Selling a junk Kia Niro
Any Niro sells for scrap or parts, running or not. Below: what owners report most often for each model year, the recalls on file, and which of those change the offer. Enter your ZIP for a buyer near you.
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What owners report about the Kia Niro
NHTSA has 411 owner complaints on file for the Kia Niro, model years 2017 to 2022, the 418th-most of the 423 models in our data. The most-reported components are transmission and drivetrain (75, 18%), engine (73, 18%), electrical system (71, 17%). 29 complaints involved a crash, 17 a fire, and 54 say the vehicle had to be towed. The median mileage when the problem was reported is 57,350 miles. The 2017 model year has the most complaints (124). Data as of 2026-10-12.
When the top complaint is transmission and drivetrain, the question for a seller is whether a buyer will resell the car, pull the parts or scrap it. Read our guide to selling a car with a bad transmission: it explains which offers assume the part works and how to describe the car so the price holds at pickup.
Kia Niro by model year
| Year | Complaints | Most reported | Crash | Fire | Recalls | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 124 | Engine | 4 | 10 | 4 | 50,500 |
| 2018 | 85 | Transmission and drivetrain | 7 | 0 | 3 | — |
| 2019 | 87 | Transmission and drivetrain | 6 | 3 | 1 | 61,473 |
| 2020 | 57 | Engine | 4 | 4 | 1 | — |
| 2021 | 12 | Transmission and drivetrain | 1 | 0 | 1 | — |
| 2022 | 46 | Brakes | 7 | 0 | 1 | — |
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not confirmed defects. Median miles is the odometer reading owners gave when they reported a problem, shown only where 20 or more reports include it.
Kia Niro recalls
NHTSA lists 4 recall campaigns across these model years, most often for hybrid system (3), transmission and drivetrain (1). Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer. Before you sell, check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls; a buyer who plans to resell the car will.
- 2017 model year, transmission and drivetrain (campaign 23V534000, Jul 2023): 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 co…
- 2017 model year, hybrid system (campaign 22V836000, Nov 2022): Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Kia Niro hybrid electric vehicles previously recalled under recall 18V-666. The Main Relay within the Power Relay Assembly (PRA) may have inadequate connections bet…
- 2017 model year, hybrid system (campaign 18V666000, Sep 2018): Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Kia Niro hybrid electric vehicles. The Main Relay within the Power Relay Assembly (PRA) may have inadequate connections between its contacts, causing increased elec…
- 2017 model year, hybrid system (campaign 18V257000, Apr 2018): Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2017 Kia Niro vehicles. The Hydraulic Clutch Actuator (HCA) inner oil seal may leak, allowing oil to accumulate in the cap area, possibly resulting in an electrical short.
What a Kia Niro is worth as a junk car
Buyers price a junk Niro on four things: its weight at today's scrap steel price (the floor), the parts still on it that can be resold, whether it starts and drives, and how far they have to tow it. None of those come from a complaint database, so use this page to describe the car accurately and our junk car value guide to work out a ceiling for the metal. Then get more than one offer.
Guides for selling this car
How to sell a car with a bad transmission 
How much is my junk car worth? 
How junkyards price cars 
Catalytic converters and junk cars 
How to prepare your car for the junkyard 
Junk car scams and how to avoid them Other Kia models
- Kia Sorento 13,706
- Kia Optima 10,428
- Kia Soul 7,471
- Kia Sportage 6,286
- Kia Forte 3,488
- Kia Sedona 3,423
- Kia Sephia 3,052
- Kia Rio 1,802
Questions people ask
- What is a junk Kia Niro worth?
- What a yard can recover: the car's weight at the current scrap steel price, plus parts it can resell (the catalytic converter, engine, transmission and wheels if they're good), minus towing and processing. The same Niro gets different offers from different buyers, so compare at least two. Our value guide shows the public benchmark.
- Will a junkyard buy a Kia Niro that doesn't run?
- Yes. Junkyards and junk car buyers take cars that don't start, and most arrange the tow. Tell them honestly whether it starts, whether the engine and transmission are still in it, and whether the catalytic converter is on; those are what change the price.
- Should I fix an open recall before selling a Kia Niro?
- Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer for as long as the car exists. If the car is going for scrap, the repair won't change the scrap price. If a buyer might resell it or pull parts, a completed recall can help. Check your VIN at NHTSA's recall lookup first.
- Where do these Kia Niro numbers come from?
- From the complaint and recall data NHTSA publishes for every make and model, counted by model year on 2026-10-12. A complaint is an owner's report, not a confirmed defect, and the count rises with how many of the model were sold.