Kia has announced that it is recalling more than 50,000 Kia Sorento models from the 2023 model year in the United States but fortunately, it is not related to a particularly pressing safety issue that should worry owners.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s recall notice reveals that the airbag warning label placed on the driver and front passenger sun visors may peel off after being applied improperly. This means certain vehicles failed to complex with a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard that requires these labels to be permanently fixed to the sun visor.
Kia notes that if the warning label/s is to peel off then occupants may not be warned of the risks of airbag deployment, potentially increasing the risk of injury. Although the company is not aware of any crashes or injuries related to the issue, it has identified 10 potentially related sun visor label peeling incidents among its fleet.
A total of 50,517 Kia Sorento models are involved in the recall. These cars were all manufactured between October 6, 2022, and August 5, 2023.
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Kia dealerships will be notified of the recall before October 5 while owners will be notified via first class mail before October 10. Dealerships will be able to rectify the issue by simply replacing the driver and front passenger sun visors if necessary.
The recall does not impact the mid-lifecycle update introduced for the 2024 Sorento in Korea last month. This new model won’t land on U.S. shores until next year and adopts a slightly more refined and upmarket design with more curved surfaces, overhauled headlights, new bumpers, and different taillights. Kia’s designers have also crafted new alloy wheel designs. The refreshed model bound for the U.S. will probably retain the same range of engines as the current model, including a 191 hp 2.5-liter four-cylinder, a 281 hp 2.0-liter four-cylinder, a 227 hp 1.6-liter hybrid, and a 261 hp 1.6-liter plug-in hybrid.
