NEW YORK — Kia America is recalling over 80,000 cars because of floor wiring under the front passenger seat that can break and make it difficult for seat belts and airbags to function correctly.
According to documents submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, damaged wiring may also result in an unintentional side curtain air bag deployment.
80,255 2023–2025 Niro EV, Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV), and Hybrid automobiles are included in the recall.
Dealers will examine, replace, and reroute the floor wire assembly as needed for free in order to correct the issue. Dealers will also put up wiring covers. Letters informing owners will be mailed in March.
The recall comes after Hyundai and Kia recalled more than 208,000 electric cars in November to replace a potentially broken transistor in a charging control unit that was preventing the 12-volt battery from charging. This could then result in a loss of drive power, raising the possibility of an accident.
