On 2/15/2022 around 10:00AM, I was driving my vehicle as normal. Noticed brake lights ahead, I was about 3 car lengths back, which I always try to drive since I am on the road a lot and I prefer not to have an accident. Well this time, I put my foot on the brake as normal and the vehicle felt like brakes were not even working, pushed harder with my foot and waited for that pumping feeling (which I have felt before) and literally nothing! Once I was about a car lengths away, I knew my vehicle was not stopping so I sat up straight and leaned back before the air bags deployed in my face. I have since come home and found several complaints from other 2018 Kia Niro owners that have made a complaint about this on other forums and with the NHTSA and Carcomplaints.com - This issue has been ignored by Kia about braking system.

- Germansville, PA, 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

Car failed to stop twice - almost ran a red light. Brakes depressed and felt no pressure in brake line. Dealership has fixed brake issues with car only being 6 months old in 2018 - same brake issues but now the car is not stopping sometimes.

- Maxwell, IN, USA

Purchased the vehicle with safety tech package which includes aeb (auto emergency braking) and vehicle did not stop even when I applied full brakes to prevent a collision. The main reason I purchased this vehicle was for this safety feature.

- Pinellas Park, FL, USA

I am writing to your company in regards to a serious accident which happened on the date of Saturday, March 24th around 4pm est. This accident involved my family and I driving the new Kia Niro hybrid ex w/ tech pkg we purchased from sansone dealership on November 24th, 2017. My vehicle was involved in the accident on route 22 highway while driving eastwards at the speeds of around 35-36 mph as there was a traffic flow and also a traffic stop of cars. Our vehicle (Kia Niro) was about 2-3 car distance behind the vehicle in front and as we were trying to come to a stop and while applying the brakes, the vehicle was not stopping even with the equipped autonomous emergency brake system on, it did not function as I stomped hard on the brake pedal, saw the brake indication on the dash but the vehicle was not slowing down. We had to brace for impact and rear ended the car in front of us which also slightly hit the car in front of him total of 3 vehicles involved including mine. In my car I was the driver, my spouse was sitting in the passenger side and my 5 year old daughter was in the back seat in her car seat. The impact caused major frontal damage to my vehicle and both front airbags were deployed. My wife sustained neck injury which we had checked out at an urgent care center the next day. I sustained some bruises on the leg and my daughter was ok, but in shock. I have included pictures of the damaged car, police report. The fact that we purchase a vehicle with upgrades to safety features that did not work for keeping my family and I safe is unacceptable. Vehicle is totaled and insurance has stored it in the following facility: Iaa, 700 federal blvd. Carteret, NJ 07008-1008. Tel: 732-634-5601. Stock# 22133296. This info was given via voicemail to ryan at Kia consumers with case# 12671522.

- Union, NJ, USA