Certain 2022 Kia Niro EV units are being recalled in the United States because of an issue with the high-voltage battery safety plug that may overheat. When this happens, the plug could melt, which could lead to a loss of driving power or even a fire, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said in its recall report.
In total, 2,209 Kia Niro EVs manufactured between July 21, 2021, and December 2, 2021, are potentially affected by this recall.
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The previous-generation Kia Niro EV is being recalled because of a faulty high-voltage battery safety plug that may melt and start a fire during charging or driving. Until the recall repair is done, Kia advises owners of the affected EVs to refrain from recharging the battery while parked indoors.
Owners of the affected vehicles will be notified by mail with instructions to get their cars to a Kia dealer, where the battery safety plug will be replaced free of charge with a revised unit that has a solid bus bar connection with no female-to-female terminal.
Until that happens, though, the Korean automaker is advising owners to avoid charging the EVs indoors, as the safety plug may overheat during charging and start a fire.
Kia said that the root cause hasn’t been determined yet but that a supplier deviation in the manufacturing of the safety plug’s female-to-female terminal is suspected. With the faulty plug, the contact surfaces may develop high electrical resistance over time, which may cause the connector to melt during charging or driving.
Another recall that concerns the Kia Niro EV–this time for the latest generation model–was announced earlier this year. On certain units built between June 27 and July 13, 2023, the front left drive shaft might have not been properly heat treated by the supplier and may break under load. In the United States, 204 cars are potentially affected by this recall.
