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Transmission and drivetrainPart report

2019 Kia Niro Transmission and drivetrain Problems

Complaints
22about this part
Share
39%of 56 total for the year
Median mileage
54,700miles
Trend
RisingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% higher than in the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 22 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 2019 Kia Niro, 39% of the 56 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 54,700 miles. 1 recall campaign on record is filed under a similar system.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“When I was going to la using 110 express lane. Car stop unpredictably totally and I parked the car left side 110 express lane. I was stayed 3 hours until tow coming.”

NHTSA complaint #11317160, filed 2020-03, 12,000 miles

“Since november of 2020, our NIRO has been at a Kia service center 12 times at 4 different dealerships in a desperate attempt to get our NIRO to replicate, what I think is another transmission issue, during the mile or two the tech test-drives the vehicle for diagnosis. When I am coming to a complete stop, once in a while I hear a very loud bang or a momentary loud scraping noise as if a metal spatula is being swiftly dragged across a slab of concrete. When this occurs, the car also seems to lunge forward as if I am slipping on ice or wet leaves. …”

NHTSA complaint #11413613, filed 2021-04, 54,700 miles

“The consumer rented a 2019 Kia NIRO. The consumer stated that when the vehicle was started and placed in reverse, the vehicle moved forward without warning. The gear shift indicator displayed that the vehicle was in reverse at the time of the failure. The vehicle was returned to the rental company. The dealer and manufacturer were not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 9,000. The VIN was unknown.”

NHTSA complaint #11269378, filed 2019-10, 9,000 miles

“I’ve had this repaired by Kia and immediately failed again, but a component to the alternator and ac unit is attached to the drive train and will cause an alarm that hybrid battery failure and sudden power loss(they told me this with the first “fix” but failed within an hour of leaving Kia. It’s happened again tonight and nearly caused a crash on the freeway and I’ve seen many others with this issue and I want to drive my kid home safely so any help would be wonderful with this issue. Thank you!!”

NHTSA complaint #11551515, filed 2023-10

“On August 22nd, I was driving from the grocery story to my house (5 miles away) when the transmission started failing only going on 2nd gear and the check engine light came on, when I got home, I called my mechanic and he connected his code reader to my card and the error code is P090B$07E9 Clutch B actuator control circuit performance error, he told me that Kia motors had an open recall for the clutch actuator, I called the Kia dealer to make an appointment for August 26th I told them the issue with my car and they told me they will check that error, it took two weeks for them to return my…”

NHTSA complaint #11764701, filed 2026-09

Related recalls

Related service bulletins

Transmission and drivetrain: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
202516%
2024220%
2023614%
2022413%
2021333%
2020821%
20192239%
20181932%
20171923%

Other parts of the 2019 Kia Niro

Electrical system
13 complaints
Brakes
10 complaints
Engine
10 complaints
Fuel system
8 complaints
Other or unknown
6 complaints
Engine cooling
4 complaints
Air bags
2 complaints
Back-over prevention (rear camera)
2 complaints
Steering
2 complaints
Vehicle speed control
2 complaints
Exterior lighting
1 complaints
Forward collision avoidance
1 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2019 Kia Niro

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology