2014 Kia Sorento Limited on 2040-cars

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Kia calls in 87k Fortes over fan fire issue

An electrical issue on the 2014 Forte has prompted Kia and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to issue a recall for 86,880 vehicles across America. The problem stems from the resistor for the cooling fan that the Korean automaker has found could overheat and melt, which would increase the risk of a fire. And fires in an automobile, needless to say, are not a good thing – unless they're occurring inside a combustion chamber. The issue affects units manufactured between December 5, 2012, and April 17, 2014. Owners of said Fortes can expect to hear from Kia to arrange to bring their vehicles in to their local dealer to have the multi-fuse unit replaced – and, for those manufactured between December 5, 2012, and January 27, 2014, the cooling fan as well. Vehicles equipped with the 1.8-liter engine will also have their ECUs reflashed while they're at it. RECALL Subject : Cooling Fan Resistor May Melt Report Receipt Date: JAN 16, 2015 NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V015000 Component(s): ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Potential Number of Units Affected: 86,880 Manufacturer: Kia Motors America SUMMARY: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain model year 2014 Kia Forte vehicles manufactured December 5, 2012, to April 17, 2014. In the affected vehicles, the cooling fan resistor may overheat and melt. CONSEQUENCE: If the cooling fan resistor overheats and melts, there is an increased risk of a vehicle fire. REMEDY: Kia will notify owners, and for vehicles produced from December 5, 2012 to January 27, 2014, dealers will replace the cooling fan resistor and multi-fuse unit. For vehicles produced from January 28, 2014 to April 17, 2014, dealers will replace the multi-fuse unit only. Owners of vehicles with a 1.8L engine will also have the engine control unit software updated. The recall is expected to begin February 24, 2015. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-800-333-4542. Kia's number for this recall is SC113. NOTES: Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

In the Kia Niro Super Bowl ad, no good deed goes unpunished

After a few teasers, we finally get to see Kia's Super Bowl ad for the Niro hybrid. The ad shows Melissa McCarthy rushing off to all corners of the world to help environmental causes of all types. As soon as a call comes over the speakers of her navy blue Niro, she's ready to go. Unfortunately, as you'll see in the video above, none of her experiences go according to plan. She has a close encounter with a whale that sends her flying, rides a tree down to the ground while trying to save it, and runs from an angry rhino. The end message is that "it's hard to be an eco warrior, but it's easy to drive like one." The ad is admittedly funny, but the end message isn't exactly ideal. Fuel-sipping cars like the Niro are generally better for the environment than thirstier machines, but it's a little disappointing to see it proposed as a viable alternative to actual volunteer work to help the environment. It's a bit like wanting to go overseas to help people in struggling countries, but deciding it's too hard and buying a Fair-Trade chocolate bar instead. But hey, it's just a Super Bowl commercial, so we're probably overthinking this. And if you liked the commercial, or maybe you're just a Melissa McCarthy fan, Kia will be giving away 40 props from the commercials. You can win one of them by chatting with the NiroBot chatbot on Facebook Messenger, which provides information about the car. Related Video:

Superman joining Kia's Justice League-themed fleet of vehicles

Kia is teaming up with the Justice League once again to create another show car that will be on display at the Chicago Auto Show. At the 2012 SEMA Show, Kia showed off various models inspired by DC Entertainment characters Batman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern and Cyborg, but a Superman-themed Kia Optima Hybrid will roll into the Windy City for next week's show.
In the above drawing, we only get to see a small portion of this car inspired by the Man of Steel, but it will have the requisite red-and-blue paint scheme with Superman's shield on the hood (subtle, it is not).
The previous cars include the Batman Optima, Aquaman Rio, Flash Forte Koup, Green Lantern Soul and Cyborg Forte. All six cars were created to raise awareness for the "We Can Be Heroes" campaign, which helps families in eastern Africa affected by drought and famine.