On Kia Niro, there is a part called the Exhaust Heat Recovery System (EHRS). This part pumps coolant into the exhaust system. If this particular piece fails, coolant in then pumped into the exhaust, burned up, and exits through the tail pipe. This piece failed on my car, which lead to coolant being burned in the tailpipe without my knowledge, which ultimately lead to no coolant in the engine and overheating and breaking down on the highway. After a full engine replacement, my car is still rapidly going through coolant. I imagine that this could lead to a car fire. I still have the faulty part installed in my car, however I am looking to replace it asap. While not 100% confirmed, my dealer is "pretty sure" that piece is what is causing the rapid loss of coolant in my car. This piece has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police or insurance representatives. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms to alert me to this problem. I only found out about this piece and its failure rate after a full engine replacement.

- Beaumont, CA, USA

2018 Kia Niro plug-in hybrid, 16,235mi. Vehicle has been in 5 times in last several months for a total of over 30 days in shop. Transmission will do a very hard downshift intermittently when stopping. Makes vehicle dip hard..noticeable on dash cam video. On harder acceleration, power train has trouble deciding what to do and often there is a noticeable delay in acceleration. Feels sort of like it is slipping, but is a delay in powering the electric motor fully and starting the gas motor.this has caused a couple close calls when pulling into traffic expecting the car to react appropriately. Some online research shows this is not an uncommon occurrence. Dealer has replaced a hydraulic actuator, bled system and reprogrammed PCM. This fixed a squeak noise in power train but not the harsh/erratic operations. As for the brakes, recently, depressing the brake with more than light pressure causes a rubbery groan sound from under driver's dash. This happens more when the car is cold or sitting for some time, less after it has warmed up. During these episodes, the brake pedal take more effort to push and brake engagement is delayed. The noise will happen when you step on the brake to start car or when driving. Dealer has been dismissive about the issues. We were told we would get a 'flight recorder' to help them document the transmission issues and record vehicle data from the computers. Today we were told we will not be getting it and to come pick up the car. Kia corporate in irvine, ca has been notified and a case has been opened. We are waiting on a response now.

- Anaheim, CA, USA

I was driving on the freeway. After slowed down and stopped completely, suddenly it lose power to run. Trying to step deeper the gas pedal, but no reaction at all. After turn off and turn on engine few times, it can run again, but this time, the real problem occur. The engine sounds so loud..it's hybrid car supposed to so quiet (that's what sounds usually). Later on, I found out how to still can drove it, but with high risk suddenly lose power on the street. Later found out, when the car in motion, the hybrid system didn't worked completely, and the transmission sound very rough. Every time when come to brake or want to slow down, can feels obviously and heard the transmission is very rough making clutch loud sounds. The cruise control system also totally not function. When in stationary, very first when started the engine, made loud sounds on the engine, and can't reversed or move forward, just stayed in place. The dashboard display "check hybrid system". and on the middle screen displaying, "low voltage DC / DC converter".

- Covina, CA, USA

Vehicle randomly flashes message to check hybrid system. Warning message disappear after vehicle reset but the message has repeatedly come up very often now. Message pops up during many different scenarios: After charging, before charging, while charging, and during operation.

- Sacramento, CA, USA

Engine/transmission becomes very sluggish as temperatures drop and the transmission seems to be "engine braking" the vehicle, making coasting nearly impossible. Putting the vehicle in neutral allowed the car to normally coast but once back in drive, acceleration was taxing. The vehicle lacks any power and is ruining the fuel economy trying to get the car up to speed.

- Reston, VA, USA