Kia has issued a new recall for its popular EV9 SUV over concerns the headliner may not sufficiently protect passengers from impact in a crash. This is the third recall Kia has issued for the EV9 since its debut earlier this year.
Transport Canada has not yet issued a similar recall.
According to the recall documents posted to the NHTSA website, Kia says the issue impacts 2,401 units of the EV9 Light manufactured at the Gwangmyeong Autoland plant in Korea between September 25, 2023, and March 21, 2024.
The issue was discovered during pre-production testing of the 2025 model that was soon set to begin production at the automaker’s facility in Georgia. During the tests Kia discovered that the headliner might not provide sufficient protection in the event of a crash, which means the EV9 does not meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) requirements.
Impacted EV9 owners will have to visit a Kia dealer to have the headliner replaced at no charge. The automaker says it will also reimburse owners who have already incurred repair expenses related to the issue. There have been no reported injuries, crashes, or fatalities related to this issue.
This is the third recall for the EV9, although the previous recalls impacted only 12 vehicles in total. The first was issued in April over concerns the differential gear bolts in the gear drive unit were not tightened properly, resulting in a loss of drive power or cause the differential to lock up in 8 vehicles.
The second came less than a month later, because the front passenger seat belt retractor cover in 4 vehicles may not have been secured properly. This could have caused the front passenger seat belt automatic locking retractor (ALR) and emergency locking retractor (ELR) to not operate as intended.
You can read the full NHTSA recall notice below.
