NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE10-023: Fuel Spill During Refueling
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE10-023 on July 12, 2010 and closed it on December 21, 2011. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2003 Kia Sorento for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE10-023 (also written PE10023)
- Investigation type
- Preliminary Evaluation The first stage of most defect investigations: NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation gathers basic information about a possible safety defect, including from the manufacturer.
- Status
- Closed December 21, 2011
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Kia America, Inc.
- Components
- Fuel System, Gasoline; Fuel System, Gasoline — Storage; Fuel System, Gasoline — Storage — Tank Assembly; Fuel System, Gasoline — Storage — Tank Assembly — Filler Pipe and Cap
- Vehicles and equipment
- 2003 Kia Sorento
A recall appears here only when NHTSA's investigations file links one to the investigation; NHTSA's summary or record can name others.
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE10-023.
Complaints 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.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE10-023. A listed model year means only that an investigation names it; it says nothing about any particular vehicle. Model years with a try.vin recall page link to that page's NHTSA investigations section.
Kia
Kia Sorento
What an NHTSA investigation is
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) looks into possible safety defects in vehicles and equipment, often after owner complaints. An investigation usually starts as a Preliminary Evaluation, or as a Recall Query when it concerns whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or fixes the problem, and ODI can upgrade it to a more detailed Engineering Analysis. A Defect Petition asks NHTSA to open an investigation, and Audit and Equipment Queries are administrative investigations into whether companies complied with federal vehicle safety requirements, such as reporting, recall and certification rules.
An open investigation is not a finding that a safety defect exists, and NHTSA can close one without a recall.
To see whether a specific vehicle has an open recall, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Kia VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for PE10-023
Investigation details come from NHTSA's investigations file, which try.vin imports once a day. The investigation types are described from the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General's May 2023 report on NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation, NHTSA's petition rules (49 CFR Parts 552 and 557) and NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation procedures. How try.vin reads NHTSA investigations.