NHTSA Complaint #10192584 — 2003 KIA SEDONA

THE JUNCTION BLOCK (FUSE BOX) LOCATED BEHIND THE COVER NEAR THE EMERGENCY BRAKE PEDAL PARTIALLY BURNED AND MELTED AT TWO PIN CONNECTORS. THE ADJACENT WIRING HARNESS CONNECTOR ALSO PARTIALLY BURNED AND MELTED. PRIOR TO THE FAILURE, THE DASH INDICATOR FOR THE DEFROSTER ILLUMINATED AND REMAINED ILLUMINATED EVEN THOUGH THE DEFROSTER WAS NOT TURNED ON. WHEN THE CAR WAS TURNED OFF, THE DASH INDICATOR FOR THE DEFROSTER REMAINED ILLUMINATED. THE BATTERY WAS DEAD THE NEXT DAY. AFTER JUMP STARTING THE VAN, IT WAS DRIVEN TO THE LOCAL KIA DEALER WHERE THE MACHANIC IDENTIFIED THE JUNCTION BLOCK DAMAGE. KIA HAS PROPOSED TO REPLACE THE JUNCTION BLOCK AND ENTIRE DASH WIRING HARNESS FOR $1,934.19. THE COST OF THE JUNCTION BLOCK IS $19.95, BUT THE COST OF THE WIRING HARNESS IS $1,067.65. THE BALANCE OF THE PROPOSED COST IS LABOR AND TAXES. KIA DOES NOT PROVIDE THE HARNESS CONNECTOR AS A SEPARATE PART. I CALLED THE KIA HELP LINE AND PROVIDED A VERBAL REPORT TO A CUSTOMER SERVICE AGENT, AND WAS TOLD THAT KIA CAN DO NOTHING ELSE TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEM. I LOCATED 12 RELEVANT ODI COMPLAINTS FOR 2003 SEDONAS AND 2 RELEVANT ODI COMPLAINTS FOR 2003 SEDONA EX MODELS, ALL RESULTING IN DASH FIRES. I DID NOT SEARCH OTHER MODEL YEARS. IT MAY HAVE BEEN MY GOOD FORTUNE NOT TO EXPERIENCE A VEHICLE FIRE, AS WELL AS COMPELLING EVIDENCE RELATED TO THE CAUSE OF THESE OTHER REPORTED FIRES.