CSR

Kia · NHTSA safety record

2025 Kia Niro

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

Owners have filed 17 safety complaints about the 2025 Kia Niro with the US government. Of those, 2 describe a crash and no death is recorded. One recall campaign is open against it, covering the seats.

The most complained-about system is the electrical system, named in 3 complaints, 18% of the total.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers March 2025 to September 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

17 complaints on file

17

Complaints

2

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

0

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 8 · 47%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 3 · 18%
SUSPENSION 3 · 18%
ENGINE 2 · 12%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 2 · 12%
AIR BAGS 1 · 6%
POWER TRAIN 1 · 6%
SEAT BELTS 1 · 6%
STEERING 1 · 6%
TIRES 1 · 6%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 · 6%
WHEELS 1 · 6%
0 4 8

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 17.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2026 at 11.

12 9 6 3
25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2025 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2025 Kia NIRO, and it is a separate question from what owners report going wrong later.

Test SUV FWD
Overall
Frontal crash
Frontal, driver
Frontal, passenger
Side crash
Side barrier
Side pole
Rollover
Chance of rollover 11.8%
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard

A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.

Recall campaigns

1 on file

SEATS

25V024000 · January 17, 2025

The defect
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023-2025 Niro EV, Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV), and Hybrid vehicles. The floor wiring assembly beneath the front passenger seat may become damaged, which can prevent the front air bags and seat belts from deploying properly or cause an unintended side curtain air bag deployment.
The risk
Air bags and seat belts that deploy improperly or an air bag deploying unintentionally can increase the risk of injury in a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect, replace and reroute the floor wiring assembly, as necessary, free of charge. In addition, dealers will install wiring covers. Owner notification letters were mailed February 27, 2025. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC332.

Kia America, Inc. · up to 80,255 vehicles across all model years covered

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

crash · 35,000 miles

The contact leased a 2025 Kia Niro. The contact was stopped at a traffic light during the night. When the light changed, the contact was partially turning when the other vehicle slammed into the contact's vehicle. No injuries were reported. The contact stated that the front collision sensor failed. The contact was not warned of the impending collision. The driver-side and passenger-side air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was taken to the collision center. A police report was filed. The contact believed that the sensor failed in the evening and worked as intended during the daytime. The insurance company was notified of the accident. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The

NHTSA complaint 11736086, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My car was shifted into drive but when I press accelerate my car went backwards. I’ve reported this to kia numerous times and they refuse to fix it

NHTSA complaint 11763276. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

TIRES
The vehicle began shaking violently on the Florida Turnpike, and the factory-installed tire completely separated from the factory rim at highway speeds. This was a life-threatening equipment failure on a brand-new vehicle fully covered under Kia’s 5-year/60,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty. The vehicle is at the dealership awaiting repairs. The tire size is 205/60R16

NHTSA complaint 11757072. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SUSPENSION
Finally got car back from previous repairs and it was making a loud groaning noise all the time. Took it back to dealership and they said they had to repair the rack and pinion system and the gears were shredded. Employee says they now have another niro with the same problem as my original symptoms when transmission was replaced twice. Car has consistently had problems with the RPMs being incredibly high at low speeds but the dealership can’t seem to replicate the problem. Car randomly switched over to manual mode after a long drive. Video of problems given to employee and just said he’s going to give them to his field technician. Car has now been at the dealer for over 4 months and was

NHTSA complaint 11752437, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Re: Driver Safety Downgrade Stemming from Recent Software Update Complicating Tire Pressure Display Accessibility I am writing as the owner of a 2025 Kia Niro HEV to express my concerns regarding a recent software update that altered how tire pressure information is accessed on the instrument cluster. Prior to the update, tire pressures were available through the steering wheel page button, allowing drivers to view this safety-critical information with a single press and a quick glance. After the update, the tire pressure screen was removed from the page sequence and relocated into a deeper Vehicle Information submenu that requires multiple button presses and menu navigation. This change

NHTSA complaint 11751226, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SUSPENSION
I purchased this vehicle new from the dealer last year. The second time I went to them for an oil change the tires were worn out oddly and needed to be replaced. They said the car needed an alignment that I had to pay for. I purchased replacement tires from another shop and had the alignment paid for at another shop. The dealer refused any responsibility. This vehicle has not been in any accidents and miles driven are highway miles

NHTSA complaint 11748421. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Transmission was replaced but then completely shut down as I was making a right turn. Multiple indicators on dash went off and safety errors kept scrolling across dash. Vehicle then wouldn’t shift at all. TCM was replaced but vehicle has high RPMs at low speeds. Has been at the dealership now for over 90 days.

NHTSA complaint 11744906. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Kia Niro

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2024 10 1 —
2023 44 2 —
2022 31 1 —
2021 9 1 —
2020 39 1 —
2019 56 1 1
2018 60 3 —
2017 82 4 —

Other 2025 Kia models

Every Kia on this site — 181 vehicles.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst