Kia Voluntarily Recalls Half of Its U.S. Imports : Manufacturing: Korean auto maker is replacing defective sensors in 6,945 cars six months after debut in this country.
Less than six months after beginning sales in the United States, Kia Motors America has announced a voluntary recall of more than half of the 13,000 cars it has imported from Korea to replace sensors that control speedometers and cruise controls.
Only about half of the 6,945 cars subject to the recall have actually been sold to private buyers, the company indicated. The others are still are on dealers’ lots or waiting to be shipped to dealers.
Industry analysts say the recall isn’t likely to hurt Irvine-based Kia--which advertises its vehicles, which start at $8,995, as “well-built” cars for everyone.
“Recalls don’t have the negative connotations they used to have” when most repairs were forced on reluctant auto makers by federal regulators, said Christopher Cedargren, an analyst with AutoPacific Group in Santa Ana. “Most recalls these days are voluntary, and they tell people that the car companies care about quality.”
Luxury auto lines such as Lexus and Infiniti, as well as General Motors Corp.’s Saturn--the domestic leader in recent quality surveys--have had a number of voluntary recalls. “If anything, they have helped the images of those companies,” Cedargren said.
Kia owner Jeannine Sainz bought her turquoise Sephia at an El Cajon dealership in April. She has not yet been notified of the recall, she said, but isn’t concerned about it.
“You hear about them all the time now, they’re no big deal. At least they show that the company is keeping an eye on things,” Sainz said. The 22-year-old San Diego bank teller said she is very happy with her car and has had no problems.
Kia Motors America, the importer and distributor of Korean-made Kia automobiles, said that the cars subject to its recall were equipped with an electronic speed sensor that has developed an “unacceptable” malfunction rate. The problems have been identified over time in the Sephias that have been used by rental fleets since last fall.
Kia began a “rolling” retail introduction of its cars in Washington in February. The first dealerships in Southern California did not open until May.
Only 3,600 of the 13,000 Sephia compact sedans now in the United States have been sold by dealers, said Kia spokesman Geno Effler. An additional 2,000 cars are owned by rental car fleets and the remaining vehicles are at showrooms or in storage.
The cars all were made between Nov. 5, 1993, and March 30, 1994. Of the total, 1,555 are Sephia GS models with cruise control.
