Kia Recalled the EV9 for A Failing Digital Gauge Cluster
The Kia EV9 landed for the 2024 model year to mostly positive reviews, but the SUV has already had its fair share of recalls. The latest relates to the vehicles’ digital gauge cluster, which can fail, leading to a blank screen. Kia’s recall impacts more than 14,000 EV9s from the 2024 and 2025 model years.
Kia blames the problem on a software logic error, saying that the gauge cluster could become intermittently blank on startup. That runs afoul of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, which have specific requirements around visibility and illumination of gauges. The EV9’s digital cluster also shows urgent safety notifications and other information, the lack of which could significantly increase the risk of a crash.
The good news here is that the vehicle functions displayed on the gauge cluster screen remain operational. Despite that, the driver might not know that their turn signal is on or how much range the vehicle has left without the gauge cluster screen. A similar issue led Tesla to recall tens of thousands of vehicles a few years ago.
Luckily, the fix will be as simple as an over-the-air software update. That said, the problem is related to a previous OTA that slipped through after the vehicles left production. Kia said that it would notify owners by mail and noted that owners would be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses related to the problem.
[Images: Kia]
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Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
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