The other day I woke up to find my rear seat popped up. I have a '23 K5 GT Line with 34k miles, and I’ve had the car for just over a year. While driving home, the car shut off on the highway. Someone brought me gas because I thought I had run out, even though the car said I had over 30 miles of fuel left and I was just about to exit to fill up. But when I tried adding gas from the red container, it immediately started spilling—it wouldn’t take any. I had to get it towed to the dealership and now I’m waiting to hear back. No matter what you’ve heard, go check under your seat. This should definitely be a recall.
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This is a known issue, where a rare problem with the EVAP system causes the tank to expand. From what I’ve read, there’s no risk of explosion since the tanks are built to withstand severe car crashes.
Unfortunately, the bad news is that Kia will have to buy back your car because it’s totaled due to a bent frame.
That’s tough, man. I worry about this every day too.
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I haven’t seen this happen to any GT models so far. However, right around the time this issue started getting attention, they announced the switch from the 1.6 to the 2.5 engine on the GT-Line models.
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From what I’ve heard from other K5 owners, even after visiting the dealership, they’re often dismissed and told there are no issues, only for problems to arise later. It seems no one is truly safe, so it’s best to inspect it yourself.
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The dealership told me that the '21 LXS model isn’t affected by this issue. Can anyone confirm if that’s true, or were they just giving me the runaround?
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A few months ago, I received something in the mail about a “voluntary” fix for a swelling fuel tank, kind of like a recall, but not officially labeled as one. I figured I would take care of it during my next service appointment, and it was even listed as an option in the service menu. However, later on, it disappeared from the menu. During my most recent service, I asked about it, and the service department guy confirmed it is a recall. But when he contacted Kia, they said they didn’t have all the details yet, which seemed odd. I’ll ask about it again when I go in for my next service in about a month.
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