Kia Australia is recalling 40,817 vehicles manufactured between 2016 and 2018 for a potential airbag fault which can be rectified by the dealer network at no charge to the owner.
The affected vehicles include the Kia Carnival, Kia Cerato and Kia Soul and the remedy may be as simple as replacing a control unit or performing a software update says the company.
It says due to a manufacturing issue, the Airbag Control Unit (ACU) cover and the Electronically Erasable Programming Read-Only Memory (EEPROM) chip may have been produced with insufficient clearance.
This could cause the airbag warning lights to illuminate and the airbags may not deploy says Kia. In the event of an accident an airbag not deploying as intended could increase the risk of injury or death to vehicle occupants and other road users.
However, if the Airbag Warning Light is illuminated, and Fault Code B162000 is stored, the dealer will replace the ACU with an improved unit says Kia.
If the Airbag Warning Light is not illuminated, Kia says a software update will be performed to the ACU ensuring deployment of the Airbag(s) in the event of an accident.
It says owners can contact their nearest Kia Australia dealer to arrange for an inspection and repair of the vehicle, free of charge.
