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My Niro is a Lemon - should I get another one?

19K views 25 replies 20 participants last post by  NirovTDI 
#1 ·
Hi, everyone,
Back in March, on day 2 of owning a brand new Kia Niro LX, our hybrid system gauge stopped working properly. Long story short, our car has been out of service for two months while Kia corporate attempts to replace the entire instrument cluster and calibrate the odometer so that it accurately reflects our car's mileage when we dropped it off for repair. Kia has graciously offered to refund us, or replace it, or compensate us for our inconvenience while we await our original car's repair.

My question for your new owners: are you satisfied with your Niro? Would you recommend it? We researched and test drove many cars (Honda HRV, Toyota Prius V, Ford C-Max, VW Sportwagon, etc.) before purchasing the Niro and felt really good about our choice, but now of course, we have hesitations about getting another Niro. It is just the car we want in terms of size, price and fuel efficiency, but buying the first model year vehicle has proven problematic for us!

I've read on this forum some other owners' issues with their engine misfiring and a 'stutter,' so I want to be sure we're making a wise choice.

Thank you in advance.

-a hopeful Kia Niro owner
 
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#4 ·
I absolutely love my car. I've had no issues, have about 1400 miles on it. At the last fill-up, I did the math and came up with 51.7mpg. And I have the Touring model. My only gripe is that using the AC will pretty drastically eat into my mpg, but that's a minor gripe, and true of any car I think.
 
#5 ·
Just from how Kia stepped up to assume responsibility and make the situation right to your satisfaction should tell you to stay with Kia. Many of the other brands you were considering would not have been so forthright. One of the brands, in particular, you were considering is far worse than Kia in owner satisfaction (I won't mention any names but their initials are VW...)
 
#6 ·
The main thing is they tried to deal with it asap and were perfectly good with you lemoning it and are willing to work with you. I would definitely wait and perhaps go back with a Kia because what you dealt with is exactly what you say, a lemon. Hopefully the next one will be full of many smiles per gallon opposed to any issues at all :)
 
#18 ·
I have a Gen 2 [MY '17/'18] Volt with the same problem. "We" [Gen 2 Volt forum] call it "chuggle". Only happens in engine mode, not EV. Chevy did a recall for "engine misfire" which didhn't improve the chuggle. Sometimes it's more pronounced, especially in cruse control as, I think, the computer is trying to keep a speed and the engine/transmission ain't fast enough to respond. It's about the only issue that I have with the Volt, except I'm interested in the Nero PHEV for a CUV [station wagon what some reviewers call it].
Is there a typical time that it happens? Is it sporadic or continuous? Has the issue been reported to Kia?
 
#9 ·
I have the LX and it's getting close to 2,000 miles and I'm very happy with it so far. As stated in a note already, the A/C cuts right in to the gas mileage. We've had some days with the temp down around 30 degrees and I think the heater cuts the mileage even more but it sure works great. In less than one minute you have hot air, that will sure be nice next winter when it's 20 below zero. I have had a ruff shift a couple of times at low speed, seems to be motor starts and shifts at the same time, but not sure about that either. I'll have to fill up tomorrow and will have
a good mpg check this time, with about 50% town and 50% Interstate..
 
#13 ·
I absolutely LOVE my Niro. Reading that story scared me too, but I doubt that any car ever made has NEVER had a dud come off the assembly line. Mine runs perfectly and I love its pickup, its storage, versatility, the way it purrs at me when I open the door in the morning (anyone else notice that?) , the color, etc, etc. OH and of course the gas mileage. I could not be happier (unless it had a locking glove box, but you can't have EVERYthing.)
 
#15 ·
They probably settled with Kia since it's a lemon and it's in the favor of the buyer if the car really can't be fixed. There's always going to be lemons with every brand, some you hear about and some you don't. Shouldn't turn you away from a fundamentally good car. Just look at the Jeep fans, so many problems with Jeeps but they keep going back for more.
 
#16 ·
My Niro FE is brand new...live in LA, going home from dealer up 405 during rush hour, live in Lake Los Angeles so climbing 2500 feet overall, mileage 58.5 on the dash. Coming to work this morning, driveway to parking garage at LA Valley College, 67 miles, 87.1 on the dash when I got there, and I keep up with traffic most of the time, but not in a rush, just getting to work best way I can.


Not sure if these numbers will continue or get worse or better, but for one day I am happy with this car. Did VW buyback on a 2014 Golf TDI and my best mileage with it was 67 on the downhill run, coming to work, did that twice last summer, it really liked hot weather.
 
#19 ·
Update re: My Niro is a Lemon - should I get another one? Reply to Thread

Hi, all,
Original poster here. We decided to replace our lemon (Niro LX) with an exact replica and today, we finally took ownership! Kia was great throughout the process. They threw in four years of the service plan and a free spare tire kit and a few other favors (dealer installed the cross rails for us for free).

Looking forward to finally enjoying the car that we first bought in March! Thanks for your replies.
 
#20 ·
Thanks for the update and glad to hear KIA satisfied you.

Apparently, there is some sort of a design problem as seems to be a lot of folks with some sort of symptom (misfire, surging, what ever to call it).

I notice it on my EX bought in FEB, now have over 5500 miles. Love the car otherwise and must add, the surge (whatever) has never been extreme, just feel a little something occasionally.

Probably noticed it more yesterday (Jun 31) about 3 miles from home on the way to gym running say 40 MPH and using accelerator a little. It smoothed out and did not notice it again (at least not at that level).

Might add the level was not real excessive (whatever), but was more noticeable than before.
 
#22 ·
I'd stick with Kia. They have a great rep and their quality keeps getting better.

I would take the refund and repurchase another Kia Niro of a different manufacturing annual quarter. Just make sure youre not dealing with a shady dealership/ service department.

I have nearly 8,500 miles on my Niro LX and it's been great.

As for VW as an option... please don't do that to yourself. They have a notorious worldwide reputation for building sh*tboxes that are enormously problematic. You will regret owning a VW passed 2-3 years (max) when they start to fall apart. They also defrauded the entire world with dieselgate. And yes, their service department culture is one of a crimal element. Again notoriously awful.
 
#23 ·
We are loving ours again. Had a brief scare that turned out to be operator error. If I ever get all the features figured out, I'm going to be an old man. Oh, just realized, I've already past that point in life. So far, haven't achieved 50 mpg but can't complain about 48+ with the fact that I sit with the motor running for long periods of time while I try to learn what all the buttons and such do. Too bad I can't do most of those things without running the engine. The next owner of this car might be getting one with twice the hours on the engine than on the rest of the car.
 
#24 ·
The engine shouldn't be running when you are sitting in park except in extreme hot conditions and only for a few seconds at a time to give the battery a break. I've sat at my son's soccer practice for over an hour with the windows down and the radio on with only a brief kick on of the engine a couple times.
 
#25 ·
Well, sitting with the electric engine on to power the accessories could drain the battery a little bit, which may cause the computer to use more gas later if the hybrid battery is lower? Shouldn?t be a huge factor but could make the difference between 48 and 50.

I?ve only had my EX for a week, and I have noticed the mild surging you guys are talking about, but I seem to be able to reduce it by the way I drive. In my experience it mostly happens when starting from a stop. It seems to happen if I try to accelerate too fast from a dead stop or too slowly when getting going. So if I press the pedal gently for the first second to get it rolling and then accelerate harder (no where near pedal to the floor, but harder than to maximize fuel efficiency... you know, like a normal driver, not a hybrid junkie :) ) that seems to let thing start off ok and then not be confused about which gear to hit next.
 
#26 ·
I must state that my sportwagen tdi was a beast and always gave 50 plus mpg for my driving locale and style. 2 to 5 over the limit. In the sportwagen I would not baby it for mpg yet get the 50 and peaked on long highway trips to 55 to 60 depending on speed, terrain and wind. The vehicle felt like a solid suv that drove like a sports car. The torque was simply amazing and the 6 speed dsg was awesome. The Niro feels too delicate in the acceleration department and a time bit of aggressive driving pushes the mpg down noticeably. Thought the hybrid process would allow diesel type utility and performance. The design put an anemic electric assist motor and I say assist because unless going 20 to 25 downhill the dino always seems to come on. On some steep long descends the gas motor was off for a bit but mostly its running than not! Kia should trade us a larger electric motor install to make this vehicle live up to the hype. NOTE do any of you have an issue with the trunk not shutting many times without a heavy slam and does the door kinda shimmy when you click the unlock to pop it open? Mine does that and the svc manager stated that its a minor thing after you slam it enough things will iron out. I am thinking of taking it to a body shop to get an opinion.
 
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