There are 6 owner-reported air bags & restraints complaints for the 2024 Kia EV9in NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
Two seatbelts failed in the rear of the car. One seatbelt in the third row seat and the middle seatbelt in the 2nd row back seat. This happened in quick succession soon after I purchased the car used from a Kia dealer in Orlando. The seatbelt in the third-row seat seemed to fold up and jam in a way that could not be unjammed. The middle seatbelt in the second row got stuck in its extended position, as if it were fully extended, and will not retract. The dealer is claiming that both failures were due to external issues and they are not covering them under warranty. But both issues seem odd to me -- the middle seat seatbelt is just fully extended and now won't retreat; the third row seatbelt folded up when it retracted but, in my experience, that happens somewhat frequently and usually the seatbelts just unfold and keep working. My concern is that this might be a sign that there is an underlying seatbelt manufacturing issue. The dealer is claiming that both seatbelt pretensioners need to be replaced. I have not repaired the seatbelt issues yet so they can both be examined. I can also sent photos of the seatbelts.
We were rear ended on the freeway by a vehicle going 75 mph. The impact pushed us into the vehicle in front of us.The airbags were deployed but the front and rear passenger seat belts did not lock. My husband flew forward onto the dashboard and cracked the windshield. My daughter who was behind him flew forward into the back of the passenger seat. They both suffered injuries as a result. The vehicle was deemed a total loss by our insurance company..We have some pictures and video. As of now the vehicle is in the ownership of the insurance company on their storage lot.
A rear seatbelt indicator in the dashboard is broken, and it persistently indicates that (a) a passenger is in a rear seat; and (b) the passenger's seatbelt is fastened. This occurs even if a passenger is not in the seat and the passenger's seatbelt is not fastened. It is unclear whether this is strictly an electronic error in the dashboard, or if the seatbelt itself does not function appropriately. Kia has unsuccessfully tried to fix it twice, and the service department reproduced the problem by simply turning on the vehicle and seeing the persistent light. The local Kia service department says they are not trained to fix many EV problems, so corporate has to be involved, but corporate has not provided material assistance. Corporate has been informed in writing several times of the issue, including that this is a material safety issue, particularly since the vehicle is marketed toward families where a seatbelt indicator may be relied upon by drivers, and it's unclear whether this is strictly an electronics issue or a seatbelt functionality issue. Corporate acknowledged receipt of communications in which they were asked if this has been reported to the NHTSA, and they ignored both requests.
UNKNOWN
Drivers seat moving diagonally back and forth left to right when your make left and right turns. The force the car makes, forces the drivers seat to shift. Its a huge safety concern, everyone that has an EV9, a crash can result in the driver being killed because if the seat moves left to right forward and back under heavy or even light g force, imagine during a crash. The seatbelt is on the seat, so your whole body would go flying into the windshield because the seat can't even stay in position with light or heavy movements. Several people have reported identical experiences that only indicate the problem is not just happening to one or a few cars. Kia of America refused to replace my seat and refused at the local kia service center in Daytona beach, FL acknowledge or be shown the replication of the safety hazard. Several others on Facebook and forums are trying to take to service centers, but with it being a complex matter of not just the seat bolts needing to be tightened and something above the seat frame causing the issue, "master technicians" have no idea what they are looking at.
The third row seatbelt is malfunctioning doesn’t work at all. I have 4 kids and that seat can’t be used at all so I don’t risk my kid safety. Contacted Kia and they were pushing at least 4 weeks
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026