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Jan. 25 (UPI) — Kia is recalling more than 80,000 vehicles in the United States because of a possible issue with seatbelts and airbags, according to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The South Korean automaker filed a report with the NHTSA because of a wiring issue with the hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery electric versions of the Kia Niro.
The recall affects 80,255 of the company’s subcompact SUVs produced between June 2022 and December 2024, according to the NHTSA Safety Recall Notice.
Kia first started making the Niro in 2016.
Damaged wiring under the floor of the vehicles may impact front airbags and seat belts. In some cases, they may not deploy properly, which could lead to injury or an unexpected collision.
Wiring issues may also cause side curtain airbags in the vehicles to go off unintentionally, the company said in the report.
The Safety Recall Notice says the company became aware of the issue last year.
So far there have been no injuries reported to the NHTSA related to the wiring issue.
Kia is fixing the problem for vehicle owners without charge. The company’s dealership will reroute existing wiring and install more protective covering to mitigate the issue.
The recall is the latest issue for Kia vehicles.
This past June, the company warned owners of its larger, gas-powered Kia Telluride to park the vehicles outside. That recall affected four production years and applied to almost 463,000 of the mid-size crossover SUVs.
Last March, Kia recalled 437,000 Telluride SUVs because of concerns the vehicles could continue to roll after being shifted into park.