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Kia · NHTSA safety record

2026 Kia EV9

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

Owners have filed 26 safety complaints about the 2026 Kia EV9 with the US government. Of those, 2 describe a crash, 2 people were injured and no death is recorded. 2 recall campaigns are open against it, covering the air bags and the electrical system.

The most complained-about system is the electrical system, named in 12 complaints, 46% of the total.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers January 2026 to September 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

26 complaints on file

26

Complaints

2

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

2

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 12 · 46%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 5 · 19%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 3 · 12%
STEERING 3 · 12%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 3 · 12%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 3 · 12%
WHEELS 3 · 12%
STRUCTURE 2 · 8%
AIR BAGS 1 · 4%
ENGINE 1 · 4%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 · 4%
SEATS 1 · 4%
0 8 15

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 26.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA has not crash tested the 2026 Kia EV9. Its New Car Assessment Program tests a selection of each year's vehicles and does not reach motorcycles, heavy trucks, motorhomes or most low-volume models, so an absence here says nothing about how the vehicle would perform. It is not a low score.

What owners have reported about this vehicle is below, and it is a different question: a crash test measures what happens to the people inside in a controlled impact, while a complaint records what broke during ordinary use.

Recall campaigns

2 on file

AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGER

26V545000 · August 21, 2026

The 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."
The risk
A child in the front seat may be at a greater risk of injury if the air bag deploys during a crash.
The remedy
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.

Kia America, Inc. · up to 21,290 vehicles across all model years covered

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL

26V046000 · January 27, 2026

The 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."
The 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.
The remedy
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.

Kia America, Inc. · up to 42,677 vehicles across all model years covered

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed · 1,200 miles

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, causing a fractured right humerus. The contact required emergency surgery. The contact was pregnant at the time and remained hospitalized for two days. The doctors established a post-surgical recovery plan. The contact’s minor child, who was seated in a car seat on the rear passenger’s side, was not hurt. A Police report was filed. The vehicle was

NHTSA complaint 11761029, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

1 injured

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 noise indicating my door was open. Then the back driver-side tire ran over my foot. My foot was broken in a few places, and I was in a shoe boot for quite a while. It is very dangerous to think there was no alert; I can't imagine if this happened to a child. I was pretty thorough in telling them what happened, and nobody ever tried to compensate me

NHTSA complaint 11763764, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

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.

NHTSA complaint 11757172. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

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.

NHTSA complaint 11767310. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

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.

NHTSA complaint 11766978. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
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 fixed and had me pick up the vehicle. The loud wind noise was still present. When I attempted to return the vehicle the dealership said I would no longer be serviced by their dealership. Kia Customer Care sent me to a second dealership. Second dealership brought in techline specialist that ordered Kia Warranty repair would replace the entire roof.

NHTSA complaint 11763485, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

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, service technicians found passenger rear wheel to have a broken lug stud. From the service records, "No evidence of outside influence." This was replaced with new. Prior to this, the passenger rear tire was never serviced. On 8/7/2026, a bystander informed myself of an abnormal sound coming from my driver rear tire. The wheel center cap was removed and 3

NHTSA complaint 11760406, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Kia EV9

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2025 19 4 —
2024 207 7 —

Other 2026 Kia models

Sportage 27 Carnival 26 Carnival Hybrid 22 K5 13 K4 12 Sportage Hybrid 7 Sorento 5

Complaints on file, same model year.

Every Kia on this site — 181 vehicles.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst