In a year in which vehicle recalls have hit record numbers, Kia issues its fifth one for the year. This time, the South Korean automaker is recalling 377,000 vehicles because of gear shift defects that can cause the vehicle to roll away or cause an accident. So far, there have been three injuries from the defective car part, but no reported deaths.
Too Much Pressure Reportedly Causes Gear Shift to Break
According to the press release issued by Kia, the gear shifts crack if they receive too much pressure. Once cracked, the vehicles can then shift out of gear on their own. Vehicles affected by the recall include all Kia Sorentos manufactured from 2011 through 2013—a total of 377,000 vehicles.
The investigation on the gear shifts allegedly started after Kia had received a letter from an attorney. In it, the attorney stated that a child had moved a Sorento gear shift out of the parked position. The vehicle rolled and ended up causing a total of three injuries. To date, these are the only documented injuries. However, there have been more than 50 warranty claims and 14 customer complaints involving the defective vehicle parts.
Kia’s Fifth Recall of the Year
Although they have not had anywhere near the number of vehicles affected by recalls as other major automobile manufacturers, this is Kia’s fifth recall in 2015. The first two were in January—one for the electrical system defects in their Kia Forte, the other for the structure of their Kia Soul; in total, there were nearly 200,000 vehicles affected that month. In March, they recalled a little more than 200,000 Kia Souls for defects with the acceleration pedals. Then, in June, Kia recalled 7,722 Sportages because of defects to their brake light switches that increased the driver’s risk of a motor vehicle accident.
The Automotive Industry Needs to Stop Putting Drivers at Risk
The automotive industry is one of the most successful in the nation, and the most lucrative. Have they become too big, too rich, and too focused on pushing out the next line to care about our safety? Are they becoming reckless with their responsibility to the public? The gigantic list of recalls the last few years suggest both may be a possibility. So maybe the real question is: What is the American public going to do about it?
The American public has the power to fight back, through both their buying power and by their right to seek fair compensation when they are injured or when someone they love suffers a wrongful death because of a vehicle defect. At Hurley, McKenna & Mertz, we believe in standing up for the average person, and we can provide you with aggressive representation in your case.
Source:
http://woodtv.com/2015/10/15/kia-recalls-377000-suvs-to-fix-shift-lever-problem/
