Ongoing product testing and monitoring at Kia Motors has revealed that a very small number of Picanto models and even fewer cee’d cars require remedial work. The small number of customers involved have been contacted to avoid any possible safety issues.
In the case of Picanto, the harsh 2009-2010 weather conditions have revealed that where high levels of de-icing materials have been used there is a possibility that material in the fuel filter neck seal could be damaged and a fuel leak could occur.
The owners of just 94 Picantos built between November 2009 and February 2010 have been contacted to arrange for the fuel-filler neck to be replaced free of charge. A further 18 vehicles in dealer stock are being rectified by relevant dealers.
Kia Motors Europe is aware of a small number of instances of a leak occurring but there has been no report of such an occurrence here in Ireland.
Kia has identified a small number of cee’d models that could suffer from insufficient brake force from the master cylinder on vehicles featuring Electronic Stability Programme systems.
Kia Motors Ireland is contacting the nine owners of these cars built between April 1 2008 and March 30 2009 to arrange an inspection and if necessary the replacement of the brake master cylinder.
Again, the company is not aware of any accidents having occurred in Ireland because of this issue.
James Brooks, managing director, Kia Motors Ireland said, “Safety is always our top priority and our ongoing product assessment and research has revealed these two potential problems.
“We have immediately put in place a process to contact owners and the work will be conducted by Kia dealers at a convenient time for customers. I would apologise to any owner whose vehicle may be affected and at the same time I would like to assure them that we believe we are acting before any customer in Ireland has experienced any issue,” he added.
