Another vehicle recall and it’s not the Kuga
As of Thursday 23 February, Kia Motors South Africa (Pty) Ltd will be conducting a safety recall on 305 Kia Sportage models.
The South Korean automotive manufacturer will be recalling specific models that were manufactured in Korea between 9 August 2007 and 22 May 2009 to diagnose the vehicle’s Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit.
The Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit is a system that monitors the individual wheel speeds and will, when determined, operate the Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) and Electronic Stability Programme (ESP).
There is a possibility that corrosion of the wire harness connector pins in the Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit assembly can occur due to improper sealing of the Hydraulic ECU’s wire harness connector cover. If moisture contaminated with road salt reaches the Hydraulic ECU’s circuit board, an electrical short circuit may occur on the circuit board. In some instances, the ESC or ABS warning light may illuminate.
Also read: Vehicle recalls – why so many unsafe vehicles remain on our roads.
“The safety of our vehicles and its owners is a priority for Kia,” said David Sieff, Marketing Director of Kia Motors SA.
“Most of the reports about this problem have occurred in countries with heavy snowfall, where roads are regularly treated with salt to avoid ice forming on the road surface. It is the salt in the water content that could cause corrosion. No such incidents have been reported in South Africa,” Sieff added.
Apart from announcing the recalling campaign on Kia Motors South Africa’s social media assets, the company will publish a notification in national newspapers in order to reach as many current owners as possible.
Also read: Kia Motors SA recalls the Kia Soul
If customers are uncertain about whether their vehicle could be affected, the Kia Motors SA website, www.kia.co.za – offers a convenient search function through which customers can enter their vehicles VIN (Vehicle Identification Number).
Kia dealerships will implement the recall at no charge to the vehicle owner.