The Kia EV9 has proved popular, filling a great, big opening in the market. It’s a mainstream, three-row, electric SUV that has propelled the brand’s EV sales to new heights. It can get a bit expensive, sure, but it’s a great family hauler with an interesting but approachable design, potent powertrains with decent range, and a host of features to make sure every passenger in every row is comfortable.
A new recall, however, may give rise to some concerns about buckling precious cargo into those rear seats. Kia is recalling over 20,000 EV9 copies for potentially missing seat mounting bolts.
What The Recall Covers
The recall covers certain 2024 and 2024 Kia EV9s, to the tune of 22,883 units, for the possibility of missing mounting bolts for the second- and third-row seats. Specifically, Kia is recalling vehicles made at the Gwangmyeong assembly plant in South Korea between September 25, 2023, and October 15, 2024.
The discovery leading to the recall starts on September 5, 2024, with a complaint of missing third-row mounting bolts in a 2024 EV9. It found second- and third-row bolts missing in a second vehicle in the following days. Inspections of about 1,000 port stock vehicles through the end of November found no other vehicles with the missing bolts, but a warranty claim in early December uncovered a third vehicle with bolts missing. Kia determined that the issue with the third vehicle stemmed from an error by a plant assembly worker, prompting Kia to issue the recall.
An Easy Fix
Thankfully, inspecting and fixing the problem shouldn’t be a big deal, and it won’t cost owners any money. Kia will mail a notice to owners of affected vehicles on January 24, 2025.
Instructions to dealers have technicians inspecting the seat mounting bolts for all three rows, installing new bolts if necessary, and tightening them to a specific torque range. They’ll inspect all the bolts whether or not any were missing.
Previous Kia EV9 Recalls
, none of which affected nearly as many vehicles. Most recently there was a recall for a blank digital instrument panel, which affected 14,163 examples, in October.
In September, Kia recalled 12,400 vehicles for a software error in the remote smart parking assist feature. 2,401 copies were recalled in June for inadequate impact protection in the headliner. In May, Kia recalled a whopping four vehicles for a loose seat belt retractor cover.
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