NHTSA campaign number
16V862000
Trailer hitches — affecting 3 model years across Kia.
- Issued
- Manufacturer
- Kia Motors America
- Model years
- 2016–2017
- System
- Equipment & accessories
Elevated severity
This campaign addresses a defect NHTSA classifies as carrying elevated crash or injury risk.
What the defect is
Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Sorento vehicles manufactured October 27, 2014, to August 25, 2016, and 2017 Sportage vehicles manufactured December 10, 2015, to August 26, 2016. The affected vehicles are equipped with an accessory trailer hitch wiring harness that, due to a malfunction of the tow hitch module, may result in the trailer brake lights being constantly illuminated. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, " Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
Why it matters
If the trailer brake lights stay illuminated while being used, other drivers may be confused, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Kia will notify owners, and dealers will replace the trailer tow hitch harness, free of charge. The recall began January 18, 2017. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC142.
What this page does not include
NHTSA's public recall feed does not supply an affected-population count, the manufacturer's own campaign number, owner-notification dates or a defect chronology for this campaign. Rather than estimate them, we omit them. Confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected — and whether the repair has already been done — using its VIN.
Check a VINVehicles affected by this campaign
3 model years in our index. Coverage reflects the vehicles VerifyTheVehicle tracks, which may be narrower than the full campaign population.