Recently purchased a 2017-2021 Kia Sportage or a 2017-2019 Kia Cadenza? Well, the Korean automaker has just issued a recall for fire risk on many of these vehicles—right around 380,000 cars total, as the Associated Press reports.
The company says the risk stems from a possible short circuit in the hydro-electric emergency brake’s control unit, which can cause excessive current and therefore heat, potentially leading to a fire. Before this happens, Kia says owners might smell something burning or melting in the interior—that would make sense—and a few dashboard lights might come on, such as the tire pressure warning, or anti-lock brake light. It’s worth noting that if you have one of these vehicles but it’s equipped with Kia’s “Smart Cruise Control,” you can disregard this recall; it does not affect vehicles with this feature.
Owners will be able to bring their cars in for a fix after March 30 once Kia begins the process of formally notifying those who purchased the recalled vehicles. In the meantime, the company says that the affected cars and SUVs should be parked outdoors to mitigate the risk of a larger fire.
So far, there have been no reported injuries, deaths, or even fires related to the recall, so Kia is simply taking precautionary measures. Seeing as the automaker has been burned—no pun intended—by other recalls in the past primarily relating to engine fires, that’s probably a good move.
Kia has not signaled that any of its other vehicles are affected by this issue as of publishing.
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