Kia Recalls 73,000 Rio Sedans For Airbag Defect

Kia Motors Corp. (Seoul: 000270) is recalling 72,568 model year 2006 to 2008 Kia Rio cars due to a defect that can cause deployment of airbags when children are in the passenger seat during a crash, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Tuesday.

The recalled Kia Rio cars can experience fatigue cracking in the occupant sensor mat on the passenger side. If the occupant sensor mat cracks sufficiently, the system cannot detect whether a child passenger is in the seat and the airbag will deploy during a crash when it is not supposed to, the NHTSA documents said. A misdeployed airbag in the passenger seat can increase the risk of injury to a child sitting in the seat during a crash. There are no reported injuries related to the flaw at this time, however.

Kia will notify owners of recalled 2006 to 2008 Rio cars to replace the sensor mat in the seat free of charge. The recall is expected to begin in July. Rio owners can contact Kia regarding the recall by calling 1-900-333-4542.

Kia Motors rose 200 Korean won (17 cents) to 76,900 Korean won ($65.28) Tuesday.