Kia Sorento and Sportage Recalled for Fire-Prone Hitch Wiring

Faulty tow hitches stay a thorn in Hyundai and Kia’s facet. Mere weeks after each manufacturers introduced remembers on some 280,000 Palisades and Tellurides as a result of a hearth danger stemming from the accent, the Korean automaker has had so as to add one other 70,000 Kia Sorentos and Sportages to the listing.

The offender is identical. The non-obligatory tow hitch is badly sealed towards the weather, permitting moisture to seep into the harness module circuit board. That would trigger a brief circuit — explaining how a hitch, of all issues, can begin a hearth in a car.

The addendum to the recall now covers Sorento mannequin years 2016 to 2023, together with hybrid and plug-in variants, per the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 2017 by 2022 Sportages are additionally affected. Kia sellers are now not promoting the accent hitch in the interim, and are returning all unsold components to the producer’s headquarters.

House owners must be notified by mid November, although you don’t want to attend that lengthy for affirmation that your Sportage or Sorento is on the listing. If you happen to’re not sure, merely use the NHTSA’s VIN lookup tool.

Hopefully Kia may have a greater half to swap in by the point letters exit to affected homeowners. Till then, the corporate recommends these with hitch-equipped SUVs park their autos outside and away from buildings. Three Tellurides have already caught fireplace in Canada as a result of this precise subject, based on Carscoops — so this isn’t an issue to take frivolously. It doesn’t matter what automobile you drive, click on right here to learn how to verify for any open remembers in your car.