Kia and Hyundai face recall request from Center for Auto Safety

A consumer monitoring group is asking Kia and Hyundai to recall nearly three million vehicles, some of which are manufactured in Georgia, because of ongoing concerns about sudden fires.

The campaign led Friday by the Center for Auto Safety goes beyond its previous request for a broader federal fire investigation.

"The number and severity of these complaints, when people simply drive their cars on the highway, are scary," said Jason Levine, executive director of the center, in a press release. "It is high time that Kia and Hyundai act. Car fires put everyone on the road at risk. "

Vehicles involved include Kia Sorento vehicles 2011-2014, Kia Optima, Hyundai Sonata, Hyundai Santa Fe and 2010-2015 Kia Soul. According to the non-profit center, some, but not all, vehicles were covered by previous manufacturers' recall related to engine debris.

A Kia spokesperson informed the company that "the company recognizes that customer safety is paramount and is committed to dealing with all thermal incidents."

Kia Motors America has "concerns about the methodology and analysis used by the CAS to assess vehicle safety or identify a vehicle defect," he wrote. And vehicle fires "can be the result of many complex factors", including manufacturing, inadequate maintenance, improper repairs and arson.

A Hyundai spokesperson reported that "Hyundai was actively monitoring and evaluating potential safety issues, including non-collision fires, with all of its vehicles and promptly recalling any vehicle with defects related to the collision. security".

More than a million Sonata and Santa Fe Sport vehicles have been involved in recalls in 2015 and 2017 related to a problem that could result in wear bearing and engine failure. The spokesman wrote that "in very rare cases – less than 1% – the affected engines caught fire. A comprehensive study confirmed that there was no fault pattern other than that identified in the corresponding recalls, resulting in collision-free fires in Hyundai vehicles. "

Kia Sorento and Optima gas-only vehicles are produced at a Kia assembly plant in West Point, Georgia. Some Hyundai Santa Fe vehicles have also been built at this plant. Kia and Hyundai are affiliated companies.

The Washington DC-based Center for Auto Safety reported taking into account more than 220 consumer complaints about collision-free fires in the vehicles cited.

He urged the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to launch an investigation earlier this year. NHTSA stated that the concerns would be partly covered by another review related to previous recalls.

Since then, the center has announced that it has received over 100 additional complaints about fires.

Among them is an incident involving a Kia Sorento from the Jonesboro family in 2014, which ignited along Interstate 20 in the Atlanta subway. It was four months after the vehicle had been treated by a dealer as part of one of the previous engine recalls.

Kia and the insurances covered the losses due to fire. The automaker stated that the exact cause of the fire had not been determined.

Vehicles built by other manufacturers also caught fire, even in the absence of a collision, according to the Center for Auto Safety press release. "However, the volume of fires in this region suggests that Hyundai and Kia are content to let consumers, as well as insurers, carry the weight of poorly designed, built or repaired vehicles."