2020 KIA NIRO — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 59 complaints · 3 recalls
Most-reported system: POWER TRAIN (11 complaints · 18.6%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 3
  • Fires 3
  • Injuries 2
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2019 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution POWER TRAIN appears in 11 of 59 owner complaints (18.6%) in this vehicle snapshot. POWER TRAIN: 11 complaints, 18.6% of reports POWER TRAIN 11 · 18.6% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 7 complaints, 11.9% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 7 · 11.9% · 1 fire reports ENGINE: 7 complaints, 11.9% of reports ENGINE 7 · 11.9% FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: 5 complaints, 8.5% of reports FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 5 · 8.5% · 2 crash reports BACK OVER PREVENTION: 3 complaints, 5.1% of reports BACK OVER PREVENTION 3 · 5.1% SERVICE BRAKES: 3 complaints, 5.1% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 3 · 5.1% LANE DEPARTURE: 2 complaints, 3.4% of reports LANE DEPARTURE 2 · 3.4% · 1 crash reports STEERING: 2 complaints, 3.4% of reports STEERING 2 · 3.4% STRUCTURE: 1 complaints, 1.7% of reports STRUCTURE 1 · 1.7% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 24 complaints, 40.7% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 24 · 40.7% · 3 crash reports 2 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
POWER TRAIN 11 18.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 7 11.9% 0 crashes · 1 fires
ENGINE 7 11.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 5 8.5% 2 crashes · 0 fires
BACK OVER PREVENTION 3 5.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 3 5.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
LANE DEPARTURE 2 3.4% 1 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 2 3.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 1 1.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 24 40.7% 3 crashes · 2 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jul 2020; the first recall shown was reported in Dec 2022. 2020-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2021-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2022-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2022-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2022-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2024-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2024-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2024-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2024-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2025-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2025-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2025-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2025-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2026-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2026-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2026-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 Owner reports Jul 2020 Jul 2026 Recall campaign 22V899000 ◆ Recall campaign 22V899000 Recall campaign 23V534000 ◆ Recall campaign 23V534000 Recall campaign 25V426000 ◆ Recall campaign 25V426000 Investigation DP22005 ● Investigation DP22005 Investigation DP22005 ● Investigation DP22005 Investigation DP22005 ● Investigation DP22005
  • Campaign 23V534000 was reported 1,016 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 25V426000 was reported 227 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2020-Q3 Owner reports 1
2020-Q4 Owner reports 2
2021-Q4 Owner reports 3
2022-Q1 Owner reports 2
2022-Q3 Owner reports 3
2022-Q4 Owner reports 1
2023-Q1 Owner reports 1
2023-Q2 Owner reports 1
2023-Q4 Owner reports 6
2024-Q1 Owner reports 6
2024-Q2 Owner reports 2
2024-Q3 Owner reports 2
2024-Q4 Owner reports 4
2025-Q1 Owner reports 2
2025-Q2 Owner reports 4
2025-Q3 Owner reports 3
2025-Q4 Owner reports 3
2026-Q1 Owner reports 5
2026-Q2 Owner reports 6
2026-Q3 Owner reports 2
Recall campaign 1 22V899000
Recall campaign 1 23V534000
Recall campaign 1 25V426000
Defect investigation 1 DP22005
Defect investigation 1 DP22005
Defect investigation 1 DP22005
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (3)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 22V899000

    Report date
    Component:
    ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
    Consequence:
    Coolant contacting the EPCU circuit board may cause a loss of drive power, increasing the risk of a crash.
    Remedy:
    Dealers will inspect and replace the EPCU as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 9, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC258.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 23V534000

    Report date
    Component:
    POWER TRAIN
    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.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 25V426000

    Report date
    Component:
    BACK OVER PREVENTION
    Consequence:
    A rearview image that does not display reduces the driver's view of what is behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
    Remedy:
    Dealers will replace the rearview camera, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 7, 2025. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC342.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 59 complaints · page 1 of 3

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources