Korean automaker Kia was forced to recall almost 23 thousand EV9 electric vehicles due to complaints from two customers about the lack of rear seat fastenings in their electric vehicles, writes TechSpot.
Image source: Kia
According to the company’s report filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a total of 22,883 EV9 electric vehicles produced at Kia’s Gwangmyeong plant, South Korea, are subject to recall between September 25, 2023 and September 15. October 2024, which may be missing mounting bolts for the second and/or third row seats.
Remarkably, the Kia document places the blame squarely on one “factory worker” who allegedly made a “mistake” and failed to properly secure all seat bolts on an unspecified number of vehicles.
The issue came to light in September following a customer complaint about the third row seats in his 2024 EV9 not being properly secured due to missing bolts. Shortly after this, another complaint was received from a US customer about a similar defect.
To determine the extent of the problem, Kia tested 90 randomly selected EV9s that arrived in the United States from its South Korean plant. And while none of them were found to have mounting problems, Kia has decided to recall nearly 23,000 EV9s, including those that have already been delivered to customers or were awaiting shipment. In addition, a further 990 electric vehicles awaiting dispatch were tested and none were found to have problems with their seats.
According to the NHTSA report, the problem is that improperly secured seats can move in the event of a crash, putting passengers at risk of injury. To resolve the issue, Kia dealers will inspect the second and third row seats of all recalled electric vehicles and will tighten or install any missing mounting bolts free of charge.