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Kia Ordered to Recall Carnival Models in US

May 17, 2003; Korea Today reported that Kia Motors has been ordered to recall its Carnival model in the United States for defects in its brakes and seat strikers.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Friday said 7,710 of the sport utility vehicles are subject to the recall.

It said 4,276 Carnivals, manufactured between May and June 2002, have weak seat strikers, which could lead breakage in case of an exterior impact.

``Some of the second and third row seat strikers installed on the vehicle floor pan have been improperly heat treated and could break in a crash, resulting in injuries to the occupants of these seats,¡¯¡¯ it said. Kia has notified the owners of the defects.

The sport utility vehicle is called Sedona in the U.S.

The other 3,434 vehicles, produced from November 2002 to March 2003, showed failings in the anti-lock braking system, it said.

According to the U.S. vehicle safety body, a programming error could reduce braking force at speeds below 25 mph. It said the error could increase stopping distance and lead to crashes.

Dealers will reprogram the control units.

Also on the April recall list were Ford¡¯s Lincoln Continental sedan (43,459 units), Nissan¡¯s Altimas (190,000 units) and Toyota¡¯s 4 Runner (29,482 units).