Car caught on fire while in motion on the highway due to safety recall issue

- Orlando, FL, USA

I own a 2017 Kia Niro with 48,000 miles on it. In early February 2022, I received a "system overheating" warning on my dashboard. When I pulled over and checked the engine, I noticed that the coolant overflow reservoir was nearly empty. I had the vehicle towed to a dealership (Destination Kia in Albany, NY), who pressure tested the engine but couldn't find any leaks. They returned the vehicle to me, but a day later I got another overheating warning and this time noticed excessive smoke, along with the coolant reservoir once again being drained. I thus brought it to a different dealer (Matthews Kia in Schenectady, NY), who also could not find a leak, but offered to replace the engine. Several months went by without the repair being completed, so I finally went to Matthews last week for a status update. They informed me that they had several Niro's experiencing similar issues, and that Kia Corporate had sent out a "technical service bulletin" to the dealers informing them that this recurring issue in the Niros is due to faulty EGR coolers. I brought the vehicle back to Destination, hoping that as a larger dealer they could complete the repair more quickly. They have since confirmed that the EGR cooler needs replacing, but quoted me $2500 for the repair, stating that it is not covered under warranty. Considering that this problem has recurred in enough Niros to warrant a technical service bulletin from the corporate office, and the obvious safety issues that an overheating vehicle can cause, I argue that Kia should have to send out a recall for this part. It's absurd that I'm being asked to pay $2500 to repair a vehicle with less than 50,000 miles on it, especially considering that this is clearly a recurring issue with this model. I have attached the initial repair records that I received, and will add the $2500 repair order for the EGR cooler once it is completed.

- Albany, NY, USA

While pulling into a parking space my car accelerated, flew over the curb and landed on another parked car. It was very sudden and going very fast

- South Pasadena , CA, USA

On January 30, 2022 I was driving my 2017 Kia Niro (133,500 miles) when my car broke down. I was driving along at 45 MPH when I had three or so warning lights flash on my dash. I don't clearly remember what they said, but it was something about the hybrid system and then the check engine light came on along with the warning label for the hybrid system again and the car died. I managed to get off the highway and come to a safe stop into a parking lot of a hotel. I tried turning my car off and back on but nothing happened except for the dash panel lights going on saying check hybrid. The last time I did it I waited a couple of minutes before attempting to turn it back on and again, no change. At this point I ended up having to call AAA and had my car towed to my dealership. (40 miles away) Besides being scary to have this happen, I learned that this problem is common in Kia Niro-€™s. The part I am talking about is the -€œhigh voltage fuse-€. Evidently manufacturer installs a 125amp fuse and the fuse needed is 175amps. I feel this is a huge problem and will eventually if not already end up causing a serious accident. I look forward to a response and hopefully a solution to get this $434.72 service charge recovered plus tow fees.

- Branson, MO, USA

The contact had a loaner 2017 Kia Niro. The contact stated while driving and stopping at a red light when the light turned green the contact depressed on the accelerator pedal and was going about 5 MPH when suddenly the power steering failed. The contact manually steered the vehicle and caused the driver to rear-end and crash the vehicle in front of her that also caused that vehicle to rear-end the vehicle in front of them which caused a 3 car accident. There were no warning lights illuminated from the vehicle, The air bag did not deploy. No one was injured. There was no medical treatment needed at the scene. A police report was filed. The contact was able to drive the vehicle back to the local dealer where they loaned the vehicle to have it returned. The contact was informed a week after the accident there was a recall for that year and model of vehicle for power steering and the contact reached out to a local dealer to inquire if that particular vehicle was part of the recall but did not get any response. The vehicle was repaired. However, the contact was told the vehicle was sold shortly after the repair to an individual without knowing if the vehicle had a recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000.

- Duvall, WA, USA

My 2017 Kia Niro hybrid seems to not be storing codes when the check engine light comes on. I have had 3 separate problems with by niro in 3 weeks with no check engine light, with the hev hybrid fuse and with a check engine light and no power and yet by the time it was towed to the shop it reset itself but didn't store any codes from the check engine light.. the technicians could not recreate the problems and had no were to start from. I'm now driving it and just waiting for something to go wrong with

- Ancramdale, NY, USA

My 2017 Kia niro caught on fire yesterday afternoon as I was driving down the interstate. No collusion was involved. I got a warning message to stop the engine due to a problem being detected in the hybrid system. I pulled off of the interstate during rush hour traffic and noticed black smoke coming from underneath my hood. I thought that something had just happened to the engine. I stayed in the car and called a tow truck as I did not want to stand on the shoulder of this busy highway. A man then jumps out of his truck and starts running toward me yelling at me to get out of the car that it was on fire. I got out, we ran down the shoulder and we stood watching my car become engulfed in flames. I just bought the car in November 2018.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

On September 30, 2018, I was driving on the interstate coming back from austin and heard what sounded like an explosion. After a few moments I heard a sound of something rattling above my head. My passenger said it sounded like it was coming from the sunroof area. He cracked open the sunroof access door and he said he could see that the sunroof was shattered and he closed it immediately. We stopped as soon as we could and took pictures of the shattered sunroof. It was a sunny day and there were not any cars around us. And we did not go under any bridges or overpasses.

- Houston, TX, USA

The contact owned a 2017 Kia Niro. While the vehicle was parked at the contact's residence, a loud abnormal noise was heard. The contact looked outside and noticed that the front passenger turn signal light and the middle of the vehicle were on fire. The fire department was called and extinguished the fire. A police report was filed. The fire department stated that the battery caused the fire and declared the vehicle a total loss. There were no injuries sustained. The dealer was not notified. The manufacturer was called and the contact was awaiting a call back. The failure mileage was approximately 8,000.

- Conway, AR, USA

Leased the car on Sunday and drove home 10+ miles. Odometer had 15 miles on it. Left the car in the garage for two days and attempted to drive it early Wednesday. (did not drive the car until Wednesday, and only attempted once. Owned the car for less than 3 days.) backing out of the garage and was steering onto the street when the power steering warning light came on and steering was very difficult and noisy - vibrating while turning the wheel itself. Pulled back into the garage and all warning lights came on. Shut the car off and retried several times. Waited with the car idling. Battery warning came on. Let the car sit and looked in the manual for answers. Tried backing up again and all the warning lights came on again, and steering was again very difficult. Drove back into the garage. Called the roadside assistance number and the flatbed truck took the 2017 Kia niro back to the dealership. Hoping to have our lease voided and will search safercar.gov for a new vehicle choice. No faith in the Kia brand now.

- Long Beach, CA, USA