NHTSA Complaint #11557459 — 2022 KIA EV6

The driver's side USB-A wiring harness repeatedly (though intermittently) drops connection between a properly connected iPhone and the native infotainment system, causing a "drop-out" of Apple CarPlay connectivity. The safety concerns associated with this are most acute when using Apple CarPlay-based navigation systems, as the native infotainment system stops displaying Apple Car-Play navigation, and begins searching for a USB-A connection with display "Reading USB." This sometimes remedies itself, with return to Apple CarPlay display but often requires physical reconnection of the USB-A cable. This level of manual manipulation of the infotainment system has caused me to lose navigation capabilities mid-trip and frequently takes my attention away from safely navigating the vehicle, especially when in urban traffic. The problem is persistent across multiple phones, multiple cables (including brand new Apple-branded cables), and other USB-A hardware external to the vehicle's infotainment system. The problem is well documented in multiple online owners' forums (see links below), and appears to be experienced in the similarly engineered/equipped Hyundai Ioniq 5. In my experience, Kia dealers have difficulty recreating the issue, as it is intermittent. Even when they are able to recreate the issue, they are unwilling to perform service, as neither Kia nor Hyundai have developed related technical service bulletins documenting or addressing this issue despite its persistence over multiple years since the cars' release. This presents an ongoing and unaddressed safety risk to Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5 drivers. [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)