Photo: Kia
One year ago, on September 29th, Kia America Consumer Affairs received a complaint involving a rollaway incident after a child moved the gear shifter from park with the engine off. The South Korean automaker then receives a pre-investigative request for information regarding the subject vehicle from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Fast forward to December 1st last year, and the Kia discovers the obvious. The shift lock lever was found to be stuck in the unlocked position, and the shifter could be moved into any position with the ignition off and brake pedal not depressed. A report was presented to the NHTSA, and Kia further assured the federal watchdog that it will keep investigating this problem.
The supplier of the lever assembly, Dong Won of South Korea, received the faulty component in April 2022. Both parties conducted a plethora of tests to determine the cause for the shift lock lever getting stuck, discovering that the lock lever holder doesn't meet dimensional specs. Kia singled out the 2016 Sorento and 2016 Sedona as potentially affected vehicles.
Come July 2022, the sister brand of Hyundai identified no fewer than five warranty claims received from 2015 to 2019, along with a couple of techline cases and two customer-submitted complaints involving a crash for the Sedona. The Sorento had two warranty claims and two techline cases.
Earlier this month, the automaker finally decided to recall certain vehicles equipped with out-of-spec components. No injuries or fatalities have been reported thus far. Affected vehicles total 28,065 units, namely 7,263 units of the Sedona and 20,802 units of the Sorento. Affected minivans were produced between April 27th, 2015 and June 27th, 2015. As for affected crossovers, they were built between April 27th, 2015 and July 9th, 2015.
Known owners will be notified by first-class mail on October 7th with instructions to bring their vehicles in for the remedy. Dealers will be instructed on October 3rd to inspect the shift lever assembly. If necessary, dealer technicians will replace the shift lock lever and holder. Owners who incurred repair expenses over this issue are eligible for reimbursement.
The supplier of the lever assembly, Dong Won of South Korea, received the faulty component in April 2022. Both parties conducted a plethora of tests to determine the cause for the shift lock lever getting stuck, discovering that the lock lever holder doesn't meet dimensional specs. Kia singled out the 2016 Sorento and 2016 Sedona as potentially affected vehicles.
Come July 2022, the sister brand of Hyundai identified no fewer than five warranty claims received from 2015 to 2019, along with a couple of techline cases and two customer-submitted complaints involving a crash for the Sedona. The Sorento had two warranty claims and two techline cases.
Earlier this month, the automaker finally decided to recall certain vehicles equipped with out-of-spec components. No injuries or fatalities have been reported thus far. Affected vehicles total 28,065 units, namely 7,263 units of the Sedona and 20,802 units of the Sorento. Affected minivans were produced between April 27th, 2015 and June 27th, 2015. As for affected crossovers, they were built between April 27th, 2015 and July 9th, 2015.
Known owners will be notified by first-class mail on October 7th with instructions to bring their vehicles in for the remedy. Dealers will be instructed on October 3rd to inspect the shift lever assembly. If necessary, dealer technicians will replace the shift lock lever and holder. Owners who incurred repair expenses over this issue are eligible for reimbursement.
Google News