South Korean automaker, Kia , has notified the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that it will be recalling 23,973 Soul subcompacts and 11,213 Sorento crossovers after identifying potentially faulty soldering in the electrical system.
In the communication sent to NHTSA by Kia , the automaker says that only vehicles produced between September 7, 2009, and July 30, 2010 are affected, and only the 2010 model year Soul and 2011 model year Sorento.
The specifics safety issue stems from a wiring harness – which Kia is quick to point out comes from a supplier known as JCI – that is used in the hip and cool speaker illumination ring that lights up around the speakers when music is playing. This hot feature was apparently hotter than expected, and due to a sloppy soldering job, a short can occur which could potentially lead to a vehicle fire.
To date, Kia believes there have been no injuries or deaths associated with the problem. The automaker will begin inspecting and replacing faulty harnesses this month.
