Pleasanton, CA – October 27, 2023 – Kia announced that 4,241 cars that were part of this recall were still in need of repair. To see if your car is one them, please use MotorSafety’s free vehicle lookup tool.

Pleasanton, CA – March 3, 2022 – Kia (OTCMKTS:KIMTF) has remedied issues with 19,276 luxury sports sedans including the 2019 Kia Stinger dealing with a risk of fire caused by a failure with the Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS). Additionally, 991 of these vehicles have been categorized as unreachable and 477 have been removed from the recall. One group of Kia models were remedied in 2020 and four groups were remedied in 2021 for this issue with the ABS Unit that may cause an engine compartment fire similar to a recall that affect several 2014-2015 Kia Sorento and 2013-2015 Kia Optima models in 2021.

Pleasanton, CA – August 28, 2020 – Kia (OTCMKTS:KIMTF) has announced a recall of 28,200 luxury sports sedans over concerns of an engine compartment fire, potentially caused by the anti-lock braking system (ABS). The recall includes all 2019 Kia Stingers equipped with 3.3L T-GDI engines.

The Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit (HECU) is an important component of the ABS that prevents the wheels of a car from locking and allows the car to maintain traction with the road.

Recall summary

In recalled cars, there is a risk that an engine compartment fire may occur where the HECU is located.  However, while the recall notice points to the ABS unit as the culprit of fire, other documents from the regulator National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) stop short from confirming that, instead listing the cause of the fire as “unknown.”

At least six Kia Stingers had caught fire before the manufacturer issued the recall.

Risks

Car fires kill over 300 people a year on average and injure over a thousand, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. Their report blames at least 20% of vehicle fires between 2009 and 2017 on equipment failures. As far as manufacturer Kia is concerned, there are many recalls caused by fire hazards. In 2021, several Kia Compact SUVs were recalled for fire risk due to electrical issues.

Warning signs

 Before the car catches fire, the driver may notice the following:

• Tire pressure,  ABS  or the malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) warning lights come on
• The car emits a “burning/melting odor”
• Smoke appears from under the hood

What to do in the event of a fire

If you notice any of these conditions, stop your car someplace safe. If you suspect there is an actual fire under the hood, do not open it. Oxygen will rush in and feed the flames. Instead, get yourself and others away from the vehicle, at least 100 feet.

Call the fire department at 911 when you are in a secure location. Do not return to the vehicle for any reason.

The repair

Kia has yet to offer a repair for this recall. The automaker will be notifying owners by mail starting October 26, at which time it will lay out the next steps of the recall process.

Is your vehicle part of this recall?

Over 9,000 Kia Stingers are included in this recall. To see if your car is one of them, use MotorSafety’s vehicle identification number look up tool.