2021-2022 Kia K5 Cars Increased Steering Effort

Kia Motors will be contacting the owners of certain 2021-2022 K5 vehicles equipped with 2.5L T-GDI engines because the steering assist level may not adjust properly.

During a review of various vehicle control system logic's for purposes of new vehicle development, a lack of communication fault diagnosis feature was noticed on certain Kia K5 cars. In May 2021, Kia Corporation (Kia HQ) notified Kia North America (Kia NA) of the software error and possible safety risks under certain driving conditions. Based on its evaluation of the issue and the potential risk. Kia has decided to conduct a recall.

According to the safety report filed with the NHTSA, the control logic for the Rack Mounted Motor Driven Power Steering (R-MDPS) system lacks a communication fault diagnosis feature. If a communication fault occurs while the vehicle is driven around a curve with Lane Following Assist (LFA) engaged, the MDPS may maintian the vehicle's pre-fault steering assist level, even after the vehicle exits the curve. If this occurs, unexpected increased steering effort can result.

Owners receiving notices will be asked to return to their dealerships to update the R-MDPS software in their vehicles. Kia's number for this recall is SC213 and the NHTSA campaign number is 21V-447.