Kia recalls nearly 23,000 cars after discovery that one single worker may have forgotten to bolt down seats

Kia have been forced to recall over 22,000 of its vehicles after what can arguably be called one hell of a blunder.

The car manufacturer's EV9 models were released in the US in October 2023, and are set to hit the UK market this month.

Now, it's not uncommon for cars to be recalled - something Tesla, for example, knows first hand with its infamous Cybertruck being recalled seven times.

And Kia has now followed suit.

Over 22,000 Kia EV9s have been recalled (John Keeble/Getty Images)

The South Korean car manufacturer has been forced to recall its EV9s - Kia's first three-row electric SUV - following safety issues.

The recall relates to 22,883 of the cars that were built between September 25, 2023, and October 15, 2024, at Kia's Gwangmyeong, South Korea, plant.

The issue was announced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on December 20, and seem to place blame on a single worker.

As per the NHTSA, the issue is with the EV9s seats, with some reportedly being 'without mounting bolts' meaning it doesn't properly restrain the passenger and increases their risk of injury.

The issue is regarding the car's seats (John Keeble/Getty Images)

In a further description of the defect, documentation reads: "Due to an error by a plant assembly worker, the second and/or third row seat mounting bolts may be missing."

EV9 owners will be notified about the apparent fault by in a letter that'll be mailed by January 24, 2025.

If you're one of the car owners affected, the NHTSA says that 'dealers will inspect and install mounting bolts as necessary free of charge'.

Looking at data from last year, it'll probably come as no surprise that Tesla was the car manufacturer recalled the most cars in 2024.

According to Motor1, the Elon Musk-headed company recalled a whopping 5,135,697 of its vehicles last year. This figure came from a total of 15 recalls.

The NHTSA made the announcement on December 20 (Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

While Tesla recalled the most cars, it didn't make the most recalls in total. Instead, American automaker Stellantis reportedly made 72.

Ford followed closely with 63 recalls over the course of 2024.

Meanwhile, Kia recalled over a million of its cars; its largest being 462,869 Telluride SUVs.

It was found that a knob for the front power seat motor could get stuck, meaning that the motor could overheat and cause the vehicle to catch fire.

In total, the manufacturer made 19 recalls last year, Motor1 reports. It's unclear if the December 20 recall is included in that figure.