- A factory worker at Kia's plant in Korea forgot to install seat bolts on some EV9 SUVs.
- As a result, Kia is recalling nearly 23,000 EV9s in the U.S.
- Kia inspected over 1,000 brand-new units and didn't find missing or loose bolts in any of them. However, three customers complained about the issue.
Kia is recalling nearly 23,000 EV9 electric SUVs sold in the United States because the seats might be missing some bolts. In case of a crash, a seat that’s not fastened properly could detach, which can increase the risk of injury.
In total, 22,883 EV9s assembled between September 25, 2023, and October 15, 2024 are affected. All the units were built at the Kia Autoland Gwangmyeong assembly plant in Korea. and the issue is with the second and third row of seats.
To fix the problem, Kia America will add the missing bolts for free, but to make sure everything is in order, dealers will check all the seats and fasten the bolts correctly. The affected cars were not built in VIN order, so customers will have to check with their dealer to find out if their EVs are part of this recall.
That said, if the seats are loose or if they rattle, it’s a strong indication that they might be missing some bolts. The report published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) doesn’t say how many bolts might be missing from each vehicle but it sure sounds like it’s pointing the finger toward a specific person who messed up.
“Due to an error by a plant assembly worker, the second and/or third-row seat mounting bolts may be missing,” reads the Description of the Defect section of the report. Hey, everybody makes mistakes, and it’s good that Kia found out what was going on.
Gallery: 2024 Kia EV9 GT-Line
Kia North America first found out about the issue in September, when a 2024 EV9 customer complained that their car was missing mounting bolts for the third row of seating. A second vehicle in North America was identified a few days later. Then, a preliminary inspection of 90 randomly selected units that were imported from Korea was done, but none of them were found with missing or loose seat mounting bolts.
A month later, Kia informed its North American arm that “an error by a plant assembly worker was associated with missing bolts” in the first two vehicles found with missing or loose seating bolts. In total, three EV9 units sold stateside had the issue that prompted Kia to recall the electric family hauler, but it’s worth noting that an additional 990 port stock EV9s were inspected and none of them had missing or loose seat bolts.
