• Kia is recalling almost 109,000 vehicles to fix a problem with the digital instrument cluster.
• The affected models are the Niro, Soul, Sportage and Telluride.
• In Canada, 7,090 units are affected.
Kia is recalling nearly 109,000 vehicles to fix a problem with the digital instrument cluster display.
To be compliant, a vehicle must provide the necessary display for vehicle speed, warning lights, etc. But in the vehicles identified in this recall, the display can sometimes remain blank.
Transport Canada summarizes the issue as follows: “On certain vehicles, the instrument cluster screen could remain blank when the vehicle is started. If this happens, you may not be able to see certain information about the vehicle, including the odometer, warnings, and malfunction tell-tale graphics.”
The recall affects some 2023 Soul, Telluride, Niro Hybrid, Niro PHEV, Sportage, Sportage Hybrid and Sportage PHEV vehicles with a 4.2-inch LCD display on the instrument panel.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the U.S. counterpart to Transport Canada, the problem stems from the dashboard software and an “electrical interference due to voltage instability when starting the vehicle.” This causes an error with the startup of the display, which can then remain blank while the vehicle is in motion, preventing the driver from seeing the information normally displayed in front of them.
Warning lights and malfunction indicators that are not displayed could increase the risk of an accident. However, Kia said it has not received any reports of accidents or injuries related to the issue.
The company has been aware of the situation since February 2023. In March, the automaker identified 71 problematic vehicles, followed by another half-dozen in mid-April. Kia subsequently decided to proceed with the recall.
Kia will notify owners by mail and ask them to take their vehicle to a dealer to have the instrument cluster software updated.
In Canada, 7,090 vehicles are affected by the recall campaign.