Kia preliminary evaluation PE10023
Fuel Spill During Refueling. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the fuel system, gasoline on 1 model year (2003). Opened Jul 12, 2010, closed Dec 21, 2011 after 17 months without a recall. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedComplaints allege that while refueling the vehicle, fuel can spill out or spit back from the fuel filler port on model year (MY) 2003 Kia Sorento vehicles (subject vehicles).Consumers report that the spilled fuel can splash on the person fueling the vehicle, or on the side of the vehicle and the ground. The subject vehicles are equipped with an evaporative emissions control system that, among other things, manages air exchange between the fuel tank and the atmosphere in an environmentally safe manner. The system consists of a vapor canister, various control valves and tubing, and a canister filter (fuel tank air filter) through which the air that flows in and out of the fuel tank must pass. Kia's testing found that if the canister filter becomes significantly clogged, excess pressure can build up in the fuel tank and cause fuel to spit back from the filler port during refueling. Kia has stated that the canister filter requires regularly scheduled service maintenance; however, the component is not listed as a maintenance item in the owner's or service manual for the subject vehicles. ODI notes that Kia does list the filter on the maintenance schedule in the owner's manual for MY 2005 and newer Kia Sorento vehicles. To address the issue of fuel spit back during refueling, Kia will conduct a service campaign of approximately 86,000 MY 2003 and 2004 Kia Sorento vehicles. The campaign will provide a one-time replacement of the canister filter, at no cost to the owner. Kia will begin notifying the affected owners in late January 2012 and will inform the owners that the filter must be serviced at regular intervals. Kia will also provide an updated service maintenance schedule. Consumers should refer to the service campaign bulletin number SC092 available in the investigative file. A safety-related defect trend has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted. Accordingly, this investigation is closed. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that no safety-related defect exists. The agency will monitor the issue and reserves the right to take future action if warranted by the circumstances.
A Preliminary Evaluation is the first formal stage: NHTSA has decided the complaints and other information it screened are worth a closer look, and asks the manufacturer for its own data on the condition. The summary is the agency’s own text from its investigation file, unedited; the opening and closing resumes with the full reasoning are on NHTSA’s site under this number.
What this means for an owner
Source: and what happens nextAn investigation is not a finding that a defect exists, and it puts no duty on anyone. NHTSA opens a Preliminary Evaluation when complaints and other reports suggest a condition worth asking the manufacturer about; it upgrades to an Engineering Analysis when the answers warrant testing; it closes either when it recommends a recall, when the manufacturer recalls on its own, or when no defect trend is found. The agency’s own goals are about four months for a petition, eight for a Preliminary Evaluation or a Recall Query and eighteen for an Engineering Analysis; many run longer.
This one closed without a recall. That means NHTSA found no defect trend it chose to act on at the time, or the manufacturer addressed the condition another way (a service campaign or a bulletin, which have their own pages). A closed file can be reopened if new reports arrive.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themAlso named: 2003 Kia Sorento.
A vehicle page’s investigation list carries the same action; a name here is the scope NHTSA opened, not a list of affected VINs.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs PE10023 a recall?
No. A preliminary evaluation is NHTSA asking questions, not a recall. A safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number and a duty to repair for free; this one closed without one. Whether one particular vehicle has an open recall is a VIN question at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Is PE10023 still open?
No. It closed on Dec 21, 2011 without a recall.
Which vehicles does PE10023 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 1 model year: 2003 Kia Sorento. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.