The Russian unit of Kia will contact the owners of 105,405 affected units of Rio to resolve the issue.
Kia Corp’s Russian subsidiary has launched a voluntary recall of more than one lakh units on Monday due to a possible airbag malfunction, a government regulator announced. The recall covers Kia Rio models that were assembled at the Hyundai Motor Group factory in the Russian city of St Petersburg between 2013 and 2018, the country’s federal agency for technical regulation and metrology said.
The automaker’s Russian arm will contact owners of 105,405 affected vehicles to fix the issue.
Last year, Kia revealed the new 2021 Rio facelift for the international markets. The fourth generation Rio hatchback received several enhancements to re-establish the car’s position in the competitive B-segment space. The biggest change in the facelift model is the carmaker’s first petrol 48V mild-hybrid system mated to a ‘clutch-by-wire’ manual transmission.
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The vehicle gets features like an up-scaled cabin with new visuals, material and technical upgrades. Key changes include a new larger 8.0-inch widescreen, and a 4.2-inch digital instrument cluster display. Its safety suite includes Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (FCA) with Pedestrian, Vehicle and New Cyclist Detection, Lane Keeping Assist (LKA), Driver Attention Alert (DAW), and Blind-Spot Collision Warning (BCW).
In a separate development, there have been reports of an increase in car thefts in the US for certain models from Hyundai and Kia, where the accused uses just a USB cable to drive. According to reports, Kia models from 2011 onwards and Hyundai models from 2015 onwards are being targeted by people with nefarious intentions especially with just a USB cable. These particular models are those that do not have engine immobilizers, a technology that makes it necessary to use a coded key or fob.
However, this does not include newer car models that come with an engine immobilizer.
First published date: 08 August 2022, 17:31 PM IST