Campaign 21V-622

Trunk latch may become damaged, preventing the opening of the trunk from the inside

Defect summary

Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Forte 4-door, Forte Koup 2-door, and 2018-2019 Rio 4-door vehicles. The trunk latch may become damaged, preventing the opening of the trunk from the inside. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 401, "Internal Trunk Release."

Consequence

A person inside the trunk compartment may become trapped, increasing their risk of injury.

Remedy

Dealers will replace the trunk latch assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on February 10, 2022. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC216.

Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.

Source: NHTSA ODI recalls file, campaign 21V622000. Text as published by NHTSA.

Vehicles covered

2 product lines are covered

Owner complaints filed with NHTSA about latches and locks on these vehicles: 12, of which 0 involved a crash, fire, injury or death. Complaints are not verified by NHTSA.

Vehicles covered by campaign 21V-622
Make	Model	Model years	Complaints on this component
Kia	Forte	2016 to 2018	10
Kia	RIO	2018 to 2019	2

Source: NHTSA ODI recalls and complaints files. Equipment, tire and child-seat campaigns list products, not vehicles.