It’s no secret that any vehicle issue involving fire is a very serious deal and we have certainly seen our fair share of them over the years from multiple automakers.

However, Kia’s latest recall takes things in a rather unusual direction as the company addresses an unusual fire risk that can occur when the air conditioning system is used in a certain way.

Check your fan settings

The recall in question covers nearly 40,000 Sorento SUVs from the 2021-2023 model years with the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) saying  the “heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) blower motor wiring harness may be inadequate, which can result in a fire.” the agency elaborated further stating “due to a suspected supplier quality issue, the connection between the blower motor resistor and connector can overheat.”

What’s unusual about this recall is the specific set of events that need to occur to make this problem manifest itself with the climate control system not only needing to be active with the ignition on, but that drivers also have to set the fan speed to three (and only three.) Despite how specific these conditions are, NHTSA says it can still create an enhanced risk of vehicular fire.

The problem has been traced to the supplier Aptiv which allegedly used a thinner gauge of wire than they were supposed to with this thinner wiring not having the right amount of resistance. A noticeable sign of the problem is if the blower motor stops working but owners have also noticed burning smells or even smoke wafting in through the air vents.

Kia first became aware of the problem last fall after an owner of a 2023 Sorento reported a burning smell. Kia repurchased the vehicle and launched an investigation which included X-ray scans of the damaged blower motor to try and piece together what happened. While no direct cause was ever found, Kia did note that it discovered issues related to quality control during the investigation.

How is Kia fixing it?

Kia revealed that it found 25 vehicles with localized connector melting with one of these connectors catching fire and a separate Sorento catching fire. Thankfully, no accidents or injuries were reported as a result of the problem. Dealers will replace the wiring harness and the blower motor resistor with these new components being sourced from a different supplier.

Letters to affected owners will be mailed out this coming November.