Kia recalling Soul and Seltos SUVs for defective oil rings

Kia will recall more than 147,000 vehicles due to faulty oil rings. The models affected are said to be its Soul and Seltos sports utility vehicles.

Kia’s warning to drivers

Fox Business reported that Kia warned owners that driving the affected vehicles with the defective part could result in loss of power, damage to the engine, and increased risk of a crash. In some cases, it could also spark a fire if the connecting rod punctured the engine block and caused it to leak engine oil to a hot exhaust.

Then again, it was clarified that there is no crash, injury, or fatality report yet as of now that is related to the mentioned defect. However, an investigation is currently ongoing involving four fire incidents that may be connected to the oil rings.

"During production at the piston oil ring supplier, the inconsistent heat-treating process occurred resulting in excessive oil ring hardness," Kia explained in a statement. "Excessive oil ring hardness can lead to chipping of the piston oil ring’s outer periphery and scuffing of the cylinder bore.”

It added, “A scuffed cylinder bore can lead to increased oil consumption which will eventually result in abnormal noise from the engine and/or illumination of the oil pressure warning light."

The affected models and how to get the unit fixed

Based on the information released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the recall affects 125,400 units of select 2020-2021 Kia Soul that were manufactured from Nov. 24, 2018, to Oct. 24, 2020, and 24, 2018 units of select 2021 Kia Seltos that were built from Nov. 20, 2019, to Oct. 15, 2020. The Seltos are those fitted with the 2-liter Nu MIP engines.

The owners with the said vehicle models will be notified by first-class mail by June 11. They will be provided with instructions on how to get their SUVs fixed in authorized Kia dealers.

For owners who would like to know if their units are affected by the recall, they can instantly check it via NHTSA’s website by providing their car’s 17-digit vehicle identification number (VIN). Finally, once the car is brought to the dealer, a Piston-ring Noise Sensing System (PNSS) software would also be installed to alert drivers of potential damage to the piston oil ring.