It’s really okay if you don’t remember the Kia Borrego. The Korean automaker only managed to sell 22,768 of them between 2009 and 2014, and the body-on-frame SUV was only on sale for the 2009 model year in most of the U.S. That being said, every last one of them is now being recalled because of an issue with their headliner plates. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, they can come loose during an accident if the impact is strong enough to depoly the airbags.
While every last Borrego sold in the U.S. is being recalled, Kia only expects that about one percent of them will actually be impacted. The report from NHTSA also indicates that 22,700 of them were built between May 2, 2008 and Januarry 20, 2009 as 2009 model year vehicles. Those other 68 units? Well, those were built between October 20, 2009 and May 14, 2013 and sold as 2010 to 2014 model year vehicles in U.S. Territories like Puerto Rico, Guam and American Samoa.
The NHTSA report says “insufficient adhesive may have been applied to secure the headliner plate to the headliner” during the manufacturing process. Because of this, headliner plates could – in theory – come come loose if the side curtain airbags deploy. That could actually increase the rist of injury to folks inside the car. Luckily, Kia says it isn’t aware of any injuries or deaths linked to the issue. However, it has received one customer complaint. Nobody’s perfect.
Owners of impacted Borregos – whoever you are – will need to visit a Kia dealership so a technician can can add “industrial-grade adhesive tape” over the left and right headliner plates to make sure they don’t fly across the SUV’s interior if the side curtain airbags deploy. If ou happened to have gotten this fix done by a third party already, you will be able to claim a refund.
Every Borrego owner left in the U.S. will be notified of the recall by mail on November 30.