Photo: Kia
Following several weeks of peace and quiet when it comes to major recalls, a new such action has been announced in the U.S., this time by South Korean carmaker Kia.
The recall has been made public by the manufacturer at the end of last week. Because a fix is not currently available, Kia has not yet notified its customers. The carmaker is currently engaged in talks with the supplier of the faulty parts to find the most suitable solution.
The recall is expected to be made because in some of the Kia models the airbags might not to deploy in case of a crash. This could happen because of an airbag control unit that can short circuit over time (ACU). The ACU is manufactured by ZF Friedrichshafen, a German auto supplier.
In time, says Kia, the ACU can become prone to electrical over-stress. This in turn might cause the frontal airbags, as well as the seat belt pretensioners, not to deploy when needed, thus endangering the lives of the occupants.
As per the carmaker, the recall is a result of an investigation into the matter launched by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) back in March. The organization got involved because it was notified of six crashes during which the airbags failed to deploy. Four people were killed in the incidents.
There are in all 507,000 Kia vehicles possibly affected by the issue, ranging from Forte models manufactured between 2010 and 2013, Optima models from 2011 to 2013, Optima Hybrids built from 2011 to 2012 and Sedona minivans.
The same problem has until now been plaguing sister company Hyundai as well, which already announced recalls in February and April on the same issue amounting to over half a million cars. Between the two companies, the problem would force the recall of some 1.1 million vehicles to have the the problem fixed.
The recall is expected to be made because in some of the Kia models the airbags might not to deploy in case of a crash. This could happen because of an airbag control unit that can short circuit over time (ACU). The ACU is manufactured by ZF Friedrichshafen, a German auto supplier.
In time, says Kia, the ACU can become prone to electrical over-stress. This in turn might cause the frontal airbags, as well as the seat belt pretensioners, not to deploy when needed, thus endangering the lives of the occupants.
As per the carmaker, the recall is a result of an investigation into the matter launched by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) back in March. The organization got involved because it was notified of six crashes during which the airbags failed to deploy. Four people were killed in the incidents.
There are in all 507,000 Kia vehicles possibly affected by the issue, ranging from Forte models manufactured between 2010 and 2013, Optima models from 2011 to 2013, Optima Hybrids built from 2011 to 2012 and Sedona minivans.
The same problem has until now been plaguing sister company Hyundai as well, which already announced recalls in February and April on the same issue amounting to over half a million cars. Between the two companies, the problem would force the recall of some 1.1 million vehicles to have the the problem fixed.
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