NHTSA Complaint #11694316 — 2024 KIA EV9

A rear seatbelt indicator in the dashboard is broken, and it persistently indicates that (a) a passenger is in a rear seat; and (b) the passenger's seatbelt is fastened. This occurs even if a passenger is not in the seat and the passenger's seatbelt is not fastened. It is unclear whether this is strictly an electronic error in the dashboard, or if the seatbelt itself does not function appropriately. Kia has unsuccessfully tried to fix it twice, and the service department reproduced the problem by simply turning on the vehicle and seeing the persistent light. The local Kia service department says they are not trained to fix many EV problems, so corporate has to be involved, but corporate has not provided material assistance. Corporate has been informed in writing several times of the issue, including that this is a material safety issue, particularly since the vehicle is marketed toward families where a seatbelt indicator may be relied upon by drivers, and it's unclear whether this is strictly an electronics issue or a seatbelt functionality issue. Corporate acknowledged receipt of communications in which they were asked if this has been reported to the NHTSA, and they ignored both requests.