Kia Exterior Lighting: Switch

Kia is recalling about 7,722 vehicles over a problem with the exterior lighting. Whenever the brake switch is not working, the brake lights will not illuminate, reducing the ability to warn other motorists of the driver's intentions of stopping, increasing the risk of a crash.

Campaign
15V360000
Manufacturer
Kia Motors America
Reported
9 June 2015
Vehicles
7,722
Built between
Mar 2011 – Jun 2011
Models
1
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
7 July 2015
Repaired
70%
Unrepaired
1,808

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between March 2011 and June 2011. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2011 Kia SportageBuilt March 2011 to June 2011

Repair progress

1,808 of 7,722 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q4 2016.

70% repaired — 5,399 of 7,722 reported

Owners not reachable
280
Scrapped or exported
235

Manufacturers file these figures with NHTSA each quarter. Vehicles the manufacturer could not trace, or that have been scrapped or exported, are counted separately and are not included in the unrepaired figure.

What the defect is

Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain model year 2011 Sportage vehicles manufactured March 7, 2011, to June 8, 2011. In the affected vehicles, the brake light switch may intermittently fail.

What could happen

Whenever the brake switch is not working, the brake lights will not illuminate, reducing the ability to warn other motorists of the driver's intentions of stopping, increasing the risk of a crash.

What gets fixed

Kia will notify owners, and dealers will replace the brake light switch, free of charge. The recall began on July 7, 2015.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtMarch 2011 to June 2011
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA9 June 2015
  3. Owners notified7 July 2015
  4. Latest repair reportQ4 2016 — 70% repaired

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 9 June 2015.

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. Kia's number for this recall is SC121.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
SC121
Recalling manufacturer
Kia Motors America
Recall initiated by
MFR

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

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to 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