Air bags: sensor: occupant classification: front passenger
Manufacturer
Kia America, Inc.
Vehicles affected
21,290
Reported to NHTSA
2026-08-21
Defect description
Kia America, Inc (Kia) is recalling certain 2025-2026 EV9 vehicles. Due to improper routing, the Occupant Detection System (ODS) may not deactivate the air bag when a child or child seat is in the front passenger seat. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
Safety risk
A child in the front seat may be at a greater risk of injury if the air bag deploys during a crash.
Manufacturer remedy
Dealers will inspect and replace the ODS mat and bladder tube with a new one and ensure proper routing as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters will be mailed beginning October 20, 2026. Owners may contact Kia Customer Service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC379. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov on September 4, 2026.
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2025 Kia K4, 2025-2026 Sorento, Sorento Hybrid, Sorento Plug-In Hybrid Electric (PHEV), 2026 Sportage, Sportage Hybrid, Sportage PHEV, K5, EV9, Carnival, and Carnival Hybrid vehicles. Due to a software error, the instrument panel display may fail. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) numbers 101, "Controls and Displays" and 138, "Tire Pressure Monitoring System."
Safety risk
An instrument panel display that fails to show critical safety information, such as the speedometer, tire pressure, or warning lights, increases the risk of a crash.
Manufacturer remedy
The instrument panel display software will be updated over-the-air (OTA) or by a dealer, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed March 26, 2026. Owners may contact Kia Customer Service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC361. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov on February 9, 2026.
Owner complaints
A complaint is one person's report to a federal agency. It is not a finding.
Component
Complaints
Median mileage
Electrical system
24
—
Unknown or other
10
—
Fuel/propulsion system
6
—
Steering
6
—
Vehicle speed control
6
—
Wheels
6
—
Structure: body
4
—
Visibility/wiper
4
—
Air bags
2
1,200 mi
Engine
2
—
Forward collision avoidance: warnings
2
—
Seats
2
—
Service brakes
2
—
Visibility: sun/moon roof assembly
2
600 mi
The 2025 model has about 1.5 times as many complaints as this one. These figures reflect raw complaint counts, not failure rates. Higher-selling model years naturally receive more complaints.
Safety recall repairs are provided free of charge by franchised dealers, regardless of vehicle age or mileage. This page displays aggregated data for the model year. To check recall status for a specific vehicle, search its VIN at nhtsa.gov.