After Kia and Hyundai announced a series of auto recalls that impacted 5.8 million vehicles nationwide, many hoped that the issue that was prompting car fires was going to be addressed. However, safety advocates are finding that instead of having their vehicles repaired, drivers are having to deal with thousands of car fires.
Car Safety Advocate: Recalls Don’t Go Far Enough
The first reports of auto fires came in 2018. Four years later, reporters are interviewing countless drivers who experienced narrow misses while driving Hyundai and Kia vehicles. According to safety advocates such as Center for Auto Safety’s Michael Brooks, the repairs carried out by the automakers so far did very little to ensure drivers are safe.
“The recall did not fix the underlying problems with the engine design that caused these issues in the first place,” Brooks told news outlets.
As the advocacy group prepares to release a warning report for consumers about the auto fires, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) continues to investigate the Hyundai and Kia recalls and their effectiveness. Up until December 2021, regulators had registered 5,000 fires and 158 injuries associated with the impacted vehicles.
Hyundai, Kia Recalls Tied To Multiple Defects
Ever since car owners began to report fires, automakers claimed that the fires were associated with multiple factors. They included oil leaks and electrical problems. In addition, the firms explained that on some occasions, fires will start due to a faulty recall repair that can trigger a fuel line leak.
Vehicles that remain potentially dangerous according to the Center for Auto Safety include the 2011 through 2019 Hyundai Sonata, the 2013 through 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport, the 2014, 2015, 2018, and 2019 Hyundai Tucson, the 2011 through 2019 Kia Optima, the 2012 through 2019 Kia Sorento, and the 2011 through 2019 Kia Sportage vehicles.
For more details on what safety advocates have to say on the ongoing auto fires, follow this link.
