Kia recalls 320,000 cars over faulty latch in trunk

Kia is recalling 319,436 cars to fix a trunk latch that can crack, that can prevent it to open from the inside, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced.

The model recalled by the company include the 2016-2017 Rio, the 2016-2018 Optima, and the 2017 and 2018 Optima Hybrid and Optima Plug-in hybrid vehicles.

As per the recall notice posed Wednesday by NHTSA, the base of the cars’ trunk latch can crack, which will prevent it from opening from inside. Federal auto safety regulations require that trunks can be opened from the inside. Kia spokesperson James Bell stated that no injuries or deaths has been associated with the recall.

“A person inside the trunk compartment may become trapped, increasing their risk of injury,” wrote NHTSA recall division chief Alex Ansley in a letter addressed to JS (Jurassic) Park, the chief of safety office at the automobile company.

The notice mentioned that the vehicle owners have until October 19 to take their cars to the Kia dealerships, where the defective trunk latch can be replaced for free of charge.