Kia tells owners of about 380,000 vehicles in the U.S. to park them outdoors because of the risk of a fire in the engine compartment. The Korean carmaker recalls certain Sportage SUVs from 2017 to 2021 and Cadenza sedans from 2017 to 2019 to fix the problem.
The company claims that a short circuit in the hydraulic electronic brake control unit can cause overcurrent and increase the risk of fire. Owners should also park them away from structures until repairs are made.
The company says the withdrawn vehicles are not equipped with Kia’s intelligent cruise control system.
Owners could see tire pressure, anti-lock brakes, or other warning lights on the dashboard before the problem occurred. They may also smell a burning or melting odor.
Owners will be notified from April 30th. Distributors will replace the fuses in the electrical junction box to fix the problem.
Kia says in documents released Tuesday by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that it has no reports of accidents, fires or injuries due to the problem.
The withdrawal comes after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began investigating Kia and Hyundai engine fires in 2019. The agency opened the probe after the nonprofit Center for Automatic Security filed a petition to request the investigation. When the investigation began, the agency said it had complaints from owners of more than 3,100 fires, 103 injured and one dead.
In November, NHTSA announced that Kia and Hyundai would have to pay $ 137 million in fines and safety improvements because they moved too slowly to recover more than a million motor vehicles that could fail. The fines resolve a government investigation into the behavior of companies involving the withdrawal of multiple models dating back to 2011.
Kia had to pay $ 27 million and invest $ 16 million in safety performance measures. Another $ 27 million payment will be paid as long as Kia meets the safety requirements, NHTSA said.
Kia denied the U.S. allegations, but said it wanted to avoid a protracted legal fight.
Engine failure and fire problems with Hyundais and Kias have affected more than 6 million vehicles since 2015, according to NHTSA documents.