This car has had a series of electrical issues in the first year of use. 1. The main battery needed to be replaced 6/2025 2. The 12 V battery needed to be replaced 6/2205 3. 7/2026 There is an electrical issue that causes the right headlight to go out and all the indicator lights to be set-off, which prevents certain safety functions. This has been evaluated be an independent Bodyshop, which changed a part. Then 3 visits to the Kia dealer where another part was changed. After 4 visits and 2 parts, the problem occurred again. I've asked Kia to buy out the lease and they have not. This car is under warranty, but not fixed
Engine & cooling
Kia EV9 Engine problems by year
7 complaints filed with NHTSA about the Kia EV9's engine & cooling. Stalling, loss of power, oil consumption, overheating, head gaskets, timing chains and engine failure.
Engine complaints by model year
Latest EV9 engine complaints
I am submitting a safety complaint regarding a serious incident involving my 2025 Kia EV9. The vehicle was serviced on March 1 at World Kia in Joliet, Illinois. On April 4, only four days after that service, the vehicle experienced a sudden and unexpected ICCU failure while I was driving. During my normal travel, in active traffic and at speed, the vehicle abruptly entered limp mode and displayed multiple system warnings. This caused an immediate and significant reduction in power, creating a hazardous situation...
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for myself and surrounding drivers. I was forced to maneuver the vehicle out of traffic while it was rapidly losing propulsion capability. The vehicle is currently at Berwyn Kia in Berwyn, Illinois for diagnosis and repair. I am reporting this incident due to the clear safety implications of a sudden loss of power during highway driving operation. A failure of this nature poses a risk of collision, especially in high-speed or congested traffic conditions. I am requesting that NHTSA review this issue as part of its ongoing monitoring of Kia/Hyundai/Genesis Integrated Charging Control Unit (ICCU) failures and related safety concerns. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Car was driving find and suddenly check electric system message came in with a red battery indicator. The application for the car indicates an ICCU P1A9096 error code. ICCU errors seems to be common with Kia/Hyundai electric cars. Car went to limp mode and wouldn't let drive it more than 45mph which it was dangerous in the highway. I was able to get the car into the dealer but the last mile the car was very limited in power with no more than 30mph. Radio, A/C and other accessories stop working
Car stopped working and wouldn't start. I was told there is an ICCU failure. There is a back order of ICCU for this vehicle and unknown date of repair.
I would also like to highlight the serious safety concern due to cell deviation (imbalance) along with SOC (State of Charge) mismatch as per my car's BMS (Battery management system) which is present in my vehicle and shared with Kia corporate. In an electric vehicle, the high-voltage battery cells, the Battery Management System, and the battery coolant system function as a single integrated safety-critical system. When battery cells are imbalanced and there is a significant mismatch between the state of charge...
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displayed to the driver and the lower usable energy calculated by the Battery Management System, the weakest cell can reach its safe operating limit under normal driving load even though the dashboard indicates sufficient charge. If this condition is combined with a battery coolant system fault, such as low coolant level or air in the cooling circuit, battery temperatures can rise unevenly and further reduce safe operating margins. To protect the battery and prevent thermal or electrical damage, the system must immediately limit propulsion or enter a reduced-power ("turtle") mode without driver input. Because these protective actions can occur suddenly and without advance warning, they can restrict acceleration or vehicle speed during ordinary driving conditions such as merging or maintaining highway speed, creating an unexpected loss-of-propulsion safety risk rather than a mere inconvenience. This is equivalent to a faulty fuel gauge for a gasoline car but with more immediate and severe consequences Sudden Power Cutoffs: If a single battery cell's voltage drops below a safe threshold, the Battery Management System (BMS) will shut down the entire pack to prevent permanent damage. This can happen even if the dashboard shows 25% or more remaining, potentially leaving you without power while driving. Loss of Vehicle Control: A sudden shutdown can lead to a loss of power steering and braking assistance, which is hazardous in high-speed or heavytraffic situatio
I was driving and the car suddenly gave a number of error messages, and I could not drive above 40 miles an hour on the freeway. This was very unsafe. I had it towed to the dealership and they replaced the ICCU Unit, which appears to be a very common problem with Hyundai/Kia electric vehicles. The ICCU unit does not power the car. It should not have affected the car's performance.
I leased my EV9, GT from Northstar KIA, NY. I got the delivery of EV9 GT on 3/29/2024. I started to notice that the car was not charging properly. After the whole night of charging it was charged like 3-4% at most. on the 3rd-4th day, the car started to make sudden abnormal sounds. I called the salesperson and dealership regarding the charging, and other issues, and told me to take it to the service center. I took the car to the service center on 4/7/2024, and I was told that the mechanic for EV9 was not available...
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that day. Later that day I was driving to the shopping mall, and the car started to behave weirdly, after driving about 8-10 miles, right before the mall entrance, the car became very slow, it was not responding to acceleration. I was slowly able to pull the car to the parking. About 2-3 hours later when I started the car again, it started normally, all the signs were good, and as soon as I turned my car on the main street, about 3-4 minutes after starting the car, it suddenly stopped. Thank God, there were no cars right behind me. The power was on, but the car was not moving. I had to tow the car to my home since the service center was closed. The next day I called Kia roadside assistance and it is at a service center on 04/08/2024. I am an extremely busy physician and have small children in my household. I am deeply concerned about the safety aspects of this vehicle as it tends to shut off in the roadway while driving. This is extremely dangerous for me and my family. To my surprise, My dealer, Northstar KIA has no loaner vehicle. After my repeated requests, my salesperson told me to go to the service center and ask for a rental car. and also told me they would reimburse the rental fees. When I called the service center, they said they do not have any rental or loaner car. While I leased and paid for the car, I am without my car or a loaner car.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked daily. Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data