2016 Kia Sedona Air Bags & Restraints Problems

My 2016 Kia Sedona is affected by Safety Recall SC175 (Front Passenger Seat Occupant Detection System Wiring Harness), documented here: [XXX] . Kia and the servicing dealer, Rick Case Kia, report to NHTSA that this recall was completed in 2019. However, the defect described in SC175 is still present and easily reproducible. The dealer continues to insist the repair was completed, but the symptoms match the recall description exactly and the issue now poses a clear safety risk to the front passenger. I have repeatedly informed Rick Case Kia that the recall was not performed correctly or was never performed at all. Despite this, the dealer refuses to inspect or correct the issue and Kia Corporate refuses further action based solely on the dealer’s claim. This has made it impossible for me to obtain the required recall remedy. The vehicle was taken to the same dealer multiple times between 2019 and before the vehicle reached 10 years of age for other safety recalls. If SC175 had truly been completed, the issue should not be present. If it had NOT been completed, the dealer should have been notified in their system during those visits. This suggests that misrepresentation or incorrect reporting may have occurred. Because Kia Corporate relies entirely on the dealer’s incorrect reporting, I cannot obtain the required repair from any Kia dealer, and the safety defect remains unresolved. I am requesting NHTSA review this case as a potential recall-completion misrepresentation that is preventing me from receiving the mandated safety repair. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I am filing a formal complaint against Kia regarding Recall SC175 affecting this vehicle Kia has refused to perform this recall on my vehicle, claiming that the work was already completed. However, after reviewing the official campaign documentation (NHTSA Campaign Documentation – SC175), it is evident that the corrective work specified by the recall was not performed on my vehicle. My vehicle continues to exhibit the issue addressed by Recall SC175, confirming that either the recall was not carried out or was performed incorrectly. Despite this, Kia maintains that no further action is necessary because their records indicate completion. At this time, Kia is refusing to address a known safety recall. I am documenting this with NHTSA so that it is formally recorded that Kia is declining to remedy a required recall on one of their vehicles. Please advise on what steps I may take next to ensure compliance and resolution.

My vehicle has a recall 19V109000. The description of the issue is "Over time, the Occupant Detection System (ODS) wiring harness located underneath the front passenger seat may break from the seat being occupied." This issue has been diagnosed as having this very specific problem, Kia claims that this problem was previously fixed in my car, however it has not been fixed. I have been trying for sometime to get Kia and my local Kia Dealer to fix it but they just keep responding that this was already fixed. A closer look and its obvious this was never done. I don't have the exact date of when I first noticed it, the harness is damaged and the issue goes away from time to time, and my attempts to fix it have gone back a couple of years, and have gotten nowhere when trying to work with Kia.

Airbag warning light repeatedly coming on. First time told harness under seat problem paid then reimbursed as recall. Year later on again dealer took care unknown fix. During May of this year same airbag light on when took in for oil change and asked if could fix seat thing again. I'm very short rest of drivers tall so seat moved positions farthest forward to farthest back. Told must make diagnostic appointment earliest February. Today told front passenger side air bag needs to be replaced. Our minivan carries whole family and never in accident but needs new airbag would of replaced sooner if realized not harness but airbag not working! Van has 76,121miles think component should last longer and still work! Paying as told no recall! Dangerous to have light for other than airbag. Reported Kia Manufacturing. Use Dealer Valley KIA, 16272 S. Highland, Fontana, ca Today invoice #6174973/1. Awaiting part to fix.

* The red airbag dash light comes on only when there is a passenger in the front passenger seat. The "OFF" light by the passenger air bag sign goes off like it should, symbolizing the airbag is turned in. However, the light on the dash coming on has me worried it is defective. *If the passenger airbag does not deploy if needed, that could risk serious injury or death. *This van was sold to us two day ago by a Kia dealership who said it passed all safety inspections. However, since the light only comes on when there is a front passenger, I'm sure it was overlooked. *I am in contact with the dealership we purchased it from. I have not heard back yet. *The warning light came on the first time I had a passenger in the vehicle after purchasing it.

Hello NHTSA representative, The dealership Lupient KIA in Glendale, WI closed the recall campaign SC175 and the action required was not performed. The KIA customer care closed the case 15510583 without explanation and when contacted opening a different one 15502908 mentioned that the car is out of warranty and they do not care any more. I am looking for your support to get KIA reviewed this anomaly in this dealership and obviously leave a precedent ahead of repairing the vehicle as the diagnosis of the failure cost 295usd plus the repair. According to the safety recall campaign under number SC175 (REV 1 03/20/2019) for KIA SEdona, that can be consulted in https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2019/RCRIT-19V109-3930.pdf, the clip should have been cut during the recall but the clip is still present and there is an error and a broken harness in my vehicle. See picture as evidence that the clip was not removed according to the instructions at the KIA dealership. The safety recall states on step 3 to "Carefully detach the ODS connector retaining clip (B) closest to the ODS connector." and on step 4 to "Carefully cut the retaining clip between the wiring harness and the clip head (C) using side-cutter pliers and discard the clip head. Allow the wiring harness to move freely. Do not replace the retaining clip or secure the harness." as you can see in the attached picture the clip is uncut. In case during the previous safety recall the seat was changed, the statement for the clip is equivalent that it should not be present per the same safety recall. Regards,

In Feb of 2023, my van had no known issues and out of nowhere it started making a terrible noise, every light in the dash came on, my power steering stopped working and then my engine shut off. I had it towed to a mechanic shop, they said it needed an engine. I had it towed to our local KIA dealership. They said it did not need an engine, it only needed a timing chain. That was $8000. We decided to get it done. 4 weeks later exactly from when we picked it up, I was on the interstate and the exact thing happened. I had it towed back to our local KIA. They stated it now needed an engine and it would be a used engine because they do not manufacture the engine anymore. It had over 60K miles on it and it would be $13K not including shipping or labor. We decided not to do this. After further investigation, this should have been under warranty the entire time and we never should have spent any money on it. This has been a terribly unreliable “family car”. I will NEVER buy a KIA again. My family is still suffering from paying $8K+ to have it “fixed”.

1)The airbags failed at time of accident, yes is available for inspection. 2)This is a family car (KIA Sedona 2016) with kids in the car ..if the airbags not working at time of an impact, could and up in deadly/fatality accident. 3) No. 4)The vehicle has been inspected by police and insurance. 5) no warning or issues show anywhere to advise of issue, this car has not been involve in any accident before. Last time took the car to dealer was 1 month ago… November 2022

The Airbag seat sensor has malfunctioned. Took the vehicle to the Kia Dealer and they advised it was a 1200.00 part plus 300 plus for labor. This started months ago and the dealer stated it was covered and they "ordered" the part. They then stated my extended warranty would cover it only to be told it doesn't cover these items. When I took the vehicle back to the dealer they said it was not covered. The airbag light is intermittent when it comes on. I am afraid this will cause a problem if I am involved in an accident. This started around 70k miles.

AIRBAGS - THE SENSOR LIGHT KEEPS COMING ON AT RANDOM TIMES, THEN WILL TURN OFF FOR A FEW SECONDS, THEN COME BACK ON. THERE IS NOT ONE CERTAIN THING THAT CAUSES THIS (IE BUMPS, BREAKING, ACCELERATION, ETC). NOT SURE IF THIS IS A BAD SENSOR ISSUE OR WHAT IT COULD BE. SEATBELTS - FRONT PASSENGER SIDE SEATBELT WILL 'LOCK' INTO PLACE WHILE DRIVING (LIKE AFTER YOU WOULD STOP SUDDENLY), AND THE ONLY WAY TO UNDO IT, IS TO RELEASE THE SEATBELT.

The airbag light would come on and go off randomly while driving. We took it to the dealer several times. I believe repairs were made twice and within days it happened again. The other times it was taken into the dealer, the problem could not be replicated as the light would randomly come on/blink. The airbag light stays on all the time now. I've been told it is dangerous to drive the vehicle while the light is on because the airbags will not deploy should the vehicle get in an accident. The passenger side seatbelt like blinks constantly now whether there is a passenger in the front seat or not. I've been told by Kia that the warranty has expired and any cost associated with the repair of the airbag and seatbelt sensor will be our responsibility. This was an ongoing problem well before the warranty expired.

CENTER SEAT BELT IN THE MIDDLE BACK ROW WHICH PULLS DOWN FROM THE ROOF OF THE VEHICLE FAILED WHEN MAKING A QUICK STOP TO AVOID AN ACCIDENT DUE TO ANOTHER CAR IMPROPERLY CHANGING LANES INTO OUR LANE. SPEED OF TRAVEL WAS 45MPH ON THE STRAIGHT AWAY ON A CITY STREET. THE PASSENGER'S HEAD WAS AIMING FOR THE CENTER CONSOLE AND WAS BUFFERED BY THE PASSENGER EXTENDING HIS HANDS TO NOT HIT THE CENTER CONSOLE. THE SEAT BELT APPEARS TO BE WORKING NOW, BUT WE CANNOT BE SURE THAT IT WILL CONTINUE TO FUNCTION PROPERLY OR IF THE OTHERS MAY ALSO WORK INTERMITTENTLY IN THE FUTURE.

WE PURCHASED BRAND NEW A 2016 KIA SEDONA FROM THE DEALERSHIP. WITHIN THE 2 YEARS WE OWNED IT WE HAD TO TAKE IT INTO THE DEALERSHIP FOUR TIMES BECAUSE THE AIRBAG LIGHT WOULD COME ON AND STAY ON, OR WOULD FLICKER OFF AND ONE AS I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD. THEY FOUND IT TO BE AN ISSUE WITH THE PASSENGER AIRBAG. THEY REPAIRED IT THE FIRST THREE TIMES AND THE LIGHT WOULD STAY OFF FOR A WHILE. THE FOURTH TIME WE TOOK IT IN THEY SAID THEY WERE GOING TO TRY REPLACING THE WHOLE SEAT TO SEE IF THAT HELPED. WE DECIDED THAT WE DIDN'T WANT TO RISK IT HAPPENING AGAIN AS THE VAN WAS LESS THAN 2,000 MILES FROM BEING OUT OF WARRANTY. SO, WE TRADED IT IN FOR A 2018 KIA SEDONA WHICH NOW, AT 1400 MILES, HAS THE SAME ISSUE! WE HAVE ALREADY TAKEN IT IN TWICE TO THE HAVE ISSUE REPAIRED. WHAT ARE THE ODDS OF HAVING THE EXACT SAME ISSUE?

AIR BAG LIGHT COMES ON AND OFF FREQUENTLY WITH NO EXPLANATION AS TO WHY. THE PASSENGER SEAT BELT LIGHT BLINKS ON AND OFF WITH NO PASSENGER AND NOTHING IN THE SEAT. THIS HAPPENS WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE OR AT START UP OF THE VEHICLE THE LIGHTS MAY STAY ON. I FEAR THAT IF NEEDED MY AIRBAGS MAY NOT DEPLOY PROPERLY.

THE 2ND ROW CENTER SEAT BELT IS DEFECTIVE AND CAN NOT HOLD AN OCCUPANT. THE CENTER SEAT BELT HAD NEVER BEEN USED BEFORE TODAY - THE BUCKLES WERE STILL WRAPPED IN BLUE PLASTIC FROM THE FACTORY. UPON ATTEMPTED FIRST USE, THE SMALLER LATCHPLATE WOULD NOT GO INTO THE SMALLER BUCKLE. THE WHITE RELEASE BUTTON ON THE SMALLER BUCKLE WAS DEPRESSED INWARDS - WHICH IT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN. THE SMALLER LATCHPLATE WOULD GO INTO THE BUCKLE AND GIVE A FALSE LATCH AND THEN AT EVEN A LITTLE BIT OF PULLING ON THE BELT THE LATCHPLATE WOULD COME OUT OF THE BUCKLE. NOTE: BECAUSE THIS SHOULDER BELT COMES FROM THE ROOF THERE ARE 2 BUCKLES AND 2 LATCHPLATES. THE DEFECT WAS WITH THE SMALLER LATCHPLATE THAT WOULD NOT LATCH PROPERLY INTO THE SMALLER BUCKLE.

FRONT SEAT BELT UNLATCHES AND RETRACTS WHEN OBJECT ACCIDENTALLY SLID OFF CONSOLE BETWEEN FRONT SEATS AND FELL ONTO SEATBELT LOCKING MECHANISM. THIS OCCURRED DURING A LEFTWARD TURN. REPRODUCIBLE BY DROPPING CELL PHONE ONTO MECHANISM.