Kia asks HQ if Philippines is affected by fire risk recall

Last week, Kia and Hyundai in the US warned owners of a potential fire risk. According to both automakers, they will recall nearly 500,000 vehicles composed mainly of the Kia Sportage, Kia K900, Hyundai Tucson, and Hyundai Santa Fe as certain models may spontaneously combust from a short circuit caused by a faulty anti-lock brake malfunction.

For now, the automakers have advised affected owners to park their cars outside, away from other vehicles and structures until they’re fixed. This is because the cars can still catch on fire even while the engine is off.

So far, the recall appears to have only affected vehicles sold in the United States. However, given that these models were also sold in other markets, Kia Philippines has sent word to HQ about the possibility of the fire risk affecting models sold here.

According to Manny Aligada, president of Kia Philippines, there is no formal response yet to the fire risk that might be affecting locally-sold vehicles. However, they are ready to provide service in order to replace the faulty components that might cause spontaneous combustion.

“Should there be any need to provide a replacement, we will provide replacement with our OEM partner,” shared Aligada.

In the US, only two Kia models are part of the fire risk recall, the 2014 - 2016 Sportage and the 2016 - 2019 K900 luxury sedan. Since the K900 is not sold here, the automaker may only have to look out for certain models of the Sportage.

There’s no word yet from Hyundai Philippines if they’re part of the fire risk recall, but we’ll keep you updated if ever they release an official advisory regarding this issue.