Kia EV9 Complaints

245 consumer complaints on file.

#11684428September 2, 2025
STEERING
Within six months of purchase, the power steering on my 2025 Kia EV9 failed while I was driving, creating a sudden and dangerous loss of steering control. I brought the vehicle to the Kia dealership for repair, but it was returned to me without the problem being resolved. On the very first drive after service, the power steering failed again. This is a recurring safety defect that poses a serious risk to me, my family, and other drivers. The vehicle is unsafe to operate until the root cause is identified and repaired properly.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11684348September 1, 2025
VISIBILITY/WIPER
We just left the dealership in our new 2026 Kia EV 9 with 14 miles on it and as we were driving home the passenger windshield wiper started to make a loud banging sound when it would return to it ‘a starting position. We turned the wipers off and then turned them back on just to have the passenger one go half way a few times and then stopped working altogether. We live in Vero Beach Florida and this took place at [XXX]. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11684238September 1, 2025
SUSPENSION, WHEELS
1. When I go over bumps, the car behaves as if it's about to lose control. It porpoises and at one point it feels like you're about to lose control of the vehicle. 2. We have taken the vehicle to the dealer 3+ times now for the same issue. They claim that it's a glitch in the suspension but there is no know fix. At 55+MPH the vehicle starts vibrating and is completely different than issue number 1 above. They've tried balancing the tires but it has not been Successful. We're hoping to claim the car and Lemon through WI.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11684001August 29, 2025
POWER TRAIN, SERVICE BRAKES
The Kia EV9 Wind I bought several days ago worked fine for a couple of days with a slight vibration, but yesterday I experienced 3 incidents. 1. As I was coming to a full stop at a stop sign, there was a mild grinding noise from the rear of the vehicle. 2. I continued for 100 yards and came to a stop light and the car made a louder grinding sound of gears grinding as I was coming to a full braking stop. 3. I continued for about 1/2 mile. As I was coming to a stop at a stop light, there was a very loud grinding sound from the back of the car, like gears were being stripped, and the vehicle came to a full stop. At that point I was in the middle lane of a busy 3 lane road. I jumped out to inspect and saw nothing. I continued through the intersection and immediately pulled into a parking lot. I got out to inspect and there was a very strong burning smell coming from the driver side rear wheel well. I did not smell it on the passenger side rear wheel well. I had it towed to the nearby Kia dealership, and left it. This morning the dealership reported the initial diagnosis showed that the emergency brakes were activated while I was driving and they would report back later today on further diagnosis. They said the brake pads and rotors may need to be replaced and they would need to determine why the emergency brakes activated while I was driving. When I told them I was equally concerned about the grinding sound and the possibility of stripped gears, they replied that Kia Corporate does not pay them to explore potential problems that are not visible or obvious. My main concern is that there may be stripped gears to be replaced in addition to a software or other fix to prevent the emergency brakes from activating while driving. They also reported to me that there were 2 notifications with updates that had not been performed. One was for a software update for the rear powertrain and the other was for a sunroof issue and they would perform both.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11683737August 28, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Received the following warning on 8/16 with 6987 miles on the car: Critical EV Battery Warning Your EV Battery has a critical issue. Contact Roadside Assistance as soon as possible. Car has been in the dealership for a week with "no estimated repair timeline" due to the battery cells failing. Car will not fully charge and is at risk of suddenly losing power and stopping, per the dealer.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11682293August 22, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
While driving, the vehicle suddenly lost power and could not accelerate normally. The speed dropped and got stuck around 12–25 mph even when pressing the accelerator. This happened multiple times, usually during hot daytime conditions. It created a serious safety risk, and one time another car almost hit me from behind because my vehicle slowed down so suddenly. The dealer has inspected the car several times but said they could not reproduce the problem. Warning messages such as “Power Limited” appeared on the dashboard when the failure occurred. I also recorded multiple videos of the problem when it happened.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11677670July 31, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The instrument display panel goes black and you can’t see speedometer or hear turn signals etc.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11676306July 25, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The car battery cells are defective and would not charge above 60%. After faulting on electrical vehicle alarm instrument panel sometimes may show false battery state of charge.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11676269July 25, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
I was driving and the car suddenly gave a number of error messages, and I could not drive above 40 miles an hour on the freeway. This was very unsafe. I had it towed to the dealership and they replaced the ICCU Unit, which appears to be a very common problem with Hyundai/Kia electric vehicles. The ICCU unit does not power the car. It should not have affected the car's performance.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11676249July 25, 2025
SEATS
The contact owns a 2024 Kia EV9. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the front driver's side seat detached from the frame. Due to the failure, the contact was unable to reach the brake pedal, and almost lost control of the vehicle. In addition, the contact’s mother and minor children were also occupants of the vehicle at the time of the failure. The contact was now concerned about the safety of the vehicle and was afraid to drive the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was determined that all the seats inside the vehicle had detached from the frame due to fractured bolts. The contact was informed that the bolts needed to be torqued. The vehicle was repaired. The failure first occurred immediately after the vehicle was purchased. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 6.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11671190July 3, 2025
SUSPENSION, WHEELS
When traveling at highway speeds the rear suspension is not capable of handling road imperfections. When a pot hole or other disturbance occurs, the rear end of the vehicle violently porpoises and swing back and forth. This is made even more obvious when taking a long sweeping curves at 55 plus. It causes the entire chassis to become very upset. I have never had a car do this.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11670218June 30, 2025
SUSPENSION
The contact owned a 2024 Kia EV9. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, several warning lights illuminated, and the vehicle lost automotive power. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a failed rear inverter. The contact was informed that the rear inverter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The failure reoccurred. The vehicle was towed back to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed rear inverter again. The contact was informed that the rear inverter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The failure reoccurred. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, several unknown warning lights illuminated, and the vehicle lost motive power. In addition, the contact noticed smoke exiting from the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the road. The local fire department arrived and extinguished the fire. The contact was unofficially informed that the fire seemed to have started from the rear of the vehicle. The contact stated that the replacement of the rear inverted was performed three times prior to the fire. The last replacement of the rear inverter was performed just a few days prior to the fire. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was filed. In addition, the contact stated that prior to the vehicle fire, the contact was in negotiations regarding the vehicle's back. The failure mileage was approximately 10,600.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11669841June 27, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
I was driving around 60-65 mph on the highway when suddenly a warning alarm went off and the warning light read “stop vehicle and check brake system”. I took my foot off the accelerator and car continued to maintain speed. The power brakes did not work. I put the car into neutral hoping that would slow it down, but it continued to maintain speed. I went into the right lane and put on my hazards. When I had the opportunity to pull into the breakdown lane, I did so and was able to push the brake pedal manually and get the car to stop, and turn it off. When I turned the car back on again, I got the same warnings and alarms. After 5-10 minutes, when I turned the car on, everything seemed to have cleared. I still had the car towed to KIA to investigate the issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11667417June 17, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2024 Kia EV9. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the instrument panel went blank. The vehicle was restarted, and the instrument panel returned to normal functionality. The contact stated while charging the vehicle at the residence, the notification “Connected” was displayed and then the “Disconnected” notification was displayed on the Kia App on the contact’s cellphone. While the contact was driving the vehicle, the same notifications were displayed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that the message "There may be problem with the Battery Management System - If the following occurs; Please contact your nearest service center or designated maintenance center". The contact also received notifications through the Kia App for NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V757000 (Electrical System) and 24V962000 (Seats) recalls. The contact had taken the vehicle to a dealer and was informed that the vehicle needed to stay overnight to be diagnosed and to perform the recall repairs. The contact then received an email the next day that the dealer failed to diagnose the failure and that the failure would be escalated to a technician provided by the manufacturer. The contact then called the dealer where the information was confirmed. The contact was informed that the vehicle would remain with the dealer for three to four months. The dealer was unable to provide a loaner vehicle due to a shortage of available vehicles. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired and remained in the possession of the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 12,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11667057June 15, 2025
SUSPENSION
when driving this car at highway speeds, if you hit any sort of obstacle, you are going to experience an extreme amount of sloshing in the back of your car. This same experience occurs when you are going down a hill, around a bend, and hit a pothole or any sort of irregularities in the road surface. When this sloshing occurs, it feels as though the back end of the car is going to whip around, causing you go to into an uncontrolled spin. To put this into perspective, I had to replace my rear tires after 10,000 miles because of how much wear this sloshing introduced to the tires - my front tiers were still at 7/32nds for reference. And we don't drive this think like a bat out of hell... At 10k miles, the alignment was also way out of whack (which the dealer admitted shouldn't have happened with so few miles on it), because of the extreme movements of the car from side to side. This phenomenon is well documented among the KIA owners forums and my dealer refuses to believe it's an issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11665467June 7, 2025
STEERING, SUSPENSION, WHEELS
Vehicle experiences steering vibration when at highway speeds (above 65mph). I have brought the vehicle in for service four times and the issue still returned after multiple alignments, rotations, and road force balances. The local service techs are working with Kia, but it has currently been in the shop for 24 days with no resolution. According to the service advisor, tires have been inspected and even swapped with new ones but the problem is still present. I am concerned with the safety of the vehicle because it creates issues with control at high speeds which could result in an accident. Even at low speeds, the rear end fishtails over small bumps creating a temporary loss of control. I am unsure if the two are related. I can provide Kia service order numbers and Kia customer care case number upon request. Multiple other owners have experienced the same concerns and have posted a growing number of instances where the vehicle was purchased back by Kia as a result.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11662809May 23, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Battery keeps dying despite full charge and multiple jumps. Battery has already been replaced and continues to die even after jumping and leaving on. Car just dies despite it running after a jump.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11662440May 21, 2025
POWER TRAIN, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Vehicle suddenly slowed, with the same force at regenerative braking, to 30mph. Vehicle would not go any faster, changing drive modes, pedal to the floor, anything I tried did not work. Was in the middle of a 55mph road and was suddenly moving much slower than traffic with nowhere to pull off the road No warnings, no lights, nothing to indicate that I saw to show there was an issue. Dealership could not replicate and found no error codes.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11661989May 19, 2025
WHEELS
Took my 4-month old Kia EV9 to a tire shop b/c I heard a rattling on the right side at low speed. Turns out both of the locking lug nuts had popped out of the front and rear hubs on the right side. Seems like someone at the port install facility in West Point Georgia didn't use the correct tools or torque settings. Turns out this is a known issue among a few customers per this Reddit thread: [XXX] I notified Kia CS. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11660845May 14, 2025
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
At least one cell of the ev battery is defective and the battery will not charge. The dealer determined that it is unsafe to drive. We are pending repairs and under warranty for over 40 days now and Kia can provide de no estimate for when the car will be repaired.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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