It’s important for KIA Pakistan to take this matter seriously as it’s a matter of make or break their reputation. This fire in Pakistan should be investigated for causes, and they should make sure that a Pakistan Assembled KIA must not use any of the engines which have a fire risk. During any investigation of this particular matter, Kia Pakistan should keep in mind the fire erupting in Kia vehicles in the United States and affecting almost 5 million+ units.
Pakistan import engines for local assembly so, the Sportage engine which went on fire should be tracked down. There is a due chance that this incident is an unrelated fire and not necessarily related to engine fires KIA are facing in North American Market, but we don’t know until its fully investigated.
As always, it’s highly recommended that never ever install any aftermarket accessories in your vehicle as that will void your warranty and in case if there is any problem with the car because of any other reason, the dealer and carmaker will always bring those modifications at the time of claims and can decline your warranty claim. So, stay away from any modifications whatsoever.
We hope that KIA Pakistan would officially take up this matter and investigate the cause of the fire and make it public. This will also help them secure the trust of the customers, especially in a new market of Pakistan.
I hope the government should also seriously think about establishing an independent, neutral agency for the automobile/ transport sector who can investigate technical matters and report their findings.
In the absence of such an agency, it is the car assemblers/ dealer vs. the car owners in case of any problems and issues, and it’s very clear the customer rights can easily be violated, and no one would know the real causes.
