[blackwasp]

According to a media report, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will investigate nearly 3 million Hyundai and Kia vehicles over fire concerns, potentially prompting recalls.

The investigation was launched after the Center for Auto Safety, a consumer group petitioned the NHTSA. It is reported that incidents involving a non-crash vehicle fire have resulted in 1 death and over 100 injuries.

Affected models include the Hyundai Sonata, Santa Fe, Kia Optima, Sorento and Soul. The safety regulator said that the investigation is not restricted to engine components, but could also cover additional vehicle systems.

According to NHTSA, since 2015, over 6 million Hyundai and Kia vehicles were affected due to fire and engine problems, but only 2.4 million have been recalled. Both the South Korean carmakers have stated that they were cooperating with the authorities.



Source: BBC

Link to the Team-BHP News

[coolkurt]

I wonder why no one's raking up the issue of fires in Kia engines and forcing Kia to ensure norms are met in its onslaught into India. The safety kit on the new Seltos is appalling, especially in lower variants emphasizing that the carmaker isn't really interested in providing safety features as a standard.

There are complaints from buyers as late as Aug 2019 , which is contrary to what Kia says that 2019 manufactured cars aren't affected.

The stories differ, but the outcomes are all the same. In early August 2019, ABC 6 reported Michelle Parks' story. Her Kia SUV caught fire with her behind the wheel. Shortly after Parks' story aired, message after message from Kia customers began coming in. From Optimas, to Souls, to Sorentos, engines catching fire and vehicles destroyed.

This nationwide problem though, appears far from over. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched an investigation into more than 3,000 reports of fires that started without any crashes.

Source

[Venkatesh]

Kia has issued a recall for 379,931 of its vehicles, including the 2017 to 2019 Cadenza and the 2017 to 2021 Sportage due to the risk of a fire coming from the engine compartment.

The fire can result from an electrical short, and before owners bring their vehicles in to dealers to have the part replaced, Kia says the vehicles should be parked outside.



Kia Cadenza and Sportage owners can check the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recalls website to find out if their vehicle is affected.

Source

[gururajrv]

Source

Almost half a million Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. drivers in the U.S. have been told to park their cars outside and away from other vehicles because of a heightened risk they could spontaneously catch fire.

The South Korean automakers have identified an increasing risk of an engine compartment fire, even if the vehicle is turned off, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement Tuesday. While the exact cause is unknown, the manufacturers believe an electrical component in the anti-lock brake system may experience an internal short circuit, the statement said.

Hyundai has recalled 357,830 cars, including Santa Fe SUVs manufactured from 2016-19 and Tucson SUVs from 2014-15 to fix the fault for free. Kia has recalled 126,747 vehicles, including the 2016 Sportage SUV and K900 sedans manufactured between 2016-2018.

The agency said in December that it had opened an engineering analysis into 3 million vehicles produced by Hyundai and Kia, focused on 2011-2016 models. In 2020, Hyundai and Kia agreed to pay a total of $210 million in penalties in the U.S. to settle complaints related to faulty engines.
In November, NHTSA issued first-ever reward to a whistleblower, handing out more than $24 million to a former Hyundai employee who reported to NHTSA in 2016 that Hyundai was failing to address a design flaw linked to its Theta II engines, which were prone to seizing up and catching fire.

In 2020, Hyundai and Kia's U.S. units agreed to a record $210 million civil penalty after NHTSA said they failed to recall vehicles for engine issues in a timely fashion.