Fire Risk Sparks Another Kia Recall of 380K Vehicles

Kia owners heads up! If you own a Sportage SUV or Cadenza Sedan, you’re being warned to park your vehicle away from structures because it can spontaneously catch fire. The potential fire risk has sparked a recall of nearly 380,000 of the Kia vehicles.

The vehicles affected by the fire risk recall include:

• 372,251 model year 2017 to 2021 Kia Sportage SUVs
• 7,680 model year 2017 to 2019 Kia Cadenza sedans 

Kia has not reported any injuries, fires, or accidents related to the problem; however, owners and lessees of the recalled vehicles should be on the lookout for warning lights, specifically the tire pressure, ABS, or check engine lights. In addition, smelling smoke, a burning odor, or seeing smoke coming from the engine may be a sign of the problem, warns the automaker.  

Although this is not a class action lawsuit, Top Class Actions monitors potentially dangerous vehicle recalls to keep consumers informed of potential vehicle safety defects. 

The problem that prompted this latest recall involving hundreds of thousands of Kia vehicles concerns the hydraulic electronic control unit in the braking systems. Consumer Reports says that it can potentially short circuit and cause a fire in the engine compartment. 

Owners and lessees of the recalled vehicles can visit a Kia dealership for repairs. Fuses in the electrical junction box will be replaced, preventing short circuits, and some vehicles will also receive a required software update. 

Kia will notify affected owners and lessees at the end of April, but if you have questions before then you can call the carmaker at 800-333-4542.

This warning, recently issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), adds to the growing list of Kia and Hyundai vehicles recalled over fire risks. Hyundai is a different automaker, but is reportedly owned by the same parent company as Kia and many of their vehicles share the same design, parts, and engineering. 

Indeed, a number of Kia and Hyundai vehicles have been subject to fire risk recalls recently. In December, Kia announced that the company would be recalling almost 300,000 vehicles over a risk of fire in the engine compartment. At the same time, 130,000 Hyundais were recalled over stalling and engine fires after more than 3,100 engine fires were reported, some involving injuries and one resulting in death. 

Hyundai also agreed to settle five class action lawsuits in Canada over claims it failed to properly address an engine defect that could lead to a car fire. 

Currently, various Kia vehicles, including the Optima, Sorento, and Soul, along with the Hyundai Santa Fe, are currently under investigation by the NHTSA, notes Consumer Reports. The carmakers have reportedly had to pay a total of $210 million in penalties over inaccurate information and delays in the investigation. 

Do you own or lease a vehicle affected by this Kia recall? Tell us what you plan to do in the comment section below.

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