Kia Sued for Using A Soy-Based Wire Coating
Another day, another manufacturer getting sued for using soy-based wire coating. Plaintiff Campbell claims her 2014 Kia Optima was damaged in December 2016 when rodents chewed the wire harness and wiring. Campbell asked Kia to cover the repairs under warranty but after allegedly making her wait almost a month with the Kia Optima sitting at the dealership, Kia denied her claim for coverage.
This is not a Kia-only problem. Other automakers have made the switch to a soy-based wire coatings and are facing similar lawsuits including Honda, Toyota, Hyundai, and Subaru.
The lawsuit covers owners or lessees in California, Texas, and NJ with most of the 2012-2017 Kia lineup.
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Rodents Love Kia's Soy Wires. Now the Ads Make Sense.
Rodents just can't resist the soy-derived wire coatings used in Kia vehicles. The chewed up wires are costing owners hundreds, and sometimes thousands of dollars in repairs. However, this isn't a Kia-only problem.
Related Kia Generations
At least one model year in these 14 generations have a relationship to this story.
We track this because a generation is just a group of model years where very little changes from year-to-year. Chances are owners throughout these generation will want to know about this news. Click on a generation for more information.
1st Generation Cadenza
- Years
- 2014–2016
- Reliability
- 26th out of 42
- PainRank™
- 4.01
- Complaints
- 34
1st Generation Forte
- Years
- 2010–2014
- Reliability
- 38th out of 42
- PainRank™
- 11.61
- Complaints
- 131
2nd Generation Forte
- Years
- 2015–2020
- Reliability
- 19th out of 42
- PainRank™
- 2.85
- Complaints
- 44
3rd Generation Optima
- Years
- 2011–2015
- Reliability
- 41st out of 42
- PainRank™
- 34.37
- Complaints
- 415
4th Generation Optima
- Years
- 2016–2020
- Reliability
- 14th out of 42
- PainRank™
- 2.25
- Complaints
- 36
3rd Generation Rio
- Years
- 2012–2017
- Reliability
- 25th out of 42
- PainRank™
- 3.25
- Complaints
- 46
3rd Generation Sedona
- Years
- 2015–2020
- Reliability
- 20th out of 42
- PainRank™
- 2.88
- Complaints
- 35
2nd Generation Sorento
- Years
- 2011–2014
- Reliability
- 42nd out of 42
- PainRank™
- 35.31
- Complaints
- 499
3rd Generation Sorento
- Years
- 2015–2020
- Reliability
- 40th out of 42
- PainRank™
- 13.09
- Complaints
- 146
2nd Generation Soul
- Years
- 2014–2019
- Reliability
- 36th out of 42
- PainRank™
- 8.6
- Complaints
- 141
3rd Generation Sportage
- Years
- 2011–2015
- Reliability
- 37th out of 42
- PainRank™
- 9.64
- Complaints
- 95
4th Generation Sportage
- Years
- 2016–2020
- Reliability
- 23rd out of 42
- PainRank™
- 3.11
- Complaints
- 26