2024 Kia EV9: What to check before buying

Owners have filed 205 complaints with NHTSA about this car, most about the electrical, suspension, and steering. The 10 checks below target those problems, in the order you would do them at the car.

2024

Owner complaints: 205
Recalls: 7; 1 urgent
Crashes reported: 1; 4 injuries
Reliability: Good; 60/100 on Auto Reliability Index

One recall on this model year told owners to park outside until the repair was done.

Do not buy until you have dealer paperwork or a recall lookup showing it was completed for this VIN.

Which EV9 is it?

EPA figures for each version of the 2024 Kia EV9. Use them to confirm you are looking at the version that was advertised, and as a yardstick on the test drive.

Version	Drive	EPA rating
Electric	AWD, RWD	280–304 mi range

With a full charge, the range estimate on the dash should land near the EPA figure of 280–304 miles. A much lower number on a mild day can mean a worn battery; ask for a battery health report.

Check the odometer against these mileages

Owners report these failures starting around the mileages below. A car inside one of these ranges deserves a closer look at that part, or records showing it was already fixed.

High-voltage battery failure
5,800–6,987 miles
Premature tire wear
10,000–18,000 miles

0 mi25k50k

Why these checks: what owners reported

NHTSA complaints for the 2024 Kia EV9, grouped by the part owners named. Open a row to read what goes wrong.

Electrical94No crashes
High-voltage battery and charging faults dominate. Cars show Battery Management System or critical EV battery warnings, stop charging past 80 percent, or lose much of their range after a full charge. Some lose power on the freeway or drop into a reduced-speed mode that cuts them to 30 to 40 mph. ICCU replacements come up again and again. A second pattern is a blank instrument cluster that hides speed, charge, and turn signal status, in one case at about 1100 miles. Battery repairs often keep cars at dealers for a month or more while they wait for parts or specialists.
Suspension17No crashes
The rear end porpoises, hops, or sways side to side over bumps, seams, and potholes. It happens most at highway speed but also at 20 to 40 mph. Steady highway vibration is a separate complaint, and rebalancing, alignments, and even new tires and wheels often fail to fix it. Tires wear fast. Some owners replace rear tires by about 10,000 miles, and blowouts are reported. Isolated reports include a snapped tie rod and a fire-flagged rear inverter failure that cut power more than once.
Steering14No crashes
Above 65 mph, the steering wheel and center console shake, even on smooth pavement. Repeated balancing, alignments, and tire swaps rarely fix it. Some cars go back to dealers four to six times or sit in the shop for weeks. Several reports also describe rear porpoising and fishtailing over bumps, plus tires worn out before 10k miles. Lane keeping assist draws its own complaints. It steers erratically toward other vehicles, will not switch off, or disengages without warning, which has led to near collisions.
Seats10No crashes
Driver seats shift, clunk, or click during left turns, braking, and bumps. Dealers blame the seat coming out of its track or a thin plate in the seat assembly that flexes. More serious reports describe a seat detaching from the frame because of fractured bolts, which left the driver unable to reach the brake. Others describe a loose middle-row seat at 35,701 miles and seats that folded on their own and pinned people. Dealers often reproduce the shifting but offer no fix.
Transmission9No crashes
The main pattern is sudden power loss at speed. Cars jolt, show an electrical system failure warning, and coast to a stop. Others are held to about 30mph with no warning light. Several are towed and then sit at dealers for weeks waiting on backordered ICCU or other electrical parts, and in one case a new ICCU did not solve the problem. Other reports include a car that would not shift out of park, rear motor control unit faults with a grinding noise, and unexpected acceleration linked to one-pedal driving.
Acceleration and cruise control7No crashes
Adaptive cruise control speeds up toward its set speed when it loses sight of the car ahead on curves, nearly causing rear-end collisions. One report describes acceleration past 95 mph with no car ahead. Highway Drive Assist can switch off with no visual or audible warning. Several complaints repeat the blank instrument cluster problem, which clears after the car sits off for 45 to 60 minutes. Rear porpoising at 60 to 75 mph is also reported here.
Wipers and visibility7No crashes
The front wipers stop completely when snow, slush, or ice keeps them from returning to their resting position. Snow packs into the large gap between the hood and windshield. Slush sliding off the roof can trigger the shutdown mid-drive, leaving no forward view until the driver pulls over and digs it out. Switching the wipers off and on or changing speed does not restart them. Separate reports cite a failed wiper motor and a front washer that stopped working in a snowfall while the rear washer still worked.
Seat belts51 crash
The main problem is belts that fail to lock or retract. In one freeway rear-end crash with 4 injuries, the front and rear belts did not lock even though the airbags deployed. Other reports describe third-row and second-row middle belts that jammed or stayed fully extended, leaving those seats unusable. Another describes a dashboard indicator that wrongly shows a rear passenger buckled in. Dealers have denied warranty coverage or quoted waits of at least 4 weeks.

In owners' own words

Excerpts from complaints EV9 owners filed with NHTSA, as written. Listen for the same symptoms on your test drive.

Electrical

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.

Filed with NHTSA, August 2025

Electrical

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.

Filed with NHTSA, July 2025

Suspension

Since taking delivery of the vehicle I noticed the vehicle "hops around" when encountering irregularities in the road. The vehicle feels unsettled over seams, bumps, or uneven surfaces, even minor ones like raised seams or potholes. This happens both while driving straight and through corners, with the rear end feeling like it's skipping, hopping, or "porpoising." The issue is most noticeable at highway speeds.

Filed with NHTSA, April 2025

Suspension

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.

Filed with NHTSA, July 2025

Steering

Bought a new EV9 and experienced steering shaking/vibrating heavily on high way speeds. There is always a subtle vibration on speed around 70mph where the cup holders in the middle of front seats vibrates, the driver seat and steering vibrates and creates a unpleasant and disturbing driving experience which can lead to anything worse. There are so many other complains on the similar issue but the manufacturer and/or service agents are not agreeing.

Filed with NHTSA, October 2024

Steering

Brand New EV9 Land AWD has wheel shake and vibration at 65MPH+. Center console vibrates and shakes substantially. Performed multiple wheel balances without and real change. Multiple other people reporting same issues. Not sure if this is tire, wheel, or driveshaft related. Kia America seems to not be interested in investigating this. This car drives rougher than a heavy class diesel truck.

Filed with NHTSA, October 2024

Seats

In October 2025, my drivers seat began to move forward and fold on its own. I was sitting in the seat and crushed. I was able to free myself. I might have photos. I did call Kia. For a second time maybe a month ago, I was undoing my son's car seat from the latch and the seat began to fold up and pinned my neck and arm. I thought I was going to die. This was a rear passenger seat.

Filed with NHTSA, May 2026

Seats

The drivers side seat has a broken part in the right back. The part makes noise when turns make the body shift right. Also, it feels like the seat back is partially disconnected, and some times during drives, it feels like it shifts back into the correct position.

Filed with NHTSA, September 2024

How the 2024 compares with other EV9 years

Complaints for this year next to the average for the other model years, area by area.

The 2024 has the most owner complaints of the 2 EV9 years we cover, about 10.8 times the average of the others. Newer years have had less time to collect complaints, so compare like with like.

2024 Average of other years

Electrical942
Suspension170
Steering143
Seats103
Transmission93
Acceleration and cruise control70

Where the 2024 fits in the EV9's history

Redesigns and mid-cycle updates change what can go wrong.

The 2024 is the first model year of the EV9's first generation (2024 on). First years of a redesign often carry teething problems that Kia fixes in later years, so the checks above matter more than usual.

Should you avoid the first year of a redesign? See the 45-car study.

Recalls to confirm (7)

Recall repairs are free at any Kia dealer, but the seller may never have had them done. Check each campaign number against the VIN.

26V431000ElectricalPark outsideJul 2026
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2022-2024 EV6 and 2024 EV9 vehicles. The high voltage battery cells may contain misaligned electrodes, which can lead to a fire while parked or driving.
Risk: A fire increases the risk of injury.
Fix: Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures and limit their charge to a maximum of 80% until the recall repair is complete. Dealers will replace the high voltage battery system assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed August 7, 2026. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC375. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning July 17, 2026.
24V962000SeatsDec 2024
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2024-2025 EV9 vehicles. The second- and third-row seat mounting bolts may be missing.
Risk: Seats without mounting bolts may not properly restrain an occupant, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and install mounting bolts as necessary free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 24, 2025. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC329.
24V757000ElectricalOct 2024
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2024-2025 EV9 vehicles. Due to a software error, the instrument panel screen may fail. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 101, "Controls and Displays.".
Risk: An instrument panel screen that fails to display critical safety information, such as the speedometer or warning lights, can increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: The instrument cluster software will be updated by a dealer or through an over-the-air (OTA) update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 25, 2024. Owners may contact Kia Customer Service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC326.
24V693000BrakesSep 2024
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2024 EV9 vehicles. A software error may cause the remote smart parking assist feature, which allows the operator to remotely move the vehicle, to miscalculate stopping distances.
Risk: A remote smart parking assist feature that miscalculates stopping distances may increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will update the integrated electronic brake software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 4, 2024. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC324.
24V400000Body and structureJun 2024
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2024 EV9 vehicles. The headliner may not adequately protect passengers from impact in a crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 201, "Occupant Protection In Interior Impact.".
Risk: A headliner with inadequate impact protection increases the risk of injury during a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the impact absorbing plates mounted on the headliner, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 30, 2024. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC317.
24V338000Seat beltsMay 2024
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2024 EV9 vehicles. The front passenger seat belt retractor cover may not be secured properly, which can cause the front passenger seat belt automatic locking retractor (ALR) and emergency locking retractor (ELR) to not operate as intended. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard numbers 208, "Occupant Crash Protection" and 209, "Seat Belt Assemblies.".
Risk: A seat belt retractor that does not operate as intended increases the risk of injury in a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the front passenger seat belt assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 5, 2024. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC312.
24V271000TransmissionApr 2024
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2023 Niro EV and 2024 EV9 vehicles. The differential gear bolts in the gear drive unit may not be tightened properly, which can result in a loss of drive power or cause the differential to lock up.
Risk: A loss of drive power or differential lock up can increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the gear drive unit, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 17, 2024. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC308.