Kia America has identified an issue affecting certain examples of the 2024 Kia Sorento. The subject crossovers have been produced with a motor-driven power steering wiring harness that may be incorrectly assembled. If said wiring harness becomes damaged, that would result in a reduction or a complete loss of power steering assist.
While that may not be a big issue at high speeds, the sudden loss of power steering at low speeds could take the driver by surprise, increasing the risk of a crash. Rather than the South Korean automaker from Seoul, the supplier of the MDPS wiring harness took the heat for the recall condition.
Care to guess which is the supplier in question? Turns out it's Mobis Alabama, a limited liability company that serves two vehicle assembly plants in the United States, those being Kia Motor Manufacturing Georgia and Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama. By extension, Hyundai Mobis is the parts and service division of Hyundai, sister brand Kia, and luxury brand Genesis.
Kia America started investigating the aforementioned concern on February 7, following a techline case involving a 2024 Kia Sorento that experienced abnormal noises while turning the steering wheel and engine stalling. The dealer identified a damaged wiring harness caused by chafing between the harness and steering shaft.
A damaged harness ultimately compromises the power and communication circuits, therefore leading to reduced or a loss of power steering assist. In the United States market, Kia America is aware of two incidents related to the recall condition. Thankfully, no crashes have been reported so far.
Photo: Kia
Dealers will be notified tomorrow, April 26, and dealers will be required to inspect the wiring harness. In case of damage, the MDPS wiring harness will be either repaired or replaced. If there's no damage to speak of, the service technician will reroute the original wiring harness to prevent any chafing.
Kia claims that 2024 model year Sorento vehicles produced after February 29 feature correctly routed motor-driven power steering wiring harnesses. Given this information, the recalled population's cut-off date is February 28. A grand total of 95 vehicles manufactured between January 7 and February 28 are believed to have been equipped with incorrectly routed MDPS wiring harnesses.
Owner notifications will be mailed on or about May 7. If you're the worried or proactive type, then simply enter the 17-character VIN on Kia's recall portal to determine whether your Sorento is affected or not. If so, please contact your dealer of choice.
The combustion-only 2024 Kia Sorento features the mid-cycle refresh, while its hybrid and plug-in hybrid siblings will drop later this year as 2025 models. The facelifted Sorento starts at $31,990 (sans destination charge) with front-wheel drive and the naturally aspirated 2.5L four-cylinder mill. The X-Line EX AWD is the most affordable trim to feature standard all-wheel drive, and at $41,690 right off the bat, it's only natural that Kia straps a turbocharger to said powerplant for more oomph.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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