Kia is only aware of two cases where the airbags deployed without cause. The first event occurred on July 10, 2023. The second took place on September 1.
In one case, it happened to a new vehicle that had not yet been sold and was in the dealer's parking lot. However, the dealer has no evidence that the airbags deployed as a result of the accident. Interestingly, the dealer personnel checked the data log of the electronic airbag control unit and found no corresponding records of the deployment. Kia sent a field technical specialist out to the location to examine the car, but could not find anything wrong with it.
The second involved a customer's vehicle. Fortunately, no injuries were reported as a result of the deployment. However, similar to the previous incident, there was no apparent reason for the airbag to deploy.
Later in the month, Kia repurchased the vehicles and conducted a more thorough examination. Utilizing X-ray inspection, the automaker identified the culprit as the diffuser disk, and interestingly, both problematic disks had been manufactured within a day of each other.
The automaker eventually determined that a diffuser disk setup error at the factory is ultimately what led to this error. It believes that airbags produced by its supplier, Hyundai Mobis, on those two days may be defective, and prone to failure.
Since the 2024 Kia Soul and Selto crossovers use the same side curtain airbag, the automaker is recalling both vehicles. It warns that the randomly inflating airbag could lead to an injury, or distract the driver, and increase the risk of a crash.
In order to prevent that from happening, it will reach out to affected customers starting on January 31. They will be instructed to bring their vehicles in to a nearby dealer, where the airbag module will be inspected, and replaced where necessary.
Source: Carscoops
