NHTSA Complaint #10491709 — 2007 KIA SPECTRA

AIRBAGS; FRONTAL; SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE: PASSENGER AIRBAG SEAT SENSOR MALFUNCTION. THE CENTER CONSOLE PASSENGER SEAT AIRBAG (YELLOW OCCUPANCY) ON/OFF LIGHT WOULD ILLUMINATE INTERMENT WHEN PASSENGER SAT IN PASSENGER SEAT REGARDLESS OF SPEED OR MOTION, I.E., SHORTLY AFTER ENGINE STARTUP THROUGH SHUTDOWN (SHOULD HAVE BEEN NO LIGHT ILLUMINATED WITH PASSENGER IN SEAT). THE PROBLEM STARTED MID JULY 2012 AND CONTINUED INTERMITTENTLY OVER THE NEXT 6 MONTHS UNTIL THE RED AIRBAG INOPERATIVE LIGHT (IN THE SPEEDOMETER CLUSTER) CAME ON AND REMAINED ILLUMINATED IN LATE DEC 2012. APROX WEIGHT OF THREE PASSENGERS WHO FREQUENTED THE PASSENGER SEAT OVER THE 6 MONTH PERIOD) WERE 135, 150 AND 215 LBS RESPECTIVELY. PASSENGER (SEAT) AIRBAG SENSOR MALFUNCTION WAS CONFIRMED (DIAGNOSED AND ISOLATED) BY HOLMES AUTOMOTIVE OF FORT WALTON BEACH FL, ON 24 DEC 2012. BELIEVE IDENTICAL PROBLEM AS NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NBR 12V244000. *TR