- Vehicles
- 71,704
- Built between
- Aug 2007 – May 2009
- Models
- 1
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 28 December 2016
- Repaired
- 51%
- Unrepaired
- 23,769
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between August 2007 and May 2009. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 2008-2009 Kia SportageBuilt August 2007 to May 2009
Repair progress
23,769 of 71,704 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q2 2018.
51% repaired — 36,265 of 71,704 reported
- Owners not reachable
- 6,088
- Scrapped or exported
- 5,582
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 2008-2009 Kia Sportage vehicles manufactured August 9, 2007, to May 13, 2009. The wire harness cover on the Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit (HECU) may be improperly sealed allowing water to get onto the HECU circuit board. If the water is contaminated with salt, such as could occur from melted snow, the wire harness connector pins may corrode and the circuit board may short circuit.
What could happen
If the HECU short circuits, there is an increased risk of an engine compartment fire.
What gets fixed
Kia will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the connector pins for corrosion, if no corrosion is found, the connector cover will be replaced. If corrosion is present, the dealer will replace the HECU assembly and the connector cover, free of charge. The recall began on November 28, 2016.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtAugust 2007 to May 2009
- Recall reported to NHTSA10 November 2016
- Owners notified28 December 2016
- Latest repair reportQ2 2018 — 51% 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 10 November 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 SC138.
Official source
- Manufacturer's recall number
- SC138
- 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.