Kia Motors Corp. is recalling 145,000 vehicles to fix faulty airbags — the latest in a series of similar recalls by automakers over the last few months.
The Korean automaker said it is recalling 95,569 2006-08 Optima cars and 50,186 2007-08 Rondo crossovers.
Kia said the clock spring contact assembly for the driver's airbag supplemental restraint system may become damaged through usage over time.
The condition will cause the airbag warning lamp on the instrument panel to illuminate, notifying the driver that the airbag system requires service, and may cause the driver's airbag to not deploy in a crash.
Kia said it found warranty claims for the issue, but said it was not related to any crashes or injuries related to the issue.
Kia will notify owners in March—- and will first fix all vehicles that have the airbag warning light on — in order to assure they have enough parts on hand.
Hyundai Motor Co. — part of the Kyundai-Kia group — and Chrysler Group LLC have issued recalls in recent months over similar electrical issues in airbags.
In November, Chrysler agreed to recall 5,334 2008-12 right-hand drive Wranglers to replace the clock spring assembly with a yet-to-be-produced improved unit or an improved housing assembly that's less suspectible to dusty environments.
Chrysler also extended warranty coverage on its 2007 left-hand drive Wranglers for up to 150,000 miles or 10 years on the clock spring wiring issue.
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