Hyundai has issued two separate recalls in the US that will affect nearly 600,000 cars and will are set to begin from 30th June onward. The first recall was announced by the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) for the Santa Fe with the rear hood closing issue, while the second recall involves the Sonata and Genesis cars that had a parking brake problem. This is Hyundai's second major recall in the US this year, after nearly 1.5 million vehicles were recalled April.
The first recall announced covers 437,400 units of the Santa Fe and Santa Fe Sport crossovers that were manufactured between 2013 and 2017. The NHTSA said that the issue on the model has been linked to a faulty cable for the secondary hood latch, which could corrode and prevent the hood from latching.
The hood latch had an issue due to corrosion preventing it from closing
Speaking on the issue, Hyundai spokesperson for the US, Michael Stewart said that the safety risk only applies if the hood is not properly closed. "There have been three reports where the hoods came off, but the majority of the complains had to do with the hood being stuck closed," he added. Michael also that the problem was largely seen on the cars in the North Eastern part of the US, where large quantities of salt are applied on the road during the winters. The same could've catapulted the corrosion process.
Hyundai said that a production fix was applied to the Santa Fe in June last year, but it isn't sure why the recall was announced only now. The manufacturer said it will be investigating the reasons as to why an announcement was not made earlier.
Over 1.50 lakh units of the Hyundai Sonata have been recalled
Moving to the second recall, around 150,000 units of the Hyundai Sonata and 10,800 units of the Genesis have been affected. Both models were built between 2015 and 2016, and corrosion is said to be the fault for a parking brake issue. The company stated the illumination on the instrument cluster could signal that the parking brake is applied. But it was a problem with a rusty switch, which possibly kept the drivers from knowing that the brake is on while driving.
With the parking brake applied, the cars could show issues like parking brake noise, additional drag and even smoke or smell from driving due to the parking brake being applied.
Hyundai will be replacing the faulty equipment on all affected vehicles once the recall process starts at the end of this month. The company hasn't announced a recall for its in other markets globally.
