Not that you’re likely to crawl all the way into your trunk, but if you do, don’t get into the trunk of a 2016-2018 Kia Rio or Optima. That’s because a problem with the trunk release could cause the emergency latch not to work, trapping you in there.
While the actual safety implications of that problem are (hopefully) very low, Kia owners may be happy to hear about a consequent recall, because it means that their sticky trunk latches will continue to be fixed free of charge, even after their warranty expires.
The problem first came to Kia’s attention in January 2023, and it eventually discovered two warranty-returned parts from Rio owners who complained that their trunk would not close. In May, it started to investigate what was at the root of this issue.
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It discovered that in some cases, cracks can form at the trunk latch base subassembly that cause an intermittent inability to open or close the lid. A short time later, it received complaints from the field relating to the Optima as well.
The reason that this amounts to more than a warranty repair, is because if someone becomes trapped in the trunk, it increases the risk of an injury occurring. More to the point, the crack means that these vehicles don’t abide by federal regulations requiring an internal trunk release.
As a result, Kia is recalling certain 2016-2017 Rios, as well as certain 2016-2018 Optimas, Optimas Hybrids, and Optima Plug-In Hybrids. In all, it will look at 319,436 vehicles, just one percent of which it expects will actually have a cracked latch.
Kia plans to start getting in touch with customers on October 19, and will ask them to return their vehicle to a nearby dealer. There, the trunk latch will be replaced by a new one, free of charge, and the automaker will reimburse any owners who fixed this out of pocket.
