Kia Seats

Kia is recalling about 1,408 vehicles over a problem with the seats. In the event of a crash, the driver seatback frame could break and fail to restrain a seat occupant, increasing the risk of injury.

Campaign
16V770000
Manufacturer
Kia Motors America
Reported
24 October 2016
Vehicles
1,408
Built between
Mar 2016 – Mar 2016
Models
1
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
9 December 2016
Repaired
73%
Unrepaired
348

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between March 2016 and March 2016. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2016 Kia SorentoBuilt March 2016 to March 2016

Repair progress

348 of 1,408 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q1 2018.

73% repaired — 1,022 of 1,408 reported

Owners not reachable
33
Scrapped or exported
5

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 2016 Kia Sorento vehicles manufactured March 3, 2016 to March 21, 2016. The driver's seatback frame may have been produced with inadequate weld joints and, as a result, the seatback may not function as designed in the event of a rear-end collision.

What could happen

In the event of a crash, the driver seatback frame could break and fail to restrain a seat occupant, increasing the risk of injury.

What gets fixed

Kia will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the welds and replace the driver seatback frame, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on December 9, 2016.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtMarch 2016 to March 2016
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA24 October 2016
  3. Owners notified9 December 2016
  4. Latest repair reportQ1 2018 — 73% 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 24 October 2016.

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 SC140.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
SC140
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