- Kia is recalling over 300 examples of its EV9 SUV because they could lose drive power.
- The issue is related to an improper weld and dealers will replace the rear gear drive unit.
- Ten incidents have been reported, but there haven’t been any accidents or injuries.
The Kia EV9 has been warmly received and has picked up numerous accolades including 2024 World Car of the Year. That’s commendable, but the recalls are starting to add up. The latest involves 342 units from the 2025 model year, which may have an improperly welded rear gear drive unit motor shaft.
As the safety recall report explained, EV9s equipped with a dual-motor all-wheel drive system could be affected “due to a supplier welding error.” This mistake means the “motor shaft inside the rear GDU [gear drive unit] may become damaged, resulting in reduced acceleration and motive power.”
More: Kia Recalls 23,000 EV9s After Worker May Have Missed Seat Bolts
The vehicles were built in Georgia between October and December of last year. Drivers might be notified about a problem via an odd noise or a “Check AWD/4WD” warning message.
Kia first became aware of the issue in January when they noticed a trend in assistance cases as well as one reported case of loss of motive power. This sparked an investigation and a tear down revealed the motor shaft inside the rear gear drive unit was damaged due to a welding error. An engineer also tested an EV9 and found it “would not accelerate above 12 mph (19 km/h) in certain conditions.”
Kia is aware of ten reports claiming a loss or reduction in motive power. However, there haven’t been any accidents or injuries related to the issue.
Owner notifications are slated to be mailed out later this week and dealers will replace the rear gear drive unit. This is easier said than done as the swap apparently takes over six hours.
