Kia has issued a recall for 80,255 Niro hybrids, Niro Plug-in Hybrids (PHEVs), and Niro EV electric vehicles from model years 2023 through 2025 because a wiring problem can prevent their seatbelts and airbags from functioning as designed. The recall covers only vehicles with manually adjustable front passenger seats.
The company tells the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that factory workers may have incorrectly routed some wires beneath the front passenger seat. If the cables are in the wrong spot, adjusting the passenger’s seat can damage them.
That could cause several problems, Kia says, including “1) the nondeployment of airbag(s) and/or seatbelt pretensioner(s), or 2) the inability to suppress the passenger frontal airbag for a child or small occupant, or 3) inadvertent deployment of the passenger side airbag.”
Owners might see an airbag warning light as the problem develops. But don’t assume the absence of the warning light means your car is fine.
To fix the issue, dealers will replace any damaged wiring, reroute cables away from the passenger’s seat, and “install additional protective coverings to prevent damage to the wiring.”
By law, dealers never charge for recall repairs.
Automakers recall many cars, sometimes more than once. Manufacturers try to reach every owner to warn them. However, some may fall through the system’s cracks and are left unknowingly driving recalled cars. Check our easy recall tool to determine if your vehicle has any outstanding recalls.