Kia Motors, the auto-maker of affordable, mostly family-friendly vehicles based in South Korea has been recalling certain Sorento vehicles. Sorento is the brand’s one of the top-rated midsize crossover SUVs. Sorento first came to the market in February 2002, the first generation Sorento was a traditional truck-based body-on-frame SUV. Let us know ‘Kia Sorento Recalls’.
There have been many incidences of recalling vehicles at Kia for a problem that could have fatal consequences and major safety risks if left unattended. In a recent development, the American arm of the brand has recalled certain 2022 Sorento vehicles. There have been reports that more than 31,000 SUVs have been recalled in Australia as well, this includes both the Sorento seven-seat SUV and the Sportage mid-size SUV, two of the South Korean brand’s most popular models.
Why recalls?
There has been a trail of recalls from various manufacturers for different issues. Though, Kia Sorento seems to be a regular among the recalls. Kia has recalled more than 156,000 Sorento crossovers from the 2014 and 2015 batches last year. Vehicles from almost all the batches since 2007 have been recalled at different times. The reason for these recalls varied from engine issues to electrical system errors to fuel system defects. In the recent recall issued by Kia, the reason for the 2022 Kia Sorento models is the oil supply pipe to the turbocharger may crack, which could result in an oil leak in the engine compartment. An oil leak in the presence of an ignition source such as a hot engine or exhaust component can cause a fire.
How to check if your Sorento is recalled or not?
If your vehicle has an active recalls, you will be notified by an email from Kia sorento. If you haven’t received any recall notification then your vehicle is probably not recalled. Although, there’s a slight chance that you can be missed out. In that case, you can check on the company’s portal by following these steps:
- Visit www.kia.com/owners/recall-information.html
- Enter your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) here.
- If your vehicle is among the recalled, it will show here.
What to do if your vehicle is recalled?
If your Sorento is among those vehicles which have been recalled, you are entitled to free repairs for whatever issue your vehicle has been recalled for. Owners of recalled vehicles are told to contact their Kia Dealership for the repairs in the emails sent by Kia. Until the repairs are done, vehicle owners are recommended to not use their vehicle and park it outside away from structures and other vehicles, as according to the issue mentioned, an oil leak can cause a fire which can result in causalities and loss of property.
How are these issues discovered?
Kia performs regular monitoring of the field information acquired through various aspects such as customer complaints and warranty claims and takes necessary actions based on them. Resulting in regular inspections and recalls of various vehicles for different issues found.
Which other vehicles were recalled by Kia?
In January 2022, Kia announced a recall of about 440,000 vehicles in the United States. The recall includes 2017 Kia Forte Koup, 2017 and 2019 Kia Forte, 2017, 2018 and 2019 Kia Sedonas, 2017, 2018 and 2019 Kia Soul, and 2017,2018 and 2019 Kia Soul EV. The recall was announced because there were safety concerns regarding the airbags not deploying during crashes.
In May 2022, certain Kia Telluride vehicles were also recalled over some electrical system issues in the instrument cluster of the vehicles. In the same month, 2022 EV6 vehicles were also recalled due to a software error in the Shifter Control Unit (SCU). Reportedly, SCU may disengage the parking mechanism automatically which can cause the vehicle to roll away while parked. Kia’s sister brand Hyundai also recalled certain units of its ground-breaking Ioniq 5 EV over the same issue.
In previous years as well, there have been many incidences of Kia recalling its vehicles over many issues discovered during inspections and monitoring of vehicle data.
Conclusion
Recalling is common practice among automakers to ensure the proper functionality of vehicles and the general public’s safety. Kia has a history of recalling vehicles now and then over various issues. Although, the fact that there have been errors in newly delivered vehicles as well is concerning and the brand should focus more on reducing these errors. But the brand’s efforts in continuously working towards it and finding out these errors and resolving them should be appreciated.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What type of campaign is Kia conducting?
Kia is conducting a safety recall campaign for certain vehicles in which a software or hardware issue has been found and can result in fatalities if left unattended.
- Can you describe the recall campaign and fix?
Kia will be attending to the issues and performing the repairs and replacement of faulty components for free of cost.
- Have there been any deaths, injuries or accidents as a result of these issues for recalls?
Reportedly, there has been no case of any major casualty or death because of these issues.
