Kia has issued yet another recall for its 2013-2014 Optima sedan to address an issue with the vehicle's low-pressure fuel hose. At least 72,848 Kia Optima cars are affected by the fuel hose problem, an issue that may result in a fire.
This is the second time Kia has recalled these particular models in the past two years. The last time Kia recalled 2013-2014 Kia Optima cars was in 2020 when it was determined that a fuel hose could crack in those vehicles.
It seems Kia was not able to address that problem totally in the initial recall. According to the South Korean automaker, dealers may not have properly repaired the low-pressure fuel hose in those Kia Optima sedans with heat-protective tape during the first recall two years ago. Also, in other cases, a fuel hose in the Kia Optima with evidence of damage was just repaired with tape instead of being replaced altogether.
Hyundai and Kia have been in hot water lately, with both carmakers involved in a series of fire-related recalls with their respective vehicles. Based on documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a total of 155 warranty claims, 12 customer complaints, and eight cases were submitted to Kia's internal dealer-support technical center relating to this issue.
That forced Kia to act on the fuel hose problem again. The good news for Kia is that there have been no reports of injuries, crashes, fires, or fatalities connected to those fuel-hose issues after the initial recall was performed.
As per the Detroit Free Press, Kia dealerships will replace the low-pressure fuel hose in the affected 2013-2014 Optima models with a new and improved one to fix the issue this time around. Kia Optima owners need to heed this new recall alert for their vehicles, given the spate of complaints related to the fuel hose issues even if previous recall work was already performed on their cars.
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The NHTSA has been keeping a close eye on Hyundai and Kia vehicles for years now because of the fire risk in some of their cars. The federal agency launched an investigation into their vehicles which use a 2.0-liter and 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine design called the Theta II that both Kia and Hyundai share.
The NHTSA was forced to act following a petition from the advocacy group Center for Auto Safety that stemmed from having 3,000 reports of fires from Hyundai and Kia vehicles carrying the Theta II design. Affected owners have already filed a class-action lawsuit against Hyundai and Kia relating to the fires in their vehicles. Previous recalls of Kia and Hyundai cars involved oil leaks, engine problems, catalytic converters, fuel leaks, and faulty oil pans.
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