By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Kia Motors Corp said on Saturday it is recalling 295,000 U.S. vehicles for engine fire risks.
The Korean automaker said the recall covers some 2012-2013 model year Sorento, 2012-2015 Forte and Forte Koup, 2011-2013 Optima Hybrid, 2014-2015 Soul, and 2012 Sportage vehicles because an engine compartment fire can occur while driving.
Dealers will inspect the engine compartment for fuel or oil leaks, perform an engine test and make any repairs including engine replacement, as necessary. Kia said it is currently developing a Knock Sensor Detection System software update.
Last week, Kia and affiliate Hyundai Motor Co agreed to a record $210 million civil penalty after U.S. auto safety regulators said they failed to recall 1.6 million vehicles for engine issues in a timely fashion. read more
“…because an engine compartment fire can occur while driving.”
…don’t wanna ruin anyone’s day or anything, but an engine compartment fire can ALWAYS occur on ANY vehicle while driving, just a li’l gas leak or rubbed wiring in the wrong place and POOF!…
…the BEST part, that I saw when I was out dealing with engine compartment fires?
…people’s first clue would be the engine starts not working right because parts of it are melting, so of COURSE they pull up to the nearest set of GAS PUMPS and open the HOOD, so then a splendid time can be had by ALL when the rapidly opened hood pulls air across the fire and out into the guy’s surprised face with a FWOOMP!, so now you have a briskly burning, molten plastic dripping, battery exploding inferno with a blinded guy with his hair on fire rolling around next to it and a REALLY good source of vaporized fuel right NEXT to in because the Kwiki-Mart kid forgot to throw the kill switches, so it can be REAL exciting for a minute or two there if you don’t get all over it right quick…
Not mentioned in the article is the number of fires that actually occurred to spark the recall.
That would give an owner at least a shot of guessing how probable it is and whether or not he needs to panic and quit driving it until it is serviced.
May all their Souls burn in Hell.
Let me know when the same thing happen to the Prius.
Prius’s like Tesla’s will spontaneously combust because of faulty battery packs. I will never willingly drive an all electric vehicle. Call me old school and a throwback but that’s just the way I am having grown up most of my life around internal combustion driven cars and trucks.
My wife drives a ’13 Kia sorento. Great car no problems. However I just had the motor replaced in my 2015 Ram.
KIA- kill in action?
Glad I got rid of my 2013 Kia Forte couple of year’s ago, it was a piece of shit.
Being fair, my dads Acura MDX caught fire right in front of our office.
I would like to choke out the engineers who decided to route the refrigerant lines on my former GMC Yukon right behind the rear tire where the salt spray & gravel literally assaulted them by design.
Modern engineers are fucking idiots. I have 30 year old HVAC units that run like Swiss clocks and Modern units that fail within the first year at a disgusting rate.
New low flush toilets anyone?
Kcir
DECEMBER 6, 2020 AT 9:04 PM
“Modern engineers are fucking idiots.”
…yes, but they’re idiots because they’re paid to in on many cases, you are just not looking at what their true motivation is. Most engineering is done to optimize the manufacturing process, not from the standpoint of what’s best for the consumer or what makes the finished good serviceable by the end user. Those lines 8n the Yukon were probably put there because that’s what was easiest and cheapest to assemble, and it worked, you bought the vehicle and it lasted long enough that it wasn’t a warranty issue.
Win for GM, eh?
…we have a saying about what the engineers motto must be among electricians: “Put The Wire In The Pipe and the Pipe in the Way”. This is because the hard conduit is so often in the way of components that it almost seems like active malevolence on the part of the OEM against the end user, but again it was usually because it made it SUPER easy and quick for semiskilled labor to assemble quickly at the factory, and the end user considerations just weren’t as important as that as taking them into account gains the OEM nothing because it rarely affects purchase decisions.
Its just another variation of the “other actor” fallacy; you should NEVER expect someone ELSE to act in YOUR best interest, especially if it goes against their OWN best interests…
Not just KIA, Hyundai both have big issues.
Some Private Insurance Arson Investigators I have spoken with indicated they have seen a number of these fires started around the “Starter” and the placement of other routed items and lines around it. The starter solenoid malfunctions and burns thru causing a massive Engine Compartment fire using tightly surrounding routed lines.
YES! There has been a few fires involving homes where the car was parked under an adjoined carport or in the closed garage.
EG. 2011 Report brushed off by Onsite Hyundai investigator
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iB-OTYpiAf0