2024 KIA EV9 — Complaint #2168122
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about FIRERELATED filed January 20, 2026
NHTSA complaint #2168122 (ODI reference 11712169) concerns a 2024 KIA EV9 and was filed on January 20, 2026. The owner reports the failure occurred on January 19, 2026. The vehicle had 20,000 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to Wisconsin based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as firerelated, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: yes, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. A complaint that flags a crash, fire, or fatality is escalated on NHTSA's internal review queue and factors more heavily into any Preliminary Evaluation decision on this make and model. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same KIA EV9 cohort independently describe similar firerelated failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2024 KIA EV9 shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
The contact owns a 2024 Kia EV9. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at an undisclosed speed, a burning odor was detected. The contact pressed the recirculate air button, but the burning odor intensified. No warning light was illuminated. The contact noticed flames coming from underneath the front driver's seat. The contact's husband pulled over and parked the vehicle. The contact, her husband, and their child were able to safely exit the vehicle. A vehilcle who had been driving behind stopped to assist, and since it was cold weather conditions, the contact and family waited for the Fire Department inside that owner's vehicle. There was no medical attention was received. When firefighters and police arrived, the fire had been self-extinguished. The contact was unaware of any reports filed by police or the fire department; however, the fire department informed the contact that there was no evidence of the lithium battery catching fire. The origin of the fire was unkno
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 2168122 |
| ODI Number | 11712169 |
| Date Filed | January 20, 2026 |
| Failure Date | January 19, 2026 |
| VIN | KNDAFFS52R6 |
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.