Kia recalls Soul for gas pedal defect

Kia Motors America is recalling more than 200,000 Kia Soul wagons built between July, 2013 and January 2015 because some drivers, apparently, have taken the term ‘step on it’ literally.

According to the the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Kia initiated an investigation after a few dealers filed warranty claims to replace “fractured” gas pedal assemblies. Kia’s research discovered that the pedal could break under 102 kg (that’s 225 pounds) of force, or what we’d guess is a little more than the weight of an average North American adult male. Kia says its research indicates that such damage “appears to be possible only when the vehicle is stationary.”

Which makes us wonder why the owners of the nine cars in question (that’s how many warranty claims Kia says have been made for this specific problem) are actually standing on the gas pedal—not to mention why they’re doing so when the car isn’t even moving. (Wait, maybe we don’t want to think too hard about that.)

For its part, Kia says it will have its dealers install a rubber stopper under the pedal assembly to prevent future failures.

As of publication, the recall only applies to U.S. market cars, but we expect to Kia Canada and Transport Canada to follow suit with a recall for Souls sold north of the border.