Lynn Howell is a veteran and a Carlsbad resident who purchased a 2012 Kia Sportage a few years ago. He told us it had been a great car for him until he received a safety recall notice in November alerting him his engine could catch fire whether the car was moving or parked.
Howell is not the only one. There are millions of cars on the road and even parked at home right now that could catch fire at any moment. Carfax said the number of cars prone to the danger in San Diego has skyrocketed. This means owners need to park their cars outside on the street and away from their garages and structures.
“So here we are in the garage. I’ve been outside parking for 5 months,” said Howell.
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Unfortunately, he’ll have to keep parking out by the curb until a remedy part is available, according to the notice.
Car recalls
Mike Lavigne from Carfax said the number of cars in San Diego County with park-outside recalls has increased from 17,686 in May 2023 to 34,907 in January of this year. That’s a 97% increase.
“It is not a small number, and it's, frankly, nationwide, it's one of the national leaders right now,” Lavigne said.
He added that this latest round of “park outside” recalls from Kia and Hyundai has a cumulative effect across the nation, as other makes and models also wait for repairs.
Kia and Hyundai told NBC 7 Responds that they sent out more than 3.3 million “park outside” recalls due to this fire risk last fall. However, according to Carfax, many drivers may still not know of the danger, especially if they’re not the original owners of the car.
“Many of these are older model vehicles and are on their second, potentially third owner. Catching up to those owners is a difficult task when you’re relying on the [USPS] mail,” Lavigne added.
Hyundai and Kia told us they have no reports of crashes, injuries, or fatalities associated with this specific defect. However, there have been reports of fire or thermal incidents with visible smoke and melted components. The automakers told NBC 7 Responds that a fix should be coming in the next few weeks so owners should be ready to move on it when they get the notice.
Until then, Howell said he’ll keep fighting the urge to park in the garage. In California, the DMV alerts drivers to any open recalls on their vehicles on their registration renewal notices. Be sure to look at that closely next time you get it. You can also check that information on the National Highway Safety Administration’s website. All you have to do is enter your VIN or plate number.
Now, the thought of your vehicle catching fire at any minute is a scary one. Should you be concerned about this happening while you are driving down the road -- automakers said it can happen, but it’s not very likely. If there were a major risk of that, you’d get a “do not drive” recall notice.
