Recall · 20V750000
Kia Motors America recalled 6 models over engine
294,756
Vehicles covered
6
Models
16
Model years
December 2, 2020
Filed with NHTSA
ENGINE
- The defect
- Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2012-2013 Sorento, 2012-2015 Forte and Forte Koup, 2011-2013 Optima Hybrid, 2014-2015 Soul, and 2012 Sportage vehicles. An engine compartment fire can occur while driving.
- What it can cause
- An engine compartment fire increases the risk of injury.
- What the dealer does
- Kia will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the engine compartment for fuel and/or engine oil leaks, perform an engine test and make any repairs, including engine replacement, as necessary, free of charge. In addition, Kia dealers will update the Knock Sensor Detection System (KSDS) software, free of charge. The recall began January 27, 2021. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC200.
- NHTSA's note
- Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
The repair is free, whatever the age or mileage of the vehicle, and whether or not you are the original owner.
Which vehicles
A recall reaches a range of VINs inside these model years, not every car built in them. Yours may not be covered even if it is listed here, and the only way to find out is NHTSA's own VIN lookup.
How this campaign compares
At 294,756 vehicles this is a bigger campaign than 96% of the 14,528 vehicle recalls with a published size filed from 1995 up to this one. The middle campaign among them covers 491. It covers model years 2011 to 2015, so the oldest vehicles on it were 9 model years old when the defect was reported to NHTSA.
Kia vehicles have been recalled over the engine 2 times before this, most recently in February 2019 as 19V120000. That is not evidence the earlier repair failed.
This site holds the complaint record for 14 of the 16 model years the campaign names. Their owners have filed 5,487 complaints with NHTSA, 2,966 of them before this campaign was filed. 3,249 of those name the engine, the system this recall is about — a count of complaints, not of this defect. The earliest of them reached NHTSA in August 2011, 9 years before this filing.
The vehicles on this campaign carry 2 other recalls published here: 23V652000 (service brakes, hydraulic), 22V096000 (air bags).
Check your own car
A VIN check is the only answer for a specific vehicle, and it also shows every other open recall on it, which is usually the reason it is worth doing rather than reading one campaign.
Filed by Kia Motors America with NHTSA on December 2, 2020 as campaign 20V750000. Every word of the defect, consequence and remedy above is NHTSA's published record of that filing, not a summary of it.
Compiled and maintained by guarledes. Data last checked 2020-12-02.
Independent developer and analyst