Washington, D.C. – October 13, 2022 – The year of the Tiger is proving to be truly “fiery” for both Hyundai (OTCMKTS: HYMTF) and Kia (OTCMKTS:KIMTF).
Both manufacturers are subject to an ongoing U.S government investigation that may affect as many as 3 million vehicles due to potential engine failures. In addition, over 1 million of additional makes are subject to unrelated recalls that may also result in a fire.
Fires greatly increase the possibility of the car occupants – and potentially surrounding motorists – getting seriously injured. Worse yet, they can occur even when the vehicle is parked or turned off, also upping the risk of property damage.
Read on to see if your vehicle is affected.
The investigation
In January, the U.S government auto safety regulator, the National Highway Transportation Administration (NHTSA) opened the investigation over potential “inadequate remedies” that both manufacturers implemented for five fire-related recalls that took place as far back as 2017.
In addition to evaluating whether the remedies resolved the risk of fire, the regulator is also looking into whether vehicles that were not part of these recalls will need to be recalled again.
Some of the vehicles involved include:
- 2013 Hyundai Elantra
- 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe
- 2017 Hyundai Tucson
- 2013 – 2014 Santa Fe Sport
- 2011 – 2014 Hyundai Sonata
- 2011 – 2013 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
- 2016 – 2017 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
- 2015 – 2016 Hyundai Veloster
- 2012 – 2015 Kia Forte
ABS module fires
In February, nearly half a million Hyundai and Kia SUVs had to be recalled due to defective ABS modules, which would overheat and burst into flames.
These recalls include the following vehicles:
- 2016 – 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe
- 2017 – 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport
- 2014 – 2015 Hyundai Tucson
- 2016 – 2018 Kia K900
- 2014 – 2016 Kia Sportage
- 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe XL
Fuel-leaking sedans
Back in 2020, Hyundai and Kia recalled Sonata and Optima sedans over a fuel leak that could cause a fire. However, it appeared the remedy implemented on this occasion was not sufficient, forcing the manufacturers to recall these vehicles once more in February.
Over 73,000 2013 – 2014 Kia Optima sedans and 215,171 2013 – 2014 Hyundai Sonata sedans were affected.
Hybrids with overheating wiring
In July 2022, Hyundai had to recall some of its Ioniq hybrids over a risk of a vehicle fire caused by overheating relays underneath the passenger seat. In total, more than 10,000 cars were affected by this Hyundai fire recall.
The following vehicles were affected:
- 2017 – 2018 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid
- 2017 – 2018 Hyundai Ioniq Plug-In Hybrid
Tow harness fire
In August, Hyundai and Kia had an issue with their SUVs potentially bursting into flames because of overheating tow hitch wiring. This caused more than 250,000 cars to be recalled.
But the number of affected vehicles proved to be higher, resulting in an additional recall earlier in October. The following vehicles were affected in the second round:
- 2016 – 2022 Kia Sorento
- 2021 – 2023 Kia Sorento Hybrid
- 2022 – 2023 Kia Sorento Plug-In Hybrid (PHEV)
- 2017 – 2022 Kia Sportage
Is your vehicle part of a recall?
Up to date, Hyundai and Kia fire recalls have affected roughly 4.4 million cars during 2022. To do a Hyundai recall check and see if yours is affected by any of them, use MotorSafety’s free vehicle lookup tool. You can do the same to carry out a Kia recall check.
