FUEL RAIL LEAKAGE

What NHTSA is examining

On april 15, 2003, the office of defects investigation (odi) opened a preliminary evaluation (pe03-016) to investigate engine compartment fires due to alleged fuel system leaks in model year (my) 2001 kia rio vehicles.the investigation was upgraded to an engineering analysis on august 28, 2003.on september 22, 2003, the manufacturer notified the agency that it would conduct a safety recall (03v-352) to inspect the subject vehicles for fuel leaks.an information request (ir) letter was submitted to the manufacturer on november 17, 2003 to obtain additional information so that the office could evaluate the defect as reported by kia.the ir letter also addressed other kia vehicles not subject to this investigation that use fuel delivery system components identical to the subject vehicles but were not included in recall 03v-352.kia?s september 22, 2003 defect notification letter identified quality deviations in the subject components that could result in fuel leakage.during my 2001 production, the supplier of the fuel rail (fuel distributor assembly) identified quality issues that affected the integrity of plastic welds at the service port and/or fuel intake nipple.fuel leakage could also occur if the brass service port (schrader) valve was not properly installed into the valve receptacle.the supplier adopted changes to remedy the problem and instituted a 100% inspection procedure.subsequent to this investigation, kia also conducted performance testing and analysis of warranty and…

Vehicles under investigation