Hydrolic Electronic Control Unit Recall

[HDTurbo]

These threads should be merged.

 

[namja]

@Kia Stinger

 

[Cosmo]

Received my recall kit toady. $5 from kiaparts.com and I can confirm it is VIN dependant.

 

[David Truax]

Received my recall kit toady. $5 from kiaparts.com and I can confirm it is VIN dependant.

Nice. Still waiting for mine

 

[brunosquito]

Received my recall kit toady. $5 from kiaparts.com and I can confirm it is VIN dependant.

I didn’t find a link in the thread. Can you share a link or part number to this purchase you made for the recall kit? Thanks

 

[David Truax]

I didn’t find a link in the thread. Can you share a link or part number to this purchase you made for the recall kit? Thanks

91KITJ525LQQK

 

[brunosquito]

91KITJ525LQQK

Thank you sir

 

[StingertimeNC]

Had the recall performed today. It was like dropping off my child at pre-school! terrible! other than two new fuses in the panel, and two yellow stickers, (and a couple of finger prints on the door) you would never know it even happened. Put JB4 back in, set map 3 and hit the highway! all is well. Dealer was pretty good. I also had to take my daughter's Sorento in for a new valve cover gasket today as well. Interesting side note, the valve cover gasket is apparently not part of the powertrain warranty, although they covered it as a "courtesy." I thought it was bolted to the engine, LOL. sorry to get off topic.

 

[Danny5]

Received the same notice to schedule the recall repair. The problem is my GTS is under a cover in the barn for the winter. I disconnected the battery instead of installing the trickle charger due to the possibility of a fire. Hopefully KIA will perform the repair in the spring

So, you are legally protected. All recalls are covered by the manufacturer, regardless of timing.

 

[David Truax]

I still haven't gotten any notice from Kia stating that they have a repair and to make an appointment with Kia.....

 

[ktstinger]

Took mine in for the recall repair yesterday. Took about 1.5 hrs.

 

[RedHotStinger]

A little back ground on what the HECU does in our cars. It is is the brain of the ABS brake system(HECU failure can lead to full power brake failure leaving you with what the booster has in it to get you stopped), traction control, controls the front/rear bias for power on AWD models, monitors the tire pressure, controls the adaptive cruise, controls the blind spot monitoring and also the front/rear collision prevention system. So, basically most of the safety systems in our cars. Just imagine cruising down the highway at 70mph and the HECU shorts out and decides to slam on the brakes at full force because it thinks you are on ice even though the road is dry. What is happening is there is a faulty set of internal seals that prevents brake fluid from coming in contact with the three PCBs in the HECU unit. So far to my knowledge it only affects a certain run of units manufactured from the third part vendor. They just do not know what vehicles got those faulty units installed in. Hence, the broad recall. If Kia inspects your HECU and finds a external leak then the damage is done and the internals are already tainted by brake fluid (highly conductive); most units will fail with no external evidence. Most people will not know there is an issue till they start loosing functions and the burning starts (collectively there is 75 amps going to the unit). The lucky ones that only start to get warning lights and can park it fast may get lucky. Call 911 and do not open the hood for any reason as that will flash the fire if it has started. My insurance company has placed a request to Kia Motors for a full technical breakdown of what the HECU does and all of it technical failure reports. Since they are not replacing the HECU in my car and just putting in the fuse kit my insurance company is putting a rider on my policy that if my car is damaged by HECU failure in anyway they are 100% responsible for the damage to the car and any collateral damage done by it; that includes any accident determined to be caused/ at fault by the HECU failing and any property damage/damage to other vehicles. If Kia just wants to replace some fuses instead of the actual faulty/possibly faulty HECU I am covering my self legally. Basically my insurance company will pay to fix my car/property then sue KIA for the loss amount and they will refer everyone else involved to Kia for restitution. In case you are curious where the HECU is located it is buried under the fuse junction box that the fuse kit gets installed in just behind the wheel well. So once the HECU shorts out it starts to melt/burn the wiring leading up to the main fuse panel above it were the fuses for 60% of the car including all of the engine controls is located and all of the harnesses connected to it going to the other modules. I am installing a fast disconnect on the terminals of the battery in the trunk so I can pull a cord from either the trunk or the front seat to kill the power to the car hopefully reducing the amount of damage. Keep in mind the HECU can malfunction and not short to the point where is starts a fire. If anything does not seem right I would park it and have it towed to the dealer to have it inspected/checked. Kia is going to be seeing a lot of Stingers on tow trucks in the future I would think. If you have parked your car for the season due to weather concerns I would fully disconnect the battery. The HECU can fail with the car just sitting there parked and not running; All you need is for one of the seals to fail.

 

[G-541793]

So the new 25 amp fuses would cut power to the unit whether the car is running or not, if there’s a leak and then a short, correct?

 

[MerlintheMad]

Congratulations, Red, you get "Winner" for the most alarming first post. Welcome.

 

[RedHotStinger]

Typically I just lurk in the background. I believe Kia is being misleading and downplaying the seriousness of this issue. Getting the recall done only makes it easier for the fuses to blow when a overload/short happens but it does nothing when HECU fails and you possibly loose control of the car. If you want to get the HECU replaced out of warranty (ie out of pocket) you are forking out roughly $3400 parts and labor. In my opinion they should be doing the fuse kit and replacing the HECU with a new built batch that have a certificate stating it is a revised unit. The current "We are going to sit back and wait for them to fail before we swap them" mentality is going to lead to much miss fortune for someone. That is why I am protecting my self of all liability when it comes to the HECU in my car.

I generally love about 80% of my car. The constant issues with the front brakes, the sunroof that rattles more than a snake, and a rear power hatch that slams down on me expectantly. And now the possibility of catastrophic failure of one of the primary safely control modules. What's not too love.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Typically I just lurk in the background. I believe Kia is being misleading and downplaying the seriousness of this issue. Getting the recall done only makes it easier for the fuses to blow when a overload/short happens but it does nothing when HECU fails and you possibly loose control of the car. If you want to get the HECU replaced out of warranty (ie out of pocket) you are forking out roughly $3400 parts and labor. In my opinion they should be doing the fuse kit and replacing the HECU with a new built batch that have a certificate stating it is a revised unit. The current "We are going to sit back and wait for them to fail before we swap them" mentality is going to lead to much miss fortune for someone. That is why I am protecting my self of all liability when it comes to the HECU in my car.

I generally love about 80% of my car. The constant issues with the front brakes, the sunroof that rattles more than a snake, and a rear power hatch that slams down on me expectantly. And now he possibility of catastrophic failure of one of the primary safely control modules. What's not too love.

What I don't understand about your comments here is that Kia has said that the cause of the fire hazard is not determined. But you are staking your soul on the certainty that it is a bad batch of HECUs. Where did this come from?

 

[RedHotStinger]

"What I don't understand about your comments here is that Kia has said that the cause of the fire hazard is not determined. But you are staking your soul on the certainty that it is a bad batch of HECUs. Where did this come from?"

State Police crash investigation officer. They have a lot more info about the HECU issue than Kia is giving to the public. They are being briefed on the issues caused by the failure to aid in possible future crash investigations. They have a failed HECU that they are studying right now.

 

[G70 Owner]

"What I don't understand about your comments here is that Kia has said that the cause of the fire hazard is not determined. But you are staking your soul on the certainty that it is a bad batch of HECUs. Where did this come from?"

State Police crash investigation officer. They have a lot more info about the HECU issue than Kia is giving to the public. They are being briefed on the issues caused by the failure to aid in possible future crash investigations. They have a failed HECU that they are studying right now.

Seems like something that would be not shared publicly outside of a official recall/communication, considering the possible legal and insurance implications. Are you really privy to information that the public doesn’t have and you’re posting it on a forum?

 

[RedHotStinger]

Seems like something that would be not shared publicly outside of a official recall/communication, considering the possible legal and insurance implications. Are you really privy to information that the public doesn’t have and you’re posting it on a forum?

The officer started the conversation when he saw me driving my stinger. He said it was public domain information. Nothing cloak and dagger. Any one can request the information.

 

[StingertimeNC]

wouldn't the fact that the fuse blows just cause the traction and stability control, and abs to not function? braking would still be normal, correct? also, wouldn't the fire hazard go away as soon as the fuse blows. I get car companies taking a bit of a shortcut to save some expense, but don't you think if there's even remote chance the brakes would lock up the second the unit fails, causing a catastrophic accident, they would want to replace the 2019 HECU's?