NHTSA Complaint #11121956 — 2012 KIA SORENTO

MY AIRBAG LIGHT WENT OFF A FEW MONTHS AGO. I ORIGINALLY THOUGHT IS WAS A SHORT BECAUSE IT WENT OFF ANYTIME I MOVED THE PASSENGER SEAT AROUND. I HAD MY SERVICE TECH CHECK IT A FEW TIMES, AND HE RESET IT. HE EVENTUALLY SAID I SHOULD TAKE IT TO KIA. THEY DIAGNOSED IT AND SAID THE OCS MAT WAS BAD. IT WAS THE PASSENGER SEAT OCCUPANCY SENSOR. I WAS QUOTED $2601.29 FOR JUST THE PART! THEY SAID I NEEDED THE WHOLE CUSHION ASSEMBLY. THIS IS TOTALLY RIDICULOUS. IMO, THEY SHOULD PUT A BACKUP SWITCH TO OVERRIDE THIS IF THEY'RE GOING TO PUT FAULTY PARTS IN THEIR SEATS. OR, THEY SHOULD CONSTRUCT A BETTER WAY TO REPAIR THESE WITHOUT A COMPLETE SEAT REPLACEMENT. IT BASICALLY MEANS, IF I WAS IN A HEAD ON COLLISION, THE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG WOULDN'T THINK ANYONE IS PRESENT IN THE SEAT. SO, IT WOULDN'T TRIGGER THE AIRBAG ON THAT SIDE. I'VE CONTEMPLATED BUILDING A BYPASS TO FORCE THE AIRBAG TO GO OFF EVEN IF NO ONE IS IN THE SEAT DURING A COLLISION. IT WAS SO BAD FOR THE 2009 VERSION, THAT YOU CAN PURCHASE THE BYPASS FOR $50. BUT, THERE'S NO GOOD DOCUMENTATION ON THE 2012 MODEL. I DO HAVE 142,000 MILES ON THE CAR. BUT, I WOULD BET THAT THE PASSENGER SEAT HAS BEEN USED ABOUT 30% OF THAT. SO, THIS IS A CASE OF A BAD PART. I HAVE PAMPERED THIS CAR. IT STILL LOOKS NEW. I PAID IT OFF AND HAD PLANNED TO DRIVE IT UNTIL IT BLEW UP. NOW, I'M CONSIDERING GETTING RID OF IT AND BUYING A NEW CAR. I'D PREFER TO DRIVE FREE FOR AWHILE. BUT, I'M CERTAINLY NOT PAYING $3000 TO FIX THIS. I KNEW THEY HAD A RECALL ON PREVIOUS MODELS FOR THIS EXACT SAME THING. I'M NOT CONVINCED THEY CHANGED ANYTHING FOR THE 2012 MODEL. BUT, THAT'S JUST MY OPINION. I CAN PROVIDE ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION FOR THIS AS NEEDED.