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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation into Kia EV9 windshield wiper problems, especially when snow, slush or ice is involved.
The investigation involves nearly 27,000 model year 2024-2025 Kia EV9 SUVs.
According to NHTSA, Kia EV9 drivers complain their windshield wipers stopped working while driving.
Specifically, the windshield wiper problems occur even when a small amount of snow or slush is involved, according to these Kia EV9 drivers.
“There was ~1/4″ of slush on the roof of the EV9 when starting an in-town trip. On a back road when decelerating, most of the slush slid forward and down the windshield. It was very wet but frozen enough to create a lump under the wipers. It seems the EV9’s wipers will completely stop if they are unable to fully return to their start position, and some of the ice was preventing them from doing that, and so they refused to continue wiping at all.”
“The wipers stopped working completely when some slush slid down my windshield and got piled up at the base of the windshield where the wipers sit. I had to pull over and scoop out the slush before they would resume working. This was super dangerous as not having the wipers work it was hard to see to safely operate my car.”
“Windshield wipers are not strong enough to deal with even small amounts of snow. The gap between the windshield and the hood is unusually large which allows snow to accumulate and get packed into the gap. The wiper motor stops functioning even with a small amount of snow accumulation in that gap.”
The government didn’t release many details about the Kia EV9 investigation, but safety regulators say they have seen photos and videos “documenting the issue and depicting relatively small amounts of snow and/or ice accumulation that reportedly leads to the wipers’ malfunction.”
The federal investigation will determine if a Kia EV9 windshield wiper recall is required.
CarComplaints.com will update our website with results of the investigation.