Kia Recalls Nearly 140-Thousand 06-09 Vehicles

Vehicle Make / Model:		Model Year(s):
KIA / AMANTI		2007
KIA / RONDO		2007
KIA / SEDONA		2006-2007
KIA / SORENTO		2006-2007
KIA / SPORTAGE		2006-2007
Manufacturer: HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY		Mfr’s Report Date: APR 15, 2009
NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number: 09V130000		N/A NHTSA Action Number: N/A

Component: EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS:SWITCH

Potential Number of Units Affected: 139844

Summary: KIA IS RECALLING 139,844 YEARS 2006-2007 SEDONA, SPORTAGE, SORENTO AND MY RONDO AND AMANTI VEHICLES. THE STOP LAMP SWITCH IN THE VEHICLE MAY HAVE BEEN DAMAGED DURING THE ASSEMBLY PROCESS. AS A RESULT, THE STOP LAMP SWITCH MAY MALFUNCTION CAUSING ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS TO EXIST: THE BRAKE LIGHTS MAY NOT ILLUMINATE WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL IS DEPRESSED OR MAY REMAIN ILLUMINATED WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL IS RELEASED. ON SOME OCCASIONS, WHEN THE VEHICLE IS STARTED, THE SHIFTER CANNOT BE MOVED FROM THE PARK (P) POSITION. IF THE VEHICLE IS EQUIPPED WITH ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC), THE ESC LIGHT MAY ILLUMINATE INDICATING “ESC OFF.” IF THE VEHICLE IS EQUIPPED WITH CRUISE CONTROL, DEPRESSING THE BRAKE MAY NOT DEACTIVATE THE CRUISE CONTROL SYSTEM.

Consequence: THE MALFUNCTION OF THE STOP LAMP SWITCH MAY INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH.

Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE STOP LAMP SWITCH TO ELIMINATE THE POSSIBILITY THAT THIS CONDITION MIGHT EXIST. THIS SERVICE WILL BE PERFORMED FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING MAY/JUNE 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CONSUMER ASSISTANCE CENTER AT 1-800-333-4542.

Notes: HYUNDAI-KIA RECALL NO. SC077. OWNERS MAY ALSO 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 .

Comments

Sherri says

February 1, 2012 at 12:57 am

My 2009 Kia Sportage had the same problem as the brake light switch recall for the ’06 – ’07 model years. The dealer fixed it because it is under warranty but advised that they needed to replace the bulbs because they caused the malfunction. Tail light bulbs would cost me maybe $2-3 each at NAPA but I paid them $40 to replace them both. Why? Because they said the burnt out bulbs would cause the new brake switch to malfunction as soon as I got a few miles down the road.
I’m skeptical and want to know if anyone else had this same issue.