Toronto, Ontario — Kia is doing its part in stopping kidnappings with its latest recall: the Korean OEM is recalling nearly 20,000 vehicles in Canada due to a faulty trunk release latch that could potentially fail, resulting in any “person[s] trapped inside the trunk from opening it.”
“On certain vehicles, a part in the trunk release latch could fail. If this happens, the emergency trunk release located inside the trunk compartment may not work properly. This could prevent a person that is trapped inside the trunk from opening it,” wrote the automaker in the Transport Canada recall notice.
“If a person is closed inside the trunk compartment, they may not be able to get out. This could create a risk of injury.”
There are 19,916 Canadian units under the recall; 320,000 cars are affected in the United States. The affected models are the 2016, 2017 and 2018 Kia Optima models, as well as the 2016 and 2017 Kia Rio models. Kia will notify owners by mail and advise you to take your vehicle to a dealership to replace the trunk latch base subassembly.
Regardless of whether you’ll be taking passengers in your vehicle trunk, we recommend getting your vehicle looked at for this recall. Owners can check if this recall replies to their vehicle here.
