An issue with the housing that holds the rearview camera in place in 2022-2023 Kia Sorentos has been found to be too weak. As a result, the camera could fall out of position, which has prompted the automaker to initiate a recall.
The automaker first noted the issue in June 2023, when its Product Quality Department published a Quality Information Report relating to the crossover. In a preliminary data analysis launched the next day, it found 70 incidents that could have been related to this problem.
In July, it collected warranty-returned parts with broken clips and shipped them to Kia HQ for evaluation. A month later, it sent even more broken parts to its headquarters, leading to the conclusion that the rearview camera housing was too weak.
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If the mounting clips fail, the camera can fall out of position and could lead the screen in the vehicle to display a useless image to the driver. That could make it harder to reverse the vehicle, and means that the Sorentos included in this recall do not abide by U.S. regulations requiring all vehicles to have a backup camera.
In all, Kia is recalling 144,979 Sorentos, Sorento Hybrids, and Sorento PHEVs from the 2022-2023 model years. Of those, it expects one percent to be at risk of actually experiencing a falling reverse camera, and it has already learned of 127 incidents relating to this in the field.
Fortunately, Kia is not yet aware of any accidents or injuries relating to this problem but is launching a recall campaign to rectify it. It plans to start reaching out to owners on October 27. They will be asked to return their vehicle to a nearby dealership, where the camera housing will be inspected and replaced by a new camera housing with stiffening ribs around the mounting clips for added strength.
