Recall · 21V844000
Kia Motors America recalled 2 models over engine
10,731
Vehicles covered
2
Models
4
Model years
October 29, 2021
Filed with NHTSA
ENGINE
- The defect
- Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Optima Hybrid and Optima Plug-In Hybrid vehicles. The connecting rod bearings inside the engine may wear prematurely, which can result in engine damage.
- What it can cause
- A damaged engine can increase the risk of a fire or it can cause an engine stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
- What the dealer does
- Dealers will inspect the engine. If bearing damage is found, the engine will be replaced. Dealers will also install a software update containing a Knock Sensor Detection System (KSDS). Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 29, 2021. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC218.
- 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.nhtsa.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 10,731 vehicles this is a bigger campaign than 80% of the 19,818 vehicle recalls filed since 1995 whose size NHTSA published. The middle campaign on file covers 472. It covers model years 2017 to 2018, so the oldest vehicles on it were 4 model years old when the defect was reported to NHTSA.
Kia vehicles have been recalled over the engine 4 times before this, most recently in April 2021 as 21V259000. That is not evidence the earlier repair failed.
This site holds the complaint record for 3 of the 4 model years the campaign names. Their owners have filed 56 complaints with NHTSA, 27 of them before this campaign was filed. 29 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 January 2018, 3 years before this filing.
The vehicles on this campaign carry one other recall published here: 23V594000 (latches/locks/linkages).
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 October 29, 2021 as campaign 21V844000. 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 2021-10-29.
Independent developer and analyst