South Korean car manufacturers, Hyundai and Kia, have issued recalls for 3.37 million vehicles in the US due to an engine fire risk, while advising owners to park outside and away from structures until repairs are complete.
Kia has recalled 1.73 million vehicles consisting of the Borrego, Cadenza, Forte, Sportage, K900, Optima, Soul, Rio, Sorento, and Rondo models. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says the year range for the mentioned models starts from 2010 through to 2017.
Hyundai is recalling 1.64 million Elantra, Genesis Coupe, Sonata Hybrid, Accent, Azera, Veloster, Santa Fe, Equus, Veracruz, Tucson, Tucson Fuel Cell, and Santa Fe Sport models, with the model years ranging from 2011 through to 2015.
The automakers explained that Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit (HECU) could experience an electrical short due to internal brake fluid leaks from the Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) in the cars, leading to an engine fire while parked or driving. The NHTSA has asked owners of the affected vehicles to heed the advice of the automakers and park their vehicles outside until repairs are made.
Hyundai plans to notify owners of the affected models to bring their vehicles to a dealer to replace the ABS module fuse, however, Kia is still working on a remedy, the NHTSA said. The automakers plan to notify owners of the recall in November.
The NHTSA says Hyundai has reported having knowledge of 42 fires and other thermal incidents since 2017, which are related to the recall. Kia also has reports of at least 10 confirmed fires and melting incidents. Neither automaker has reports of any crashes, injuries or fatalities or crashes tied to the recalls.
