Ulsan, South Korea — July 9, 2015 — The newest Hyundai recall concerns a safety problem in recently produced vehicles. Reuters reported on this action, which will recall 140,000 Sonata sedans across North America and will reportedly come with an easy and quick fix, provided owners bring their car to the dealer and understand the seriousness of the situation. Fortunately, the failure will trigger a dashboard light, helping alert drivers to its presence.
In the affected Sonata sedans, seatbelts could break and become impossible to secure. The source says that the metal tongue of the seatbelt has to be inserted correctly to avoid jamming the buckle and rendering the belt inoperable. Although these Sonatas were built in 2014, between April and December, they were given the model year 2015.
Other recent recalls have affected Hyundai Sonatas within the past year, but these generally concerned external faults as opposed to features that immediately impacted the driver. Some of these other recalls were for conditions like an incorrectly installed left axle that could separate, as well as brake calipers that may fracture.
The former was listed as an assembly error on the official National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recall website, while the latter was attributed to a “manufacturing error.” The past few months have also seen complaints filed against the Sonata as well, multiple of which concerned engine or electrical systems issues.
Address recalls quickly and comprehensively with programs that are effective and will take dealer and owner actions into consideration. It’s also important that everyone involves understand the severity of an issued recall and how it differs from complaints or ongoing investigations.
