Kia Air Bags: Sensor/Control Module-Inactive

Kia is recalling about 10,631 vehicles over a problem with the air bags. The passenger side air bag is turned off when the ocs misclassifies an adult passenger.

Campaign
11V473000
Manufacturer
KIA MOTORS CORPORATION
Reported
7 September 2011
Vehicles
10,631
Built between
Jun 2006 – Nov 2007
Models
1
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
NHTSA investigation
Owners notified
30 September 2011
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between June 2006 and November 2007. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2007-2008 Kia SorentoBuilt June 2006 to November 2007

What the defect is

Kia is recalling certain model year 2007-2008 sorento passenger cars manufactured from june 15, 2006 through november 27, 2007. The front passenger air bag may be turned off when an adult is in the passenger seat. The front passenger air bag is designed to be turned off in limited circumstances including when children and small adults are seated in the front passenger seat, there is a child restraint in that seat or the seat is not occupied. The vehicle's occupant classification system (ocs), which classifies the occupant in the front passenger seat, may misclassify an adult passenger as a child or child seat and improperly turn off the passenger side air bag. When the air bag is deactivated the "passenger air bag off" light will illuminate on the center instrument panel.

What could happen

The passenger side air bag is turned off when the ocs misclassifies an adult passenger. With the front passenger airbag off, the front passenger will not have the protection of the passenger air bags in some frontal collisions, thus increasing the risk of occupant injury.

What gets fixed

KIA WILL UPDATE THE PROGRAMMING IN THE SORENTO OCS CONTROL MODULE AT NO CHARGE. THE RECALL REMEDY IS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE UNDER SERVICE CAMPAIGN SC076.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtJune 2006 to November 2007
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA7 September 2011
  3. Owners notified30 September 2011

Your rights

A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.

That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 7 September 2011.

To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.

Manufacturer contact

Owners may contact kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
SC076A
Recalling manufacturer
KIA MOTORS CORPORATION
Recall initiated by
ODI

Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Additional notes

Kia's recall campaign number is SC076A.CUSTOMERS may contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty: 1-800-424-9153); or go to http://www.safercar.gov.

Check your own vehicle

This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.

A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.

Same component

Same brand