Kia America, Inc.: Latches/Locks/Linkages › Trunk Lid › Latch
Kia America, Inc. reported this defect to federal regulators on Aug 24, 2023 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 319,436. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
Kia America, Inc. (Kia) is recalling certain 2016-2017 Rio, 2016-2018 Optima, 2017-2018 Optima Hybrid and Optima Plug-in Hybrid vehicles. The trunk latch base may crack, preventing the opening of the trunk from the inside. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 401, "Internal Trunk Release."
The risk
A person inside the trunk compartment may become trapped, increasing their risk of injury.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the trunk latch base subassembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 19, 2023. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC278.
9 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 Kia Optima | 233 | 2 | 10 | 10 |
| 2018 Kia Optima Hybrid | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 Kia Optima Phev | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 Kia Optima | 257 | 3 | 9 | 4 |
| 2017 Kia Optima Hybrid | 26 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 2017 Kia Optima Phev | 23 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 2017 Kia Rio | 31 | 2 | 6 | 3 |
| 2016 Kia Optima | 760 | 5 | 20 | 27 |
| 2016 Kia Rio | 79 | 2 | 6 | 8 |
What this page is, and what to do next
A recall is not an opinion. It is a Part 573 report a manufacturer is required by federal law to file once it decides a defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety, and it commits them to repairing the vehicle at no cost to the owner. The three passages above are the manufacturer’s own wording as published by NHTSA.
This page describes the campaign. It cannot tell you whether one particular car has already been through the shop — that is tracked by VIN, and only the manufacturer knows it. Check yours at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a franchised dealer, quoting campaign number 23V594000.
Full record for the 2018 Kia Optima → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →