NHTSA Investigation PE03016

ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES

KIA HAS IDENTIFIED 22 NON-CRASH ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES OF ANY OR UNSPECIFIED CAUSE ON THE SUBJECT VEHICLES.NINE FIRES (OF WHICH 4 WERE ALSO REPORTED TO ODI) ARE IDENTIFIED AS BEING DUE TO A FUEL SYSTEM LEAK ORIGINATING BETWEEN THE FIREWALL AND THE FUEL INJECTOR RAIL (P/N 0K30E 13 150) IN THE PASSENGER SIDE AREA OF THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT.THE REMAINING FIRES WERE DUE TO VARIED OR UNKNOWN CAUSES.ALL 9 FIRES CAUSED BY A FUEL SYSTEM LEAK SUSTAINED SEVERE AND TOTAL DAMAGE.ANALYSIS INDICATES THAT 1 FIRE WAS CAUSED BY A FAILED QUICK CONNECT BETWEEN THE FLEXIBLE HIGH-PRESSURE FUEL SUPPLY LINE (P/N 0K32A 13 49XB) AND THE RIGID LINE MOUNTED TO THE FIREWALL; 5 FIRES WERE CAUSED BY A FAILURE OF THE FLEXIBLE HIGH-PRESSURE FUEL SUPPLY LINE ITSELF OR ITS RELATED CONNECTORS; THE REMAINING 3 FIRES WERE CAUSED BY UNSPECIFIED FUEL LEAKS IN THE VICINITY OF THE FUEL INJECTOR RAIL, FLEXIBLE HIGH-PRESSURE FUEL SUPPLY LINE, AND THE RIGID LINE MOUNTED TO THE FIREWALL.KIA REPORTS THAT NEITHER THE FUEL INJECTOR RAIL NOR THE FLEXIBLE HIGH-PRESSURE FUEL SUPPLY LINE HAS BEEN SUBSTANTIALLY MODIFIED SINCE THEIR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2001 MODEL YEAR.THIS PRELIMINARY EVALUATION HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS (EA03-015) SO THAT ODI MAY COLLECT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND CONDUCT FURTHER STUDY OF THIS ISSUE.

An investigation is a separate record from a recall and from a manufacturer communication. A manufacturer campaign to repair a safety defect or a failure to meet a federal safety standard.