2026 Kia Ev9 problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Electrical System (7) · Wheels (3) · Visibility/Wiper (3)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Kia Ev9 model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (2)
Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification:front Passenger 2026-08-21 · campaign 26V545000 · 21,290 vehicles
Defect: Kia America, Inc (Kia) is recalling certain 2025-2026 EV9 vehicles. Due to improper routing, the Occupant Detection System (ODS) may not deactivate the air bag when a child or child seat is in the front passenger seat. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
Risk: A child in the front seat may be at a greater risk of injury if the air bag deploys during a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the ODS mat and bladder tube with a new one and ensure proper routing as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters will be mailed beginning October 20, 2026. Owners may contact Kia Customer Service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC379. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov on September 4, 2026.
Electrical System: Instrument Cluster/Panel 2026-01-26 · campaign 26V046000 · 42,677 vehicles
Defect: Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2025 Kia K4, 2025-2026 Sorento, Sorento Hybrid, Sorento Plug-In Hybrid Electric (PHEV), 2026 Sportage, Sportage Hybrid, Sportage PHEV, K5, EV9, Carnival, and Carnival Hybrid vehicles. Due to a software error, the instrument panel display may fail. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) numbers 101, "Controls and Displays" and 138, "Tire Pressure Monitoring System."
Risk: An instrument panel display that fails to show critical safety information, such as the speedometer, tire pressure, or warning lights, increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: The instrument panel display software will be updated over-the-air (OTA) or by a dealer, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed March 26, 2026. Owners may contact Kia Customer Service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC361. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov on February 9, 2026.
Service bulletins (42)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Fuel/Propulsion System 2026-09-16 · PS814 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this pitstop provides information related to electric vehicle (ev) charging on 2024 - 2026my ev9 (mv1, mv1a) vehicles. in some cases, high-voltage charging performance may be limited or inoperative and accompanied by an illuminated malfunction indicator lamp (mil) with dtc p343a98 stored. this condi
Electrical System 2026-09-01 · PI2601B_OWNR · Other
product improvement campaign: owner notification (pi2601b) - this document is the owner notification advising that kia is conducting a product improvement campaign on all 2024-2025 my and certain 2026 my ev9 vehicles to install enhanced windshield wiper software that provides drivers with additional
Electrical System 2026-09-01 · PI2601B_OM_Leaf · Other
product improvement campaign: owner's manual insert leaflet (pi2601b) - this document is the pi2601b owner's manual insert leaflet that contains revised information for wipers. vehicle owners are advised to keep this leaflet with the owner's manual.
Electrical System 2026-08-22 · PI2601B_TSB · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
technical service bulletin: product improvement campaign: wiper message logic improvement (pi2601b) - this bulletin provides information to install enhanced windshield wiper software on certain 2024–2026my ev9 (mv1, mv1a) vehicles as listed.
Electrical System 2026-08-20 · PI2601B_QA · Other
product improvement campaign: question and answer (pi2601b) - this document is the question and answer guide containing the most frequently asked questions regarding the product improvement campaign pi2601b.
Electrical System 2026-08-20 · PI2601B_DPSM · Other
product improvement campaign: dealer parts and service manager memo (pi2601b) - this document is the announcement to the dealer parts and service managers advising that kia is conducting a a product improvement campaign on all 2024-2025 my and certain 2026 my ev9 vehicles, manufactured from septembe
Showing the 6 most recent of 42 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-08 · Power Train“brand new car completely died after one month. the check ev system light came on while driving, could smell burning plastic smell. vehicle went into limp mode on road and had to be towed to service center. at the service center all power in the vehicle went off and the car could not be driven. service center diagnosed and reproduced the issue. act…”
2026-09-27 · Visibility/Wiper“the digital rearview mirror system intermittently fails while in use. the image in the rearview mirror will start flickering and eventually go completely black while driving. the system has been inspected and serviced multiple times by the dealership under warranty but the problem keeps recurring.…”
2026-09-25 · Suspension“parts near the rear left suspension area fell off and landed on the inside rear left wheel while driving in i-405. wheels have never been removed for by reason before this incident after purchasing the car. car only has 7724 miles on the odometer. …”
2026-09-12 · Unknown Or Other“so i called kia about this, but i wanted my report to appear here too. back in february, my right foot was run over by my car. it was an accident. i had gotten out of the driver's passenger side to check on something that was making noises. the person who ran my foot over didn't realize i was out of the car, and there was no warning; there was no n…”
2026-09-10 · Structure:body“i was sold a vehicle with a manufacturer defect. at purchase there was a loud wind noise coming from sunroof. i was promised a swift service department visit to realign the sunroof. at service visit ten days later the dealership replaced sunroof and threw electrical error codes b271100. after a specialist over rode the error the dealership claimed …”
2026-08-31 · Air Bags · 1,200 mi · 💥 crash“the contact owns a 2026 kia ev9. the contact stated that while driving 25 mph and accelerating through a four-way intersection after a complete stop, the vehicle was t-boned on the front passenger’s side by another vehicle that had ran the stop sign. the passenger’s side air bags deployed as expected, and the driver’s side air bag also deployed, ca…”
2026-08-28 · Wheels“i am reporting a total of 6 failed lug bolts on the rear tires of a 2026 kia ev9 gt-line within 1 year of ownership. this vehicle was purchased in aug 2025 as a new vehicle from a kia dealership. in march 2026, vehicle was brought for it's 8000 miles service at a kia dealership. at the time the vehicle had 9336 miles. during tire rotation, serv…”
2026-08-15 · Vehicle Speed Control · 💥 crash“the car was being parked in a shopping lot. as the drive was pulling into the parking spot, the car lurched forward on its own and hit the wall. the gas pedal was not pressed. no collision sensors were triggered either. unclear if related but the car was taken in for maintenance and recall updates the week prior to this accident.…”
2026-07-28 · Wheels“the oem hankook ion tires (285/45r21) on my 2026 kia ev9 gt line experienced acoustic foam delamination — the sound-dampening foam bonded to the interior liner of the tire separated and is moving freely inside the tire at highway speeds. at speeds above 55mph the steering wheel and car start to vibrate. at 70mph the vehicle becomes undrivable and …”
2026-07-25 · Unknown Or Other“beginning at approximately 104 miles (shortly after delivery at 75 miles), this vehicle exhibits a persistent vibration felt through the steering wheel, seat, and floorboard at highway speeds — specifically beginning around 55 mph, again at 61–63 mph, and most noticeably between 68–74 mph. a second defect involves rear-end instability where the rea…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.