2017 Kia Niro Engine Problems

The contact owns a 2017 Kia Niro. The contact stated that while driving 60 MPH on the highway, the vehicle jolted and shook abnormally. The electrical system warning light illuminated, and the vehicle lost partial power. The engine and hybrid warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was coasted off the roadway to a gas station. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with a blown high-voltage fuse. The vehicle was repaired with a higher voltage fuse. The manufacturer was contacted and opened a case. The approximate failure mileage was 101,000. The VIN was not available.

The contact owns a 2017 Kia Niro. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 MPH, there was smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle. The message, "Turn Off the Vehicle and Stop" was displayed, and the transmission failure warning light was illuminated. The contact pulled over and turned off the vehicle. Once the vehicle was turned off, the smoke dissipated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed that there were holes in the engine, power steering, and there was an engine oil leak. The engine, transmission, and battery were replaced. However, 2 months later, the contact attempted to start the vehicle; however, the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was scheduled to be towed to another dealer, Buster Miles Kia (1401 S Quintard Ave, Anniston, AL 36201). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure, and it was determined that the repair was not covered under warranty or recall. The failure mileage was approximately 50,500.

-Car was leaking or burning coolant causing engine to overheat. -Car was diagnosed with: Exhaust heat exchanger is leaking coolant and needs to be replaced. After costly repair, car continued to leak coolant and overheated. -Car was taken back to the dealership and diagnosed with: Engine Assembly - Long Block - Replace | Engine long block needs replacement due to coolant in the oil. This was at a certified Kia Dealership. No insurance reps or police were involved. An engine light has come on a couple of times over the years that was interpreted to mean replacing the gas cap. After replacing the gas cap, the engine light didn't come back on. My safety was impacted as a person living in a cold, rural state to have a sudden mechanical failure where I couldn't run the heat and had to stop the car immediately.

Failed/leaking coolant heat exchanger which is integrated into the rear catalytic converter assembly. This seems to be a well-known issue with 2017-2020 Kia Niros. Leaks cause overheating of the engine or no heat in the vehicle and potential blown head gaskets. This issue has been confirmed by an independent service center. Car itself gave no messages or warnings regarding the leak.

The contact owns a 2017 Kia Niro. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the message "Engine Overheated - Turn Engine Off" was displayed with white smoke coming from the exhaust system. Upon inspection, it was discovered that the coolant level was extremely low. The contact stated that coolant was added to the reservoir; however, hours later the coolant level was low again. The vehicle was towed to the local mechanic, who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the head gasket was blown and that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 112,000.

The heat exchanger (exhaust heat recovery system) on my 2017 Kia Niro has been diagnosed by an authorized Kia dealership as leaking coolant. The failed component can be available for inspection upon request. This failure poses a serious safety risk. The heat exchanger is part of the vehicle’s cooling system, and when it leaks, the engine can rapidly lose coolant while driving. This can lead to sudden overheating, reduced power, or potential engine shutdown in traffic. A driver may not receive immediate warning, and if the vehicle overheats unexpectedly at highway speeds, it can put both the occupants and surrounding drivers at risk of a collision. Coolant leaking into the exhaust system can also create steam and white smoke that may impair visibility for the driver or other vehicles. The problem has been confirmed by a Kia dealership, which inspected the vehicle and provided a repair estimate of over $3,500 for heat exchanger replacement. The vehicle has not been inspected by the police or insurance representatives. In my case, there were no warning lamps or messages prior to the diagnosis. The vehicle did not illuminate a check-engine light related to the failure or coolant warning, meaning the failure could easily occur without the driver’s knowledge until the engine overheats or loses power while on the road. This lack of warning significantly increases the safety risk. Given the number of owners reporting identical heat-exchanger failures, the high repair cost, and the potential for sudden overheating or power loss, this appears to be a widespread safety-related defect that warrants investigation.

I am experiencing engine issues with my 2017 Kia Niro Touring Launch Edition at approximately 111,000 miles, including engine hesitation and lack of acceleration, along with engine code P0011. These symptoms started suddenly and have made highway driving difficult and potentially unsafe, as I was recently in the mountains unable to exceed 35 mph. This appears to be a widespread issue among 2017 Kia Niro owners, with many reporting CVVT (Continuously Variable Valve Timing) or solenoid failures around 100,000 miles shortly after the powertrain warranty expires suggesting a pattern of premature failure. My car was purchased certified preowned and is still within the 10 year timeframe. No official recall currently exists for this issue, but it should be investigated. Despite submitting service requests and making multiple attempts to contact the dealership to have these recalls addressed, I have received little to no follow up. I have not yet had the engine issue officially diagnosed by a Kia dealer due to lack of response but the pattern of failure and symptoms match what others are experiencing. There has been no crash, fire, or injury at this time, but the combination of the existing fire related recalls and the new engine malfunction creates serious concerns for long term safety and reliability.

Cooling system broke down at 140k miles. Water pump, EHRS failure EGR Cooler. Engine head gasket blown needs engine replacement 144k miles $9000 repair. Problems confirmed by dealership. Engine light never came on for cooling system, water pump coupling repair. Engine light did come on for head gasket and vehicle stopped working.

When I was driving, a propulsion system warning went off. Then a malfunction in the vehicle’s powertrain/propulsion system lit up on the GPS screen. Shortly afterward, the engine began smoking, and a loud popping sound occurred simultaneously. The vehicle then experienced a sudden loss of propulsion, requiring me to pull over immediately to avoid a hazardous situation. An authorized Kia dealer subsequently diagnosed a blown head gasket with internal coolant intrusion, confirming an internal powertrain failure consistent with propulsion system malfunction, and the vehicle became inoperable. The vehicle was inspected in October and the loss-of-propulsion failure occurred in December.

I had some lurching when trying to accelerate for a month before the check engine and HEV warning beeping came on. Kia Niro EGR (Gas Recirculated Cooler) failed at 105K miles. It leaked on to the engine causing it to overheat. My children and I got smoked out and my child had an asthma attack from this issue. We were also stressed, thinking the engine would catch fire. Kia says there are no recalls for my 2017, yet the 2023 has a recall on this exact item. I would like this complaint to be filed due to a part failing 5K miles after a warrenty. The problem was diagnosed by the Kia Dealer. Quote is $1875.

I received a warning indication that the engine temperature is too hot while driving the vehicle to work. I opened the hood of my vehicle and discovered the vehicle’s coolant reservoir was empty which led me to believe there was a coolant leak. I took the vehicle to be inspected and diagnosed by an independent repair shop (non-dealership) and it was explained that there was in fact a coolant leak and it’s because the exhaust heater exchanger is failing. This is a serious safety concern because if there is a coolant leak the vehicle’s engine can overheat causing further and extensive damage to the engine which could result in a fire. Based on research, there have been other cases where this particular year/model vehicle has had or is experiencing issues with the exhaust heater exchange failing. This faulty system is causing customers who own the same year/model vehicle that I drive to either bypass the exhaust heater exchange all together—which I don’t believe is safe to do—or customers are being made to pay a huge bill just to repair the faulty system. My vehicle only has 73,000 miles and this is something that I should not be experiencing especially since Kia is aware of the fault with the exhaust heater exchange on these particular year/model vehicles. Kia should be recalling these vehicles with the faulty system for diagnosis and repair as this is a major safety concern on the road not only for the driver, but also for other motorists as well.

I was driving my car as usual and it began overheating. I took it to the mechanic and they could not find a coolant leak, even though the coolant was all gone. We added more coolant and I was on my way. A few weeks later, the same thing happened. The mechanic said to take it to the dealer because they would need to run a diagnostic. I took it to the dealer and they said there were some new recalls that needed to be repaired that could fix the issue. They did the recalls, I topped off my coolant, and I was on my way. One week later, while picking up my son from school, the engine had a catastrophic failure. This was not only dangerous to me and my kids, but to those around me. The car stopped and refused to start up again mid-driving. I had it towed to the Dealer (Kia of Carson) and they rand diagnostics. A few days later they send me a quote for $10K to replace the engine as well as the muffler system - more than the current market value of the car. The car has just over 70K miles on it, and since I bought it used from Carvana, it was not under Kia's warranty. This is NOT how things should be. They should not be allowed to put vehicles that break down like this and then charge people outrageous amounts for it with no compromise whatsoever. How can the engine be worth more than the whole car? I've talked with Kia customer service and they don't care. I've spent months trying to reason with them, but to no avail. Also, upon research online, there are tens of thousands of Kia Niro (and other kia car model) owners who've had the same problem - overheating that turns into engine failure. This is a systemic problem with a fraudulent company that is destroying the lives of their customers. This experience put my family in danger and has essentially ruined my life since it happened. I hope the NHTSA can do something about this!

I am unsure of what to say about my car. I saw a check oil light flicker and it went away. The car had oil when I checked on it so it didn't seem to be a problem. There was no sign of leakage and no sign of burning oil or fuel. Several days later, the check oil light came on permanently. Before I could get the car anywhere, the car started making a strange sound. I took it to my usual shop. They said it had sprung a spontaneous leak. They said it was a large oil pressure switch leak. They replaced the sensor and added oil. They said there was some damage but that the car was still drivable. I drove the car for a week and then when I was on the highway, the car starting roaring and shaking like I was in an earthquake. The check engine light started blinking. I could not accelerate properly and had to coast to safety on the electric. I was able to use my friends scanner and found 4 misfire codes: PO300-303. My neighbor (a mechanic) looked at the vehicle and said that was damage was internal and was going to need extensive work or a new engine. He didn't have the time to take the vehicle apart so we did not find the true cause and I am now wondering if this is a new safety issues or related to the recall. I did not receive the recall information until recently (I tend to have issues receiving my mail sometimes) and haven't even had time to get to the dealership to check on it. Everyone I have spoken to has said this is how Kia's are and they are not worth purchasing.

My 2017 Kia Niro (hybrid) discharges white smoke and overheats while being driven. I brought it to a reputable mechanic immediately. After an inspection, it was discovered that coolant is leaking into the engine because the heat exchange system is not functioning correctly. There are 6 similar complaints files about the same model vehicle (NHTSA 11561701, 11550994, 11547940, 11442817, 11457565 & 11491873) and many that have not been filed on line but complaints are the same. A Kia dealership said that the part (#28601G5320) is on back order everywhere w/ no availability in sight. This is a $3000-$6000 repair and is ridiculous. No engine lights or indications of anything malfunctioning, this needs to be recalled ASAP!

Car gives digital signal of overheating, white smoke pours out of exhaust but there is no code that allows dealership to diagnose and remedy. This has occurred twice in the last 6 weeks and the car has sat at the dealership for weeks. This problem and inability to repair without a $1,200 exhaust system replacement is well documented on-line [XXX] ] and the dealership is unhelpful. It appears there's a design flaw that allows this to occur and should be remediated by the manufacturer. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Car stalled, overheated due to coolant leaking into car parts which is causing catyllac converter to not work correctly. The issue is not with the catillac converter but the faulty piece that causes coolant leaking. This is a known issue amongst Niro Users. KIA is illegally forcing customers to purchase the most expensive part instead of bypassing so that the heat exchange system doesn’t leak into converter. The same issue affects the EV model which KIA has recalled but they refuse to add the hybrid to the recall list. Please help. The repair is $3,000 and customers that have paid to fix only end up in the same position moths later with the same issue. I reported the issue to KIA and my claim was denied.

EHRS fails, causing coolant leaks & cracked cylinders

The contact owns a 2017 Kia Niro. The contact stated that while her son was driving at an undisclosed speed, he noticed white smoke coming from the exhaust. The contact stated that her son pulled over to input more coolant however, upon starting the vehicle, the coolant immediately drained from the reservoir. Additionally, the contact stated that a burning odor could be detected throughout the vehicle. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that a hole was in the exhaust and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 97,000. The VIN was not available.

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

Active Air flap system error message and check engine light. Error message and check engine light come on and off randomly kind of annoying since I've only had it just over a month and already have to have it go to get repaired