By CRM Staff
Toronto, Ontario — April 5, 2019 –– Hyundai Motor Company has issued a safety recall to fix potentially defective engines that could fail or catch fire.
The Korean manufacturer is recalling approximately 20,000 Veloster vehicles in Canada and the States over the threat of fuel prematurely igniting in the cylinders around the pistons. The result could cause excessive pressure and damage to the engine, increasing the risk of a fire or engine stall, according to Hyundai documents posted Friday by NHTSA.
The recall cover certain 2013 Veloster models equipped with 1.6-litre turbo engines.
Hyundai explained that it has been reviewing fire claims from owners and reporting the findings to U.S National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which in December raised questions about Veloster. A spokesperson from the manufacturer linked the problem to engine control software manufactured at the Ulsan plant in South Korea from April 26, 2012, to Oct. 16, 2013, according to documents.
“How many times are we going to hear from either Hyundai or Kia that these circumstances are unique to a particular model and then have another recall or fire situation announced weeks or months later?” said Jason Levine, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety.
Hyundai and Kia have recalled roughly 2.4 million vehicles combines since 2005 for issues related to engine failure fires.
“The evidence is now clear – Hyundai and Kia should have acted to recall these vehicles far earlier,” Levine said in a statement.
“We challenge Kia and Hyundai to use this moment to figure out what’s causing these fires instead of pretending these engine issues can be addressed with knock sensors and forcing cars into limp home mode. If they won’t, NHTSA must.”
