This car is unusual because the wipers are located in a crevice far below the top of the hood where it meets the windshield. The first time we had an issue, it had snowed and snow collected in the crevice area. The wipers were turned on, but the drivers side one didn't move in sync with the passenger side one. They eventually "tangled" and we stopped them. The car was taken for service and supposedly repaired by replacing one of the wiper arms that had bent. It has snowed again. Before the snow fell, the crevice was mostly covered with a shield to keep snow from falling into it. The wipers were put into the "snow position" but when used again today, the wipers have again failed to operate in sync. The drivers side wiper doesn't move fully and the passenger side wiper does. Car wipers should work when it snows, but especially when precautions have been taken. This is extremely unexpected and atypical.
Kia EV9 wipers problems
12 of the 261 owner complaints about the Kia EV9 describe windshield wiper failure, most of them for the 2024 model year.
- owner complaints
- 12
- worst model year
- 2024
By model year
- 20253
- 20249
Often reported together
What owners say
Windshield wipers stopped working in middle of bad snow storm. I had to pull over, wait for the weather to improve before proceeding. I have a minor child and safety is a concern to me. Thought it was the wiper so I went to AutoZone to replace it and was told the problem is the wiper motor and that I needed to take to the dealership for repair
Wiper washer system was working properly until the first snowfall today. Despite the very small amount of snow, the wiper washer system for the front windshield will not operate. The rear washer works properly. Washer reservoir is full and the wipers work properly.
We just left the dealership in our new 2026 Kia EV 9 with 14 miles on it and as we were driving home the passenger windshield wiper started to make a loud banging sound when it would return to it ‘a starting position. We turned the wipers off and then turned them back on just to have the passenger one go half way a few times and then stopped working altogether. We live in Vero Beach Florida and this took place at [XXX]. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Snow accumulates under wiper blades and then ice sticks to the wipers themselves. Big chunks of ice form on blades so that wipers do not clear snow/water off of windshield. Impossible to see while driving when this occurs in snowy conditions. Defrost setting on HVAC is not enough to melt ice so must be manually removed. No reference in user manual or from KIA on how to manage.
The windshield wipers could not complete full return to starting position due to wet snow. This caused a shuddering noise as the mechanism driving the wipers continued to try to complete its motion. Then an electrical burning smell emanated through the car.
We had a snow the last couple of days and when it mostly cleared up we went out to the grocery store. We had done on best to clear of the car of snow. While driving the windshield wipers were working fine until a small chuck of snow came down from the roof of the car. The wipers immediate started to glitch and not move which caused a big visibility problem. I was able to pull over and clear it but was concerned that small amounts of snow would cause the wipers to completely stop.
When blocked from returning to the fully off/down position, in this case by ice, the windshield wipers stop working. In my other vehicle, even if they don't go all the way down they still operate. We had an ice blockage that completely deactivated the wipers while driving in already hazardous conditions.
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. Even when completely cleared before driving, when snow gets pushed down from the wipers or slides off the roof into those gaps, the wipers stop functioning immediately and view is completely obstructed. Took me 10 minutes with a garden spade and my finger nails to dig out every piece of snow before starting my drive, then had to pull over twice during the drive to do the same thing again. Even when a small chunk of snow slipped down (the size of a hand), the wiper couldn’t push it back up and off. This is extremely dangerous where winter snow is a daily problem.
Without any previous warning signs or issues, the dashboard screen went blank. I was unable to see my speed, or use my signals and wipers. I tried turning the car on and off and it still wasn’t fixed. I was able to drive the car home and my infotainment system still operated but the screen with the important info is broken.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Kia EV9 wipers
Which Kia EV9 years have windshield wiper failure problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2024 (9 complaints) and 2025 (3 complaints).
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