On April 15, 2003, the Office Of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a preliminary evaluation (PE03-016) to investigate engine compartment fires due to alleged fuel system leaks in model year (MY) 2001 Kia Rio vehicles.the investigation was upgraded to an engineering analysis on August 28, 2003.on September 22, 2003, the manufacturer notified the Agency that it would conduct a safety recall (03V-352) to inspect the subject vehicles for fuel leaks.an information request (ir) letter was submitted to the manufacturer on November 17, 2003 to obtain additional information so that the office could evaluate the defect as reported by Kia.the ir letter also addressed other Kia vehicles not subject to this investigation that use fuel delivery system components identical to the subject vehicles but were not included in recall 03V-352.Kia?S September 22, 2003 defect notification letter identified quality deviations in the subject components that could result in fuel leakage.during MY 2001 production, the supplier of the fuel rail (fuel distributor assembly) identified quality issues that affected the integrity of plastic welds at the service port and/or fuel intake nipple.fuel leakage could also occur if the brass service port (schrader) valve was not properly installed into the valve receptacle.the supplier adopted changes to remedy the problem and instituted a 100% inspection procedure.subsequent to this investigation, Kia also conducted performance testing and analysis of warranty and complaint data.Kia determined that the fuel rail is subject to fracture at the intake nipple during the assembly process or vehicle servicing.damage may occur when the flexible fuel line (main fuel tube assembly) quick connect coupling is improperly attached or removed from the fuel rail, or when excessive force is otherwise applied.ODI is aware of 9 non-duplicate, non-crash engine compartment fires caused by fuel system leaks and an additional 14 fires of unknown cause that may be related to the defect in the subject vehicles.ODI is also aware 6 fires in MY 2002 and 3 fires in MY 2003 Rio/Rio cinco vehicles that may be related to the defect.to reduce the possibility of fuel rail damage, Kia has redesigned the fuel rail to include a steel intake nipple, and the attaching fuel line quick connect coupling has been changed to facilitate easier servicing.on April 7, 2004, Kia notified the Agency that it would conduct a safety recall (04V-179) to replace these two components free of charge for owners of all MY 2001-2004 Kia Rio and Rio cinco vehicles produced from May 4, 2000 through March 31, 2004.accordingly, this investigation is closed.
