[Ksenia Bolshakova]

Brand new Kia Niro PHEV 2019, I've had it 2 weeks. My car was parked. I got in, turned it on, put it in Drive ... and it started to drive backwards. I thought I was going crazy. I put the car in park again, I put it in Drive (I double checked to make sure) and ... it drove backwards again!
Put the car in park. Turned off the engine. Waited a couple minutes. Turned it on ... finally it drove forward.
Took it to Kia dealership, they ran a diagnostic, couldn't find anything wrong with it, couldn't recreate the problem. They reset the transmission.
I'm both highly amused by this, as well as concerned - if this went wrong, what else will go wrong? And what happens if it's in more dangerous circumstances? Has anyone else experienced this? More importantly, do you know WHY this happens, and how to fix it?

 

[jmurphEV]

Brand new Kia Niro PHEV 2019, I've had it 2 weeks. My car was parked. I got in, turned it on, put it in Drive ... and it started to drive backwards. I thought I was going crazy. I put the car in park again, I put it in Drive (I double checked to make sure) and ... it drove backwards again!
Put the car in park. Turned off the engine. Waited a couple minutes. Turned it on ... finally it drove forward.
Took it to Kia dealership, they ran a diagnostic, couldn't find anything wrong with it, couldn't recreate the problem. They reset the transmission.
I'm both highly amused by this, as well as concerned - if this went wrong, what else will go wrong? And what happens if it's in more dangerous circumstances? Has anyone else experienced this? More importantly, do you know WHY this happens, and how to fix it?

I can almost guarantee that you took your foot off the brake too fast when starting up and the car wasn't actually on. In that case all of the lights are on, the radio is on and most confusingly, you can shift out of park just like normal. However the clutch will not engage and so the car will just roll if it's on even a very slight incline.

I and several others on here have had the same experience and it's definitely disconcerting when it happens. I've owned the car for over a year and I still do it occasionally. The trick is you have to hold your foot on the brake until after you hear the start chime. You can also watch the hybrid gauge on the left. It will move to the neutral position once the car is on. Finally, there is a small icon of a car with a bidirectional arrow just beneath the gauge. That indicates that the car is on.

 

[atc98092]

I've only had mine a couple of weeks, but have been caught multiple times thinking it was "on" when it wasn't. I agree that it can easily roll if you're on an incline. I've got to remember to keep my foot on the brake during the starting sequence.

 

[Fiddlesticks]

Yep. I agree with the other commenters. If you don't have your foot on the brake when you start the car, the engine start button will glow yellow and you will have some accessory functions, but the car is not really "on". And if you then shift into D, and you're on an incline with the parking brake off, you may well start to roll backwards! I cannot imagine any hardware or software defect that could possibly result in any car (hybrid or otherwise) being shifted into D and moving backward under engine/battery power as if it was in R. And if there was such a defect, it's almost impossible that the car would then start up, shift and drive normally a few minutes later.

This post reminded me of one from a few weeks ago, in which a new owner complained that her Niro took too long to shift from R into D...because she never put her foot on the brake while shifting, she just went right from R into D while the car was still reversing at a slow rate of speed. It's not safe, and it's just not how it's done. Keep your foot on the brake when starting or shifting gears, people!

 

[RFm]

Brand new Kia Niro PHEV 2019, I've had it 2 weeks. My car was parked. I got in, turned it on, put it in Drive ... and it started to drive backwards. I thought I was going crazy. I put the car in park again, I put it in Drive (I double checked to make sure) and ... it drove backwards again!
Put the car in park. Turned off the engine. Waited a couple minutes. Turned it on ... finally it drove forward.
Took it to Kia dealership, they ran a diagnostic, couldn't find anything wrong with it, couldn't recreate the problem. They reset the transmission.
I'm both highly amused by this, as well as concerned - if this went wrong, what else will go wrong? And what happens if it's in more dangerous circumstances? Has anyone else experienced this? More importantly, do you know WHY this happens, and how to fix it?

I had a similar experience with a rented Niro. I made the minor gaffe of switching it off by mistake in Drive -- after restarting, the car was shifted to Reverse but went forward. Had to put in Park, power off, restart before car worked sensibly. (I had almost took out a garage door car was facing). Reported to rental company and NTSC.

 

[91cavgt]

I too have had the car not fully start even though my foot was on the brake when I started it. I shifted out of park too quickly, coasted out of my driveway like normal and the car came to a slow stop down the street. It has happened a few times.

 

[atc98092]

I too have had the car not fully start even though my foot was on the brake when I started it. I shifted out of park too quickly, coasted out of my driveway like normal and the car came to a slow stop down the street. It has happened a few times.

Yep, you have to wait for the startup music before shifting. I've done that a few times myself.