The 2018 Kia Niro Phev has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 121,411 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 24 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the power train. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
POWER TRAIN23V5340002023-07-31121,411 affected
Defect
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2017-2022 Niro and 2018-2022 Niro Plug-in Hybrid vehicles. Fluid may leak into the printed circuit board inside the hydraulic clutch actuator, which can result in an engine compartment fire.
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.
Complaints by component
POWER TRAIN
6
ENGINE
4
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
2
STRUCTURE:BODY
2
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
2
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
2
AIR BAGS
1
1crashes
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)
1
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
1
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
1
Total complaints24
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Year/make/model: 2018 kia niro hybrid mileage at time of incident: approximately 69,000 component: hybrid propulsion system / powertrain my 2018 kia niro hybrid has experienced five recurring "hybrid system failure — turn off engine" errors occurring without warning while the vehicle was being…”
“Year/make/model: 2018 kia niro hybrid mileage at time of incident: approximately 69,000 component: hybrid propulsion system / powertrain my 2018 kia niro hybrid has experienced five recurring "hybrid system failure — turn off engine" errors occurring without warning while the vehicle was being…”
“Year/make/model: 2018 kia niro hybrid mileage at time of incident: approximately 69,000 component: hybrid propulsion system / powertrain my 2018 kia niro hybrid has experienced five recurring "hybrid system failure — turn off engine" errors occurring without warning while the vehicle was being…”
“I received kia letter about the recall sc276 for hca issue around 1/15/24. I brought my 2018 kia niro phev to kia dealer in san jose. They inspected and concluded that the vehicle is safe with the recall sc276. However, they did not replace the fuse as stated in kia's recall instructions. Ten days…”
“I received kia letter about the recall sc276 for hca issue around 1/15/24. I brought my 2018 kia niro phev to kia dealer in san jose. They inspected and concluded that the vehicle is safe with the recall sc276. However, they did not replace the fuse as stated in kia's recall instructions. Ten days…”
“I received kia letter about the recall sc276 for hca issue around 1/15/24. I brought my 2018 kia niro phev to kia dealer in san jose. They inspected and concluded that the vehicle is safe with the recall sc276. However, they did not replace the fuse as stated in kia's recall instructions. Ten days…”
“I was driving myself and two passengers on a highway at night in the rain. I was using the adaptive cruise control and was maintaining speed when I went through a puddle and I think the car hydroplaned a little. A warning sign flashed up on the dash that said something towards "deactivating cruise…”
“I was driving myself and two passengers on a highway at night in the rain. I was using the adaptive cruise control and was maintaining speed when I went through a puddle and I think the car hydroplaned a little. A warning sign flashed up on the dash that said something towards "deactivating cruise…”
Defect investigations
InvestigationDP22005 Opened 2023-01-27 · closed 2023-08-07
Pedestrian alert sounds
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2018 Kia Niro Phev as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
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