42 · Jun 27, 2020

I still miss almost every car I've ever owned. Everyone of them had advantages that the others did not. That said, the Niro is by far the best car I've ever owned. But it also has more serious annoyances that no previous car has had. Starting with the lack of actual control over the HVAC. I'd happily give up the infotainment system for HVAC controls from 40 years ago.

Reactions: 2

Robert Dee

· #43 · Jun 27, 2020

The best HVAC for me is one with simple manual controls - a large dial to control the temperature and a similarly-sized dial to control where the air comes out. That way I do not need to look at the controls in order to use them. Modern day systems have to many controls/buttons and if you press one button it may enable or disable some feature (available on another button) as a side effect. I had hope the physical buttons on the Niro would be much better than the touch buttons on the Jazz, but they are only marginally better. I long for the days of my Vauxhall Astra which had simple controls.

Jackfish

· #44 · Jun 27, 2020

It's the best car I've had, i find the heating cooling works well but is a bit confusing. I love the heated seats and especially the heated steering wheel. On our 19 touring hev the lane control works ok and doesn't annoy me . After a year the door locks still kind of annoy me. Before we bought this car neither of us had a smart phone just flip phones. I find android auto to be a pain. We only bought the pixel 3a because of the car . So in some ways life was simpler with an old focus and a flip phone but i really enjoy this car because it's so smooth quiet and modern.

Robert Dee

· #45 · Jun 27, 2020

Jackfish said:
It's the best car I've had, i find the heating cooling works well but is a bit confusing. I love the heated seats and especially the heated steering wheel. On our 19 touring hev the lane control works ok and doesn't annoy me . After a year the door locks still kind of annoy me. Before we bought this car neither of us had a smart phone just flip phones. I find android auto to be a pain. We only bought the pixel 3a because of the car . So in some ways life was simpler with an old focus and a flip phone but i really enjoy this car because it's so smooth quiet and modern.

I also use a Pixel 3a but would never contact it to Android Auto or even WiFi/Bluetooth outside my home as it gives so much information to Google. I have even installed Graphene OS on the Pixel 3a to hinder Google tracking. When I need a SatNav I use a standalone Garmin unit.

yticolev

· #46 · Jun 28, 2020

Robert Dee said:
The best HVAC for me is one with simple manual controls - a large dial to control the temperature and a similarly-sized dial to control where the air comes out. That way I do not need to look at the controls in order to use them.

Or conversely, a single glance will inform you of the settings. Did you know that the AC can be on and the AC button not lit? All thanks to the auto defog system (ADS). You can turn off ADS if you want full (er) control with a long press on the front defrost button. That option stays sticky until you change it, unlike many other options.

FlNiro

· #47 · Jun 28, 2020

yticolev said:
I still miss almost every car I've ever owned. Everyone of them had advantages that the others did not. That said, the Niro is by far the best car I've ever owned. But it also has more serious annoyances that no previous car has had. Starting with the lack of actual control over the HVAC. I'd happily give up the infotainment system for HVAC controls from 40 years ago.

I don't miss my old AMC Hornet

But I DO miss my old Spitfire Orange Roadrunner..beep. beep

Reactions: 2

annguye1

· #48 · Jul 2, 2020

yticolev said:
I'm wondering if the algorithms for rev matching during gear shifts are the difference between EV or engine on modes. I would have expected it to be smoother in EV mode as I'd guess the motor would be faster matching revs and possibly more controllable and accurate than the engine.

I would have expected the same. My guess was that in HEV they balance power delivery from the motor and engine, using all motor from stop, then when the engine kicks in they cut some power from the motor which results in nonlinear electric power delivery. Then they didn't change that algorithm when in pure EV mode. I could be totally wrong though.

hawke

· #49 · Jul 6, 2020

Our 2018 Niro PHEV is two years old today with 7,059 miles on it. After the first year, I took it in for an oil change and to see if there were any warranty repairs for its model year. There was something minor they did under warranty but I've forgotten what it was. This year I'll be taking it into service to rotate the tires at 7,500 miles and to see if there's any updated warranty repairs needed. I mostly drive the car locally in EV mode, but the gas engine has performed well on out of town shopping trips. This is the best car we've ever owned and apart from driving in EV mode, the best gas mileage we've ever had. We still own a 1999 Hyundai Elantra with over 118,000 miles on it. The Niro still seems like driving a spaceship compared to the 21 year old Elantra.

Dovidan

· #50 · Jul 7, 2020

I too had a Honda Fit (Jazz) - 2011. Then drove a 2017 VW Golf for two years before moving to my 2019 Niro PHEV (5,800 miles).
The Fit was a great little car, simple, fun, fuel efficient ICE, very utilitarian, but was not very comfortable on the mean streets of Seattle.
Golf was also a great small car, similar to the Fit in many ways but lots more power, comfort and tech; a fun city car! But I wanted something a bit larger and had the EV bug so I got the Niro. I miss certain aspects of both the Fit & Golf, but the Niro is the best of the bunch. I don't think I ever understand all the potential electronic nuances of it (true of the Golf also) but for me the Niro is definitely the best of the bunch.

missoula

· #51 · Aug 2, 2020

2018 PHEV here. Really disappointed with the battery drain. I've been stranded twice now. Then told by the Kia dealership it was my fault for leaving the door open for 2 min. Yes, after two minutes it becomes the driver's fault. Fortunately Kia consumer affairs overturned them.

But I'm done with this car. Even outside the reliability problems, the UI is laggy and counterintuitive. UVO services has the most ridiculous TOS I've ever seen, and it requires 14 button presses and 25 seconds of waiting to remote start the car and even then you have a 10% chance of success. The one positive is the voice dialing system, which works most of the time!

yticolev

· #52 · Aug 2, 2020

Sorry to hear that. While it seems crazy to do 12 volt battery maintenance on a regular basis for a new car, for many owners of EVs with lead acid batteries, regular use of a smart trickle charger is the only way to achieve reliability. Seems to me the UI is fine, although not up to the standards of Apple or Tesla. Haven't noticed any lag - that sounds like a real issue. UVO for remote start? Only matters for those who need it. Not dismissing your wanting it, but from my perspective, not so many people need or use it and it is usually only available on upmarket models. Ease of app remote starting does seems to be a common complaint across models and brands.

lakerswiz

· #53 · Aug 2, 2020

missoula said:
2018 PHEV here. Really disappointed with the battery drain. I've been stranded twice now. Then told by the Kia dealership it was my fault for leaving the door open for 2 min. Yes, after two minutes it becomes the driver's fault. Fortunately Kia consumer affairs overturned them.

But I'm done with this car. Even outside the reliability problems, the UI is laggy and counterintuitive. UVO services has the most ridiculous TOS I've ever seen, and it requires 14 button presses and 25 seconds of waiting to remote start the car and even then you have a 10% chance of success. The one positive is the voice dialing system, which works most of the time!

Did you not have any gas in the car?

I don't have one yet, but want one.

Am I correct in my understanding to where if you have drained the battery and have gas, you can get stranded? I can't drive on JUST gas?

yticolev

· #54 · Aug 3, 2020

All the car systems run processors powered by the 12 volt system. If the 12 volt battery is dead, nothing works and the car cannot move. Exactly the same situation for ICE only cars.

atc98092

· #55 · Aug 3, 2020

lakerswiz said:
Did you not have any gas in the car?

I don't have one yet, but want one.

Am I correct in my understanding to where if you have drained the battery and have gas, you can get stranded? I can't drive on JUST gas?

No, that's not correct. As long as there's gas in the car, you can drive it. But I'll add a caveat that there will be a limited amount of charge remaining in the battery when the car switches to hybid mode. Usually about 16%, which the car will attempt to maintain so it doesn't drain completely. And of course, the separate 12v lead acid battery must have a charge or the car is then truly dead. Even if the traction battery is fully charged, the car requires the 12v system to be operational. But unless there's a failure of some kind with the car, the 12v battery will be fine if you're driving along and the traction battery reaches its limit.

bgarnett

· #56 · Aug 26, 2020

My 2017 Niro has been wonderful. The back fin came loose at 68,000 miles. So listen for the rattle and fix it while under warranty. My roof racks have oxidized after almost 3 years in a garage. Never had a three year old car oxidize before. Makes me mad. But I am in love with gas mileage. Under 16.00 to fill a tank and drive 550 miles. Who can beat that! But I need help. In the last 5 thousand miles I hear a lurching/surging sound while my car is idoling that was never there before. I need to drive this car to the ground and I have a lifetime warranty from the dealership for engine and transmission so I have to figure out how to describe it to the mechanic so they listen to a woman and believe what I am saying. I am at a new Kia service location and miss my old location who showed me great respect. Ideas for the surging sound while idoling. It surges a higher sound and then a lower sound. I think there was a quiet sound like that for the first 80,000 miles but now it is loud and concerning. Thanks for your support and ideas.

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yticolev

· #57 · Aug 26, 2020

Injectors, sensors, or software in that order. Just make sure you can replicate the condition when you bring it in to mechanic so they can hear/feel/measure it.

Jim Collins

· #58 · Feb 5, 2021

Roadkill401 said:
I remember about a year back, there was a large number of people who purchased the 2017 Niro were having an issue with the plastic cap piece on their door handle broke and as such took out outside opening of the door. I remember there being multiple threads about how distressed people were and how they went to their dealer who didn't have any replacement parts and it took at times up to a month for the part to come in and then it needed to be colour matched to the car. Can't say I have seen many of those issues pop up in recent times. I don't know if it's just a bad batch of parts that got made and since then, as better or stronger plastic parts are now getting used the failures have dropped off, or just that dealers now carry the parts so no need to complain here.

My concern is that yes, the Niro is a new car for Kia and doesn't have 10-15 years of progressive refinements and history behind it. It's what, 3 years old, and I am sure that the 2017 cars had far more issues with them than the 2019 and going into the new 2020 year. The last thing we want is for that person who is doing the internet search to just find a forum with just complaints about reliability and be turned off. Likewise, if there is an issue, then I'd rather it be out there so it can be addressed and fixed.

We bought the Niro in 2017, and other than recalls it has never been back to the dealer, we love it, I am restrict in my ability to walk far have carried 2 mobility scooters in it at one time with no decrease in mpg, and have averaged up to 60 mpg on trips, love the fact that I can be traveling at interstate rates and the gas engine shuts off and it goes miles at speed on electric, my previous car was a prius, and it wasn't any where as good and roomy.

sightland

· #59 · Feb 8, 2021

with lock downs and WFH, I have only accumulated 16k so far in 1.5 yrs. rock solid performance and reliability and averaging 43 [cold]-52 [warm]MPG. I think the broke-in engine/trans with 0-16 viscosity oil makes the engine quieter and smoother. both interior and exterior looks good and still looking brand new. even the tires and brakes newish after many events on dirt road driving on bike and camping trips. using Wipe New on black plastics really does work good and after 1.5 years, it is still going strong/shiny as advertised.

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xenon2060

· #60 · Aug 19, 2021

I accumulated only ~1k mile, over the last 9 months due to WFH.

My wireless charger and the Kia navigation update never worked (the USB ports work correctly). If I book an appointment at the dealer, would there be a charge to fix them or would they get covered by the guarantee?

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