The recall jointly announced by Kia and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, affects over 145,000 models. There is a concern that the vehicles involved have a faulty airbag component, which according to Torque News may cause the airbags not to trigger in the event of an accident.

This latest recall is affecting Kia Optima models with the 2006 to 2008 model year, and was manufactured between September 29th 2005 and 2008. The recall is also affecting the Kia Rondo MPV that was manufactured between September 13th 2006 and March 21st 2008. There are a total of 145,755 models affected by the recall, with 95,569 being Optima models, and 50,186 Rondo vehicles.

The problem centers on the clock spring, which is an internal component of the steering wheel assembly. It has been discovered that after a period of time the component will wear and eventually break. This will cause the airbag warning light to illuminate, and in an accident may mean the airbag will not deploy.

Kia Motors and the NHTSA have decided to issue the recall and get the models affected into dealers for repair. There has been a number of similar recalls across the auto industry with clock spring issues. Kia has carried out a number of warranty repairs already, and there have been no reports of injuries because of the fault.

The recall is expected to start in March with owners being asked to return their vehicle to their nearest Kia dealer. For more information you can contact the Kia Customer Assistance Center at 1-800-333-4542, and quote recall campaign SC094.

Colum Wood from AutoGuide has spent some time with the new sedan and has offered his own review of the car – and what a review it is. We thought that we would pick up on a couple of key points on why Wood believes that this is one family sedan that you should buy.

Go back 5 years and a Kia would not turn many heads, but now heads are turning, as consumers can often mistake these for well designed Honda or Toyota vehicles. Let us point something out here; the interior of the car is like the TARDIS from Doctor Who, as you will pay more attention to the inside than the outside.

Colum Wood picks up on the fact that Kia has designed the interior for the driver, which means that most things will be practical. The brightly lit instrument cluster is what impressed Wood the most with its “Simple yet elegant” design.

We are not certain how much Kia will sell the Kia Optima for, but Wood believes that prices should start from $20,000. Visit AutoGuide to read a full review.