2022 Kia EV6 Body & structure Problems

The front lower air dam and felt underguard detached while driving at highway speed on an interstate. The panel dropped and dragged on the pavement. I secured it with duct tape and zip ties at the roadside in order to drive home. There was no collision and no impact with road debris. The bumper fascia directly above the panel is undamaged, with no deformation and no paint transfer, which is not consistent with an impact and is consistent with failure of the panel's mounting fasteners. The panel shows longitudinal drag scoring on the underside and outward flex-fracture of the mounting clips. The right side detached first and the left side remained held by a single screw. The component is available for inspection on request. There were no warning lamps or messages before the failure. I brought the vehicle to a Kia dealer in [XXX] on XXX, at approximately 40,000 miles and within the 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty. The dealer's technician identified multiple fractured mounting clips, of which only two remain intact. The dealer declined to submit a warranty claim, citing evidence of impact, and reattached the panel using added screws. The fractured clips were not replaced. The dealer's paperwork records the vehicle as repaired, but the technician verbally advised me to drive carefully because the underlying fastener failure was not corrected and the panel is not held by its designed fasteners. I opened a case with the manufacturer's consumer assistance center on June 9, 2026 (case number XXX) and submitted photographs as requested. I have received no substantive response in six weeks. A body panel that detaches at highway speed and drags on the roadway is a hazard to the vehicle behind it and to my control of the vehicle. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11753114

Incident

Jun 7, 2026

MY DRIVERSIDE FRONT DOOR WON'T OPEN, WHEN DOOR IS UNLOCKED, BOTH OUTSIDE AND INSIDE HANDLE WONT'T OPEN THE DOOR. YOU HAVE TO CLICK ON THE UNLOCK/LOCK BUTTON 15-20 TIMES TO GET THE DOOR OPEN. ALL THE OTHER 3 DOORS WORKS FINE.

NHTSA ID

11700772

Incident

Nov 20, 2025

Liftgate/Back Hatch consistently immediately automatically closes after opening, and has hit both drivers on the head before able to move out of the way. More detail: to open the back, one pushes a button, the rear hatch beeps, and then it automatically opens. During this, the user often leans inside once the opening is open enough. HOWEVER, recently when the door reaches its apex, it beeps again and immediately automatically starts closing, oftentimes hitting people on the head (thus, a safety issue, and it HURTS). Sometimes one has to re-open the door 3 or more times before it will stay open. Have contacted dealer, and the dealer literally said "the manual says sometimes it won't work when it's cold out." So it's a safety issue (since it has hurt two drivers) but Kia refuses to do anything about it.

NHTSA ID

11636146

Incident

Dec 1, 2024

On [XXX] I was driving in the City of Tampa. Stopped the vehicle to make a left turn, waiting for oncoming traffic to clear. Without any warning the vehicle sped off at a high speed at crashed. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11634658

Incident

Oct 28, 2024

The sunroof glass exploded on a hot day while my wife and I were in the car traveling 55 mph with the air-conditioning on. The remaining glass edges were flared up and outward. The sunroof glass was fully closed and the cloth sun shade covered the glass. It was either improperly installed or the materials could not withstand the heat. Nothing impacted the glass. The glass could have cut & injured us badly or blinded us, causing an accident with another vehicle or property. I felt this was a manufacturer's defect, but Kia denied us a warranty repair. I have pictures of the large hole in the middle of the glass. The vehicle was driven to the dealer where it was available for inspection. My insurance was notified. There was no warning or symptoms of this problem.

NHTSA ID

11609413

Incident

Jul 1, 2024

Several months ago, a bit of road debris hit the front grill and broke a piece off. Soon after that I began receiving messages of 'check vehicle electrical system', 'active air flap warning', and another that at this point I do not recall. The overall repair cost nearly $6,000. An employee at Emich Kia reported that there were two other 2022 Kia EV6 cars that came in for the same repair. The employees exact words, "This is a design flaw that they have fixed for the newer models." I am reporting this because I also believe that it is a design flaw. Why put so much plastic on the lower front grill that can be easily broken?

NHTSA ID

11588309

Incident

Oct 1, 2023

While driving along the courtney Campbell causeway there was a loud explosion shaking the car out of control. I was able to pull off the road and inspect the roof, where the exploding sound occurred. I found the glass panoramic sunroof had fractured and was gone from the vehicle. There was only the perimeter of the glass roof remaining. I have filed an incident report with the city of Clearwater and my passenger and I were both seen at Mease Countryside ER. The vehicle is still in my possession.

NHTSA ID

11559487

Incident

Dec 7, 2023

I had driven the car for about 80 miles on a mix of urban expressway, parkway, and city streets, when inexplicably the "frunk lid" (or hood) released itself from the fully closed position to the "ajar" position. That is the position that the lid would assume if you pulled the inside release. To open fully, one must manually release the "safety catch," after which it would open fully. As soon as the lid moved from fully closed to slightly open, a warning symbol appeared on the dashboard accompanied by a frenzied warning chime. I was in traffic and stopped as soon as it was safe to do so, about a quarter mile or possibly a half mile ahead. During this time the vehicle seemed sluggish. Just before the stop, my passenger pointed out that the relatively small and discreet "Parking Brake" warning was also illuminated. Right after I stopped, I shut the lid as I normally would, and it stayed shut. Then my attention was drawn to the rear of the car, where light smoke was emanating from the wheels and a "burning rubber" odor was prominent. The brakes had become very hot from my short drive seeking a safe place to stop. I believe it is unsafe to have a vehicle apply the parking brake on its own with no way to release the parking brake without stopping. I believe that if the vehicle had applied the parking brake on its own at speed on an ice- or snow-covered road, or possibly even on a wet road, the rear tires would have locked up, causing the vehicle to enter an uncontrollable spin. I believe that if the vehicle had applied the parking brake on its own on a long downhill mountainous road without a nearby safe stopping location, the extreme heat generated could cause serious damage to the vehicle. The vehicle is scheduled to be inspected by a dealer tomorrow. At the moment it seems to operate normally, but note that itis an electric vehicle, and almost all of the braking activity is performed by regenerative braking and not using mechanical brakes.

NHTSA ID

11491971

Incident

Nov 1, 2022

I received my car with tailgate misaligned, it could not be adjusted. There are some more out there like mine. I feel this is a safety problem that the area of the body where the hinges attach is not stiff or strong enough to open/close the heavy unbalanced tailgate when the car is not completely level causing damage to the area of the body part of the tailgate and tailgate safety switch not allowing the tailgate to close. This is a serious structural defect that Kia America is ignoring. My dealer took it to the body shop they use who tried 7 different adjustments that did not fix mine but said can be fixed by body work. Kia is just ignoring this as I feel if the truth comes out they will be forced to recall the EV6 and they have no solution. I have written a certified letter to the CEO of Kia America and was received by front desk/mailroom and I have not received a response or call. I have been in contact to Kia customer service and honestly they have been of no assistance. I am sending you the important videos of an EV6 that the tailgate is attempting to open/close when car is not on an even surface. This is a serious is, mine is cosmetic as it came that way from the factory but I feel for the same reason, maybe car, tailgate or assemblers were not completely level during tailgate installation or maybe car was moved on assembly line with tailgate open causing the misalignment on mine and some others. I have been in contact with numerous owners on the forums, social media, etc. I have sent information to news outlets that do investigations. These are puctures of the damage caused when car was not level. Videos, could not load under photos: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MHT3Mtz_3Xh7z6i0IrRPJG7UKp8k0aCb/view https://drive.google.com/file/d/1prrLoQiFIZLWdIbDbuynrG-Sj5SCZkvM/view

NHTSA ID

11469100

Incident

Apr 15, 2022

There is a structural issue where the hinges from the tailgate attaches to the body. I believe my tailgate alignment issue happened during assembly and has happened to others. More important if the tailgate is opened when car is not completely level when try to close the tailgate shifts and reopens since it cannot close as designed. I have informed Kia America in Irvine, Ca with a letter to the CEO over 3 weeks ago but no response. I followed up with a certified letter that was received by them but again no response. This is a safety structural problem that needs to be investigated. I have also contacted Kia consumer affairs and keep getting stalled. I have trouble loading the videos but have photos, the red car is mine, the others are also attached.

NHTSA ID

11468368

Incident

Apr 15, 2022