Kia bulletin SC273B_DP
What it saysVOLUNTARY SERVICE CAMPAIGN: DEALER PRINCIPAL MEMO - This document is the announcement to the dealer principals that Kia is conducting a Voluntary Service Campaign to upgrade the Vehicle Control Unit ("VCU") software… NHTSA’s full summary ↓
Kia filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated Aug 21, 2023, received Aug 24, 2023, about the service brakes. It names 1 model year (2023). A service bulletin is not a safety recall: it is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a condition, and whether the work is paid for depends on the warranty in force. Quoting the number at a service desk can save a diagnosis.
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What the bulletin says
Source: NHTSA's summary of the manufacturer's communicationWhat it applies to, as the document itself states it — the build window in the manufacturer’s own words, read by machine from the PDF NHTSA serves. The build date is on the certification label in the driver’s door jamb; the dealer settles a borderline vehicle by its VIN.
VOLUNTARY SERVICE CAMPAIGN: DEALER PRINCIPAL MEMO - This document is the announcement to the dealer principals that Kia is conducting a Voluntary Service Campaign to upgrade the Vehicle Control Unit ("VCU") software logic in certain 2023 MY Niro EV vehicles manufactured from July 11, 2022 through June 30, 2023. Kia is conducting this Voluntary Service Campaign to improve the VCU software logic so that the vehicleâs brake lights illuminate during i-Pedal mode when the vehicle reaches a certain deceleration threshold, even if the driver does not release the accelerator pedal fully or depress the brake pedal.
Document filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SC273B_DP | Service bulletin | Aug 21, 2023 | 10241191 | PDF, 56 KB |
The summary is NHTSA’s abstract of the document, as filed under 49 CFR 579.5. One communication is usually filed as several documents — the bulletin, a dealer notice, an owner letter — and the number on any of them finds this page. A PDF link is shown only once NHTSA’s own server has been seen to serve that document; the rest are checked over the following nights. Quote the number at a service desk; it is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Model years it names
Source: as the manufacturer filed themA vehicle page’s bulletin list shows the newest few communications filed against that model year; the count there is every one.
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What owners reported
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseOwners of the 1 model year this bulletin names have filed 65 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 23 of them name Electrical System — the same broad component group this bulletin is filed under. NHTSA groups complaints coarsely, so that means the same area of the vehicle, not necessarily the same fault.
Check electric vehicle system warning light indicator illuminates and car stops driving on highway! A/C and defrost won't work properly and when turned on causes the above warning light and malfunction. Car will not charge at "fast" charging stations and will leave you stranded on highway.
2023 Kia Niro · Electrical System · filed with NHTSA Jun 15, 2026 · ODI 11744166
A complaint is one owner’s account, not a defect finding, and a bulletin is not a recall. Nothing here says this bulletin was issued because of these complaints, or that the repair it describes fixed them. Complaint files on this site begin in 2015.
More bulletins about the service brakes
Source: same model, same component group3 other manufacturer communications filed against the Kia Niro under the same component group (service brakes), newest first.
| Number | Kind | Dated | NHTSA’s summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| SC321 | Service campaign | Aug 21, 2025 | TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN: VOLUNTARY SERVICE CAMPAIGN: IEB INSPECTION AND WATER PROOFING OR IEB REPLACEMENT (SC321) - This bulletin has bee… |
| SC273B_QA | Service bulletin | Sep 6, 2023 | VOLUNTARY SERVICE CAMPAIGN: OWNER NOTIFICATION - This document is the owner notification advising that Kia America, Inc. is conducting a Vol… |
| SC273B_DPSM | Service bulletin | Aug 21, 2023 | VOLUNTARY SERVICE CAMPAIGN: DEALER PARTS AND SERVICE MANAGER MEMO - This document is the announcement to the dealer Parts and Service Manage… |
Quote the number at the service desk. It is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Every manufacturer communication NHTSA holds for Kia, by the number printed on the letter.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR 579.5Is Kia SC273B_DP a recall?
No. A service bulletin is a manufacturer communication filed with NHTSA under 49 CFR 579.5; a safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number (two digits, a letter, six digits) and a federal duty to repair for free. Check the vehicle’s recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, or on its page here.
Is the SC273B_DP repair free?
Not automatically. A service bulletin describes how to diagnose or repair a condition; who pays depends on the warranty in force, any extension, and the dealer. Quoting the number can save a diagnosis either way. Every Kia warranty extension on file lists the ones Kia has filed.
Which vehicles does SC273B_DP cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 1 model year: 2023 Kia Niro. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone. The document itself sets the build window: 2023 MY Niro EV: built 11 Jul 2022 – 30 Jun 2023 — the build date is on the certification label in the driver’s door jamb.