Thinking of buying a 2021 Niro EV… is it a good idea?

Hi everyone, I’m considering getting a 2021 Niro EV with 22,000 miles. I feel fairly confident about EVs but don’t know a lot about this specific model.

The battery warranty is likely expired, and I’d be buying it outright. Are there any issues or problems with this model that I should watch out for? Would love your advice.

The battery should still be covered under the 10-year warranty in the US. You might want to watch out for gear noise, which tends to show up after higher mileage. Mine didn’t have any issues until I hit 60,000 miles. It’s a solid car, though. That was the only problem I had.

I bought a used 2019 Niro EV in 2023. Check Kia’s warranty details, but the 100,000-mile/10-year battery warranty should still cover you as the second owner.

The powertrain warranty (60,000 miles) saved me when the traction motor had a fault. Kia replaced it for free.

I use Recurrent to track battery health, and everything looks good so far. One thing to note: parts like the air conditioner compressor or mirrors can take 2-3 weeks to replace, so plan for some downtime if repairs are needed.

In short, it’s a good car with decent warranties, but factor in time for major repairs.

I got a 2021 ex-lease Niro with 46,000 miles. In the UK, the battery has a 10-year/100,000-mile warranty, and the car warranty is 7 years. The biggest problem to watch for is the motor issue, often called the ‘wheel of fortune.’ Mine developed it, but it’s covered under warranty, and I’m getting a free replacement motor next week.

I’ve had no other problems in the year I’ve owned it. The 12V battery might fail eventually, but it’s a cheap fix (around £100). Service costs are low—my last one was £100.

I love the remote climate feature. While others scrape frost, my car is warm and ready. Hope that helps.

@Niko
This is super helpful. Do you know roughly when the motor issue tends to show up? I’m hoping it would fail within the warranty period if it’s going to happen.

Also, was it easy to transfer the warranty? The one I’m looking at is ex-lease and seems to have had only one owner. I assume it has full service history, but I’ll confirm since it’s probably a warranty requirement.

@Wynter
The motor issue can happen at any time, so it’s definitely better if it happens while under warranty since it’s an expensive fix (about £10,000). The warranty transfers with the car, but it must have full service history. It doesn’t have to be done at a Kia dealership, but if a third party does it, they need to use Kia parts and provide invoices with part numbers as proof. My car was serviced at Kia, so I didn’t have to worry about that. Also, keep the service book safe, as it’s usually the only way to prove warranty status.

@Niko
We almost bought a Niro EV recently. How does the remote climate control work? Is it through an app?

Sorry, this is our first Kia and EV.

Clive said:
@Niko
We almost bought a Niro EV recently. How does the remote climate control work? Is it through an app?

Sorry, this is our first Kia and EV.

Yes, you control it using the app.

I got a 2020 Niro with over 80,000 miles. After trading in my 2017 Subaru Forester and factoring in rebates, I actually ended up $3,250 ahead.

When I first got it, the car calculated a range of 327 miles after learning my driving habits. The battery seems like it hasn’t degraded at all. So far, I haven’t run into any major issues.

@Harlan
Wait, 327 miles? That can’t be right. Isn’t the original range 237 miles?

Noor said:
@Harlan
Wait, 327 miles? That can’t be right. Isn’t the original range 237 miles?

Yeah, it’s true. I’ll admit it surprised me too. I can get close to 300 miles on a full charge. Maybe Kia underestimated their range specs?

@Harlan
That’s amazing Congrats on the unreal range. I wish my EV could do that.

Alitzel said:
@Harlan
That’s amazing! Congrats on the unreal range. I wish my EV could do that.

I’ve hit almost 300 miles as well. I think Kia played it safe when they gave their range numbers.

@Tatum
Yeah, but running the heat in winter drops it down to around 220 miles. It’s likely based on your usage patterns.

@Harlan
I drive carefully and once managed to get close to 290 miles. I think it depends on how you use the car.