Kia to announce recall of tens of thousands of vehicles after spontaneous fires

Kia plans to recall tens of thousands of cars and SUVs, the automaker told Scripps station WFTS in Tampa late Tuesday.

The recall plan, which is dated Jan. 11, calls for inspections to determine whether high-pressure fuel pumps were installed properly during engine recall replacements. Kia estimates the recall would involve more than 50,000 Kia Optimas, more than 17,000 Kia Sorentos and about 1,000 Kia Sportages.

“The remedy for the previous recall 17v224 may not have been properly performed in all cases by the Kia dealers,” states the company memo. “In some cases, the high pressure fuel pipe may have been damaged, misaligned or improperly torqued during the engine replacement procedure, allowing fuel to leak increasing the risk of fire.” read more »