2007 Kia RONDO: complaints, problems and recalls

MY KIA FRONT AIRBAGS DID NOT INFLATE WHEN I REAR-ENDED ANOTHER CAR IN FRONT OF ME ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON. THIS IS A BRAND NEW KIA RONDO LX. I SINCE WENT TO THE CHIROPRACTOR AND HAD X-RAYS RUN. MY NECK AND MY BACK ARE SHOWING DAMAGE AND REQUIRE TREATMENT. I THINK IF THE AIRBAGS HAD INFLATED PROPERLY, MY WHIPLASH WOULD HAVE BEEN LESSENED. I WOULD LIKE YOU TO CONTACT ME ASAP ON CELL PHONE [XXX] OR WORK PHONE [XXX] RE: THIS ISSUE. I THINK KIA IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS CAR'S MALFUNCTIONING AIRBAGS AND FOR MY INJURIES. MY CAR IS IN THE SHOP NOW …

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10191466 at NHTSA ↗

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 KIA RONDO. WHEN THE HEADLIGHTS ARE ON LOW BEAM, THE LIGHTS ONLY SHINE 100 FEET. THE DRIVER WAS UNABLE TO READ THE ROAD SIGNS. THE HIGH BEAMS OPERATED CORRECTLY. THE DEALER STATED THAT THERE WAS NO FAILURE. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 300 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 2,200. UPDATED 03/10/08. *LJ

Owner-reported narrative. 300 miles reported. Look up ODI 10214272 at NHTSA ↗

MANY ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS AND O2 SENSOR WENT BAD ON A VEHICLE THAT HAD ONLY 3,000 MILES. AFTER A HALF OF A DOZEN TIMES IN THE SHOP, IT IS STILL NOT FIXED. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 2,900 miles reported. Look up ODI 10215731 at NHTSA ↗

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 KIA RONDO. ON EIGHT SEPARATE OCCASIONS, WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED, THE EMERGENCY BRAKE ICON ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO DRAG AS IF THE EMERGENCY BRAKE HAD BEEN ENGAGED. THE EMERGENCY BRAKE HAD TO BE RELEASED IN ORDER FOR THE VEHICLE TO CORRECT ITSELF. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER TWICE WITH NO RESOLUTION. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 2,646 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 1,900. UPDATED 7/3/08 *CN THE CONSUMER WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT AND BELIEVED THE PROBLEM WITH THE BRAKE MAY HAVE…

Owner-reported narrative. 1,900 miles reported. Look up ODI 10230842 at NHTSA ↗

I PURCHASED A BRAND NEW 2007 KIA RONDO ON NOV.13,2006. BEFORE THE CAR HAD 20,000 MILES ON IT, I HAD TO REPLACE 2 KUMHO TIRES(ORIGINAL ON CAR) BECAUSE METAL WIRES WERE SHOWING THROUGH. I CONTACTED KUMHO ABOUT THEIR WARRANTY AND WAS TOLD IT WAS DUE TO THE WAY I DROVE AND IT WAS NOT COVERED. THEY DID NOT SEE THE TIRES AND YET MADE THIS DECISION! NOW I JUST HAD 2 MORE TIRES PUT ON THE CAR 2 DAYS AGO. THE TIRE I INTENDED TO REPLACE HAD METAL WIRES SHOWING THROUGH. WHEN MY HUSBAND BROUGHT THE TWO KUMHO TIRES HOME THAT THE DEALER TOOK OFF-WE NOTICED T…

Owner-reported narrative. 39,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10232658 at NHTSA ↗

PURCHASES A BRAND NEW 2007 KIA RONDO THREE MONTHS AGO. CAR PULLS TO THE RIGHT. CAR HAS BEEN TAKEN TO THE DEALER TWO TIMES TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM. THE FIRST TIME THE DEALER CLAIMED TO HAVE FIXED THE PROBLEM. WHEN DRIVING HOME THE CAR STILL PULLED TO THE RIGHT. TOOK THE CAR IN AGAIN. WAS TOLD THE ALIGNMENT WAS OUT OF SPECS AND THEY SAID THEY FIXED IT. CAR STILL PULLS TO THE RIGHT. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 1 miles reported. Look up ODI 10236356 at NHTSA ↗

PURCHASED A BRAND NEW 2007 KIA RONDO 3 MONTHS AGO. AFTER THE CAR HAS BEEN SITTING FOR 6 HOURS OR LONGER THE BRAKES SQUEAL UPON PUTTING LIGHT PRESSURE ON THEM. TOOK CAR TO THE DEAL AND WAS TOLD THIS IS NORMAL. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 1 miles reported. Look up ODI 10236357 at NHTSA ↗

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 KIA RONDO. HE HAD CONTINUOUS ELECTRICAL FAILURE WITH HIS VEHICLE. DURING THE RECENT FAILURE, THE VEHICLE CAUGHT FIRE UNDER THE HOOD. THE VEHICLE WAS PUSHED OUTSIDE HIS GARAGE IN ORDER TO SAVE HIS HOME FROM BEING BURNED. THERE WAS A SHORT IN THE ABS MODULE AND THE BRAKES FAILED. ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, HE ALSO LOST POWER ON THE ELECTRICAL INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE DEALER REPLACED THE ENTIRE FUSE PANEL AND WITHIN THREE DAYS, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE DEALER STATED THAT HE WOULD NEED AUTHORIZATION FROM THE MANUFACTURER BEFORE …

Owner-reported narrative. 1,485 miles reported. Look up ODI 10252199 at NHTSA ↗

Reported: 2009-04-17 (April 17, 2009)

HUYNDAI-KIA IS RECALLING 139,844 MY 2006-2007- SEDONA, SPORTAGE, SORENTO AND MY RONDO AND AMANTI VEHICLES. THE STOP LAMP SWITCH IN THE AFFECTED VEHICLES MAY MALFUNCTION. A MALFUNCTIONING STOP LAMP SWITCH MAY CAUSE THE BRAKE LIGHTS TO NOT ILLUMINATE WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL IS DEPRESSED OR MAY CAUSE THE BRAKE LIGHTS TO REMAIN ILLUMINATED WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL IS RELEASED. A STOP LAMP SWITCH MALFUNCTION MAY ALSO AFFECT THE OPERATION OF THE BRAKE-TRANSMISSION SHIFT INTERLOCK FEATURE SO THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTER WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO BE SHIFTED OUT OF THE PARK POSITION. IT MAY ALSO CAUSE THE ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) MALFUNCTION LIGHT TO ILLUMINATE, AND IT MAY NOT DEACTIVATE THE CRUISE CONTROL WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL IS DEPRESSED.

Consequence: ANY OF THESE MALFUNCTIONS, ALONE OR IN COMBINATION, MAY LEAD TO A CRASH.

Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE STOP LAMP SWITCH FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JUNE 17, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT KIA'S CONSUMER ASSISTANCE CENTER AT 1-800-333-4542.

Reported: 2012-01-17 (January 17, 2012)

KIA MOTORS AMERICA, INC. (KIA) IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2006-2008 KIA OPTIMA VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM SEPTEMBER 29, 2005, THROUGH JANUARY 29, 2008, AND MODEL YEAR 2007 AND 2008 KIA RONDO VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM SEPTEMBER 13, 2006, THROUGH MARCH 21, 2008. THE CLOCK SPRING CONTACT ASSEMBLY FOR THE DRIVER'S SIDE AIR BAG SUPPLEMENTAL RESTRAINT SYSTEM (SRS) MAY BECOME DAMAGED THROUGH USAGE OVER TIME. IF THE CLOCK SPRING CONTACT ASSEMBLY BECOMES DAMAGED, THE DRIVER'S AIR BAG ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT WILL EXPERIENCE A HIGH RESISTANCE CONDITION POTENTIALLY CAUSING THE DRIVER'S AIR BAG TO NOT DEPLOY.

Consequence: IF THE CLOCK SPRING DEVELOPS HIGH RESISTANCE, IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH, THE DRIVERS AIR BAG WILL NOT DEPLOY AND WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PROPERLY PROTECT THE DRIVER, INCREASING THE RISK OF INJURIES.

Remedy: KIA WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE VEHICLE'S AIR BAG CLOCK SPRING CONTACT ASSEMBLY, FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 11, 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT KIA CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE CENTER AT 1-800-333-4542.

Reported: 2013-04-01 (April 1, 2013)

Kia Motors Corporation (Kia) is recalling certain model year 2007-2010 Rondo, model year 2007-2011 Sedona, Sorento and Sportage, model year 2010-2011 Soul, model year 2008-2011 Optima, model year 2010 Forte, model year 2007-2009 Amanti, and model year 2009 Borrego vehicles. Originally, in April 2013, Kia recalled 623,658 model year 2007-2010 Rondo and Sportage, model year 2007-2011 Sorento, model year 2007 Sedona, model year 2010-2011 Soul, and model year 2011 Optima vehicles. In September 2013, Kia informed the agency that it was adding an additional 356,719 vehicles to this campaign. The total number of vehicles being recalled is now 980,377. In the affected vehicles, the stop lamp switch may malfunction. A malfunctioning stop lamp switch may cause the brake lights to not illuminate when the brake pedal is depressed or may cause an inability to deactivate the cruise control by depressing the brake pedal. Additionally, a malfunctioning stop lamp switch may also result in intermittent operation of the push-button start feature, affect the operation of the brake-transmission shift interlock feature preventing the shifter from being moved out of the PARK position and cause the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) malfunction light to illuminate.

Consequence: Failure to illuminate the stop lamps during braking or inability to disengage the cruise control could increase the risk of a crash. Additionally, when the ignition is in the 'ON' position, the transmission shifter may be able to be moved out of PARK without first applying the brake. This may lead to unintentional movement of the car which may increase the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Kia will send an interim notification to owners in May 2013. When parts are available, owners will receive a second notification and dealers will replace the stop lamp switch, free of charge. Owners may contact Kia at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's recall campaign number is SC098.