A small number of 2023-2024 Kia Niro EV and 2023 Kia EV6 electric vehicles are being recalled for an issue that most definitely can’t be remedied with an over-the-air update.
In affected vehicles, Kia explains, one of the driveshafts may have been improperly heat-treated, potentially allowing it to break under load. That would result in the sudden loss of drive power.
Kia has narrowed down the number of potentially affected U.S. vehicles to 1,243, including certain 2023-2024 Kia Niro EV models made from June 27 through July 13, 2023, and 2023 Kia EV6 models made from January 26 through April 8, 2023. It may affect the left drive shaft in the Niro EV or the rear inner drive shaft in the EV6.
It indicates that just 1% of vehicles are suspected to have the defect. That amounts to about 12 U.S.-market vehicles that actually need the fix—although Kia says that it will proactively replace drive shafts in the entire lot of vehicles. Since these are global products, recall efforts will extend to other markets, likely with somewhat different fine details.
2022 Kia EV6
The company identified the issue last month, and related it to several breakage incidents with the EV6, although the part is the same in the Niro EV. It says that there have been no crashes, injuries, or fatalities related to the issue.
Kia notified dealers on February 5, while it will notify owners by March 29, 2024. Owners are advised to call Kia customer service at 800-333-4542 to see if their vehicle is affected, or to