Yesterday, Hyundai and Kia expanded recall efforts by notifying drivers of a potential fire risk affecting 571,000 vehicles.
This is Hyundai’s second recall targeting the issue. According to records kept by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the brand notified 245,030 Palisade SUV owners of an identical problem last August. This latest recall brings the total number of affected vehicles to 816,030. Hyundai’s 2022-2023 Santa Cruz, 2019-2023 Santa Fe, 2021-2023 Sante Fe Hybrid and 2022-2023 Santa Fe Plug-in Hybrid were listed in the notice. Only one Kia model, the 2022-2023 Carnival was included. The NHTSA warns owners of the affected products that “an electrical short could potentially start a fire in the tow hitch harness module,” adding that the problem can occur “even if the vehicle is turned off.”
Until drivers can schedule a free repair appointment with a technician, Hyundai and Kia warn that they should keep their vehicles parked outside, away from any property such as buildings and other cars. Car owners can go to the NHTSA’s website to determine if they are included in the recall, provided they have their car’s identification number.
Hyundai and Kia are not the first brands to issue massive recalls in 2023. Only two weeks ago, Honda issued a warning to over 500,000 car owners that their seat belts could fail to latch. Days after, Ford filed to bring in 1.5 million vehicles to replace defective windshield wipers and brake hoses. In February, the NHTSA also compelled Tesla to announce a recall affecting 362,000 cars with driver-assistance features enabled, despite the problem being fixed with a software update.
