South Korea’s Kia Motors is voluntarily recalling its Soul model automobile due to a manufacturing defect with the steering system.
According to Kia, which is wholly owned by Hyundai, it will recall 256,459 Soul and Soul EV subcompact crossovers that were built between Jan. 18, 2014, and Sept. 30, 2015.
This amounts to roughly 40 percent of Kia Motors’ Soul sales in North America. As of March 2015, Kia had sold a total of 610,000 of Soul vehicles in the North American market.
There have been five cars brought in for warranty claims for the problem. Fortunately there have been no reported injuries or accidents related to the defect.
Engineers for the South Korean automaker say that the problem was found with a part of the steering assembly called the “pinion plug” that could possibly loosen and come out –which could lead to a complete loss of steering capabilities.
According to documents filed with the NHTSA, America’s automobile safety governing body, Kia blamed the defect on a manufacturing error, pointing specifically to the adhesive used to hold the steering pinion gear to the steering gear assembly.
There have been five cars brought in for warranty claims for the problem. Fortunately there have been no reported injuries or accidents related to the defect.
The company will mail recall notices to owners no later than Dec. 22. Soul owners need simply take their cars to any dealer and they will replace the affected systems free of charge. The NHTSA announced that a bolt will also be installed for additional reinforcement.
The number of Kia Soul crossover vehicles sold in the U.S. dropped by 1.1 percent since last year. The company’s best-selling vehicle in the American market is the four-door Optima sedan, followed by the Kia Soul as the second most popular.
Airbag and transmission problems
Though not part of the steering recall, Kia is also updating the Soul’s airbag control unit software to ensure occupant safety in the event of a crash. The affected vehicles were manufactured between July 21, 2013, and Nov. 26, 2014.
In October Kia Motors announced a recall for 377,000 cars due to an issue where the transmission could accidentally slip out of park. The recall applies to 2011- 2013 Sorento crossover SUV’s.
