The Used Car Index

2018 Kia Niro Phev problems

NHTSA lists 13 complaints for the 2018 Kia Niro Phev, 1 of them mention a crash and 0 mention a fire. 0 complaints mention an injury, with 0 injuries and 0 deaths reported.

Data build 2026-10-09.

NHTSA lists this vehicle as KIA NIRO PHEV.

At a glance

Complaints
13
With crash
1
With fire
0
With injury (complaints)
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
0
Recalls
1
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
121,411
Investigations
1
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
52

Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. No sales source is available for this record.

Where the complaints are

Top systems
SystemComplaintsShare of this vehicle's complaints
POWER TRAIN646.2%
ENGINE430.8%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM215.4%
STRUCTURE215.4%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER215.4%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL215.4%
AIR BAGS17.7%
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)17.7%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE17.7%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM17.7%
Top subsystems
SystemSubsystemComplaints
STRUCTUREBODY2
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCEADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL1

One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.

Model-generated complaint tags

These labels are model-generated, not NHTSA data.

Failure modes
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
loss of control430.8%0.51
unclear430.8%0.98
electrical electronic323.1%0.88
mechanical failure17.7%0.39
restraint or airbag17.7%1.00
Severities
LabelCountShare of taggedMean confidence
low646.2%0.81
moderate646.2%0.91
high17.7%0.97

Model: typesafe/jev-1.13-20260917; schema version: tag-v1. 13 tagged complaints of 13 complaints (100.0%).

Confidence is the model's own probability for the label it chose (0 to 1), not accuracy.

Model-generated labels on tagged complaints only. Model years 2013 and newer are tagged in full; 2012 in part (see tagged_share); earlier model years have no tags. NHTSA's own flags remain separate in the complaints block.

Recalls

See new recalls and investigations this week.

1 recalls.

23V534000

Date: 2023-07-31. Systems: POWER TRAIN.

Defect: Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2017-2022 Niro and 2018-2022 Niro Plug-in Hybrid vehicles. Fluid may leak into the printed circuit board inside the hydraulic clutch actuator, which can result in an engine compartment fire.

Consequence: A fire increases the risk of injury.

Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the hydraulic clutch actuator as necessary and install a new fuse, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 29, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC276.

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

Investigations

1 investigations; 0 open.

DP22005

Opened: 2023-01-27. Closed: 2023-08-07.

Pedestrian alert sounds

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and ele

Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.

Linked campaign numbers: 22V063000.

Manufacturer communications

52 manufacturer communications.

Communications by system
SystemCount
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM23
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING13
STEERING8
EQUIPMENT6
STRUCTURE5
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC4
EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY2
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE2

11036628

Date: 2026-08-28. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, VISIBILITY/WIPER.

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: PARTIAL REPAIR a ELECTRICAL A/C COMPRESSOR - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. This bulletin provides information regarding the partial repair of the A

11026698

Date: 2025-12-09. Type: Other. Systems: BACK OVER PREVENTION.

PITSTOP: TECHNICAL OPERATIONS: EXTERNAL DAMAGE TO ULTRASONIC SENSOR: This Pitstop provides information related to Parking Distance Warning (PDW) alerts and repairs involving ultrasonic sensors. The PDW system alerts the driver while parking, by calculating distance based on the difference in signal

11017172

Date: 2025-04-17. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: POWER TRAIN.

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: TRANSMISSION FLUID APPLICATION GUIDE - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. This bulletin provides information relating to the correct transmission fluid ty

11015973

Date: 2025-03-20. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: SERVICE ACTION: KIA CONNECT MODEM RESET (SA611) - This bulletin outlines the procedure for resetting the modem in certain 2016-2025MY Kia vehicles listed on page 3 that are equipped with Kia Connect Services. The affected vehicles may encounter the following issues: remot

11000787

Date: 2024-05-16. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: POWER TRAIN.

This bulletin provides information relating to the correct transmission fluid type and fill quantity requirement for each Kia model. A flush is required ONLY when a transmission is replaced.

10238225

Date: 2023-06-26. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, VISIBILITY.

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: PARTIAL REPAIR - ELECTRICAL A/C COMPRESSOR - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area. This bulletin provides information regarding partial repair of the Air C

10237139

Date: 2023-05-31. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: INTERIOR LIGHTING, LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES, STRUCTURE.

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: OVERHEAD CONSOLE SUNGLASS DOOR-LATCH REPAIR - This bulletin provides information to repair the overhead console lamp assembly and sunglass door latch on some 2012-2023MY model vehicles listed in the table below, which may encounter the sunglass case of the overhead consol

10226555

Date: 2022-11-18. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: POWER TRAIN.

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: TRANSMISSION FLUID APPLICATION GUIDE - This bulletin provides information relating to the correct transmission fluid type and fill quantity requirement for each Kia model. A flush is required ONLY when a transmission is replaced, refer to applicable vehicles in the chart

10220346

Date: 2022-09-16. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING.

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: MAINTENANCE REMINDER FEATURE - This bulletin has been revised to include additional information. New/revised sections of this bulletin are indicated by a black bar in the margin area.This bulletin provides information on setting the "Service Interval Reminder" feature ava

10212200

Date: 2022-05-19. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING.

PITSTOP: RANDOM MISFIRES/OVERHEATING DUE TO LOW COOLANT - This Pitstop provides information to help identify one cause of low coolant, random misfires, and/or possible overheating on some 2017-2022MY Niro HEV (DE HEV) and 2018-2022MY Niro PHEV (DE PHEV) vehicles. The cause may be a small coolant lea

Notes on this record

  • Complaints from the API and bulk file are merged and deduplicated by ODI number; the API alone misses records.
  • System and subsystem counts are numbers of distinct complaints, recalls or communications that name them. One record can name several systems, so shares across systems can add to more than 100 percent; a single share never exceeds 100 percent.
  • Recalls are counted once per campaign, investigations once per action and manufacturer communications once per NHTSA id, even when NHTSA lists several model names for the same record.
  • A sales denominator is a calendar-year proxy, not the population of vehicles still in use. Rates are copied from verified pipeline output.

Other names NHTSA uses

None listed.

Matched NHTSA models

Matched labels and complaints
NHTSA model labelComplaints
NIRO PHEV13

Same model, other years

All model years | All Kia models

Other Kia models, 2018

Sources

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