United States Security Agency opens investigations for Hyundai and Kia fires
The US Government Highway Security Agency has decided to open two new investigations on fires involving Hyundai and Kia vehicles after receiving complaints over more than 3,100 fires and 103 injuries. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Monday that it granted a petition June searches for the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety, a consumer prohibition group. The surveys, one for Hyundai and the other for Kia, cover non-crash fires in nearly 3 million vehicles from affiliated Korean automakers. The probes cover 2011-2011 2014 Hyundai Sonata and Santa Fe, 2011 through 2014 Kia Optima and Sorento, and 2010 through 2015 Kia Soul. The complainants came from consumers and from data provided by both car manufacturers. A death was reported involving a Kia vehicle, according to the documents. NHTSA had previously said it would incorporate the non-fire extinguishers into a 201[ads1]7 survey that investigated recalls of Hyundai and Kia engine failure vehicles. It opened the new probes "based on the agency's analysis of information received from several manufacturers, consumer complaints and other sources." Jason Levine, chief executive, said in a statement that it is a long time before the agency investigates why so many Kia and Hyundai vehicles have taken fire when not involved in crashes. "While it may be six months later, we are delighted to see NHTSA's misrepresentation office. Open formal investigations based on our claim," said Levine, arguing that there are more non-crash fires in Hyundai and Kia cars and SUVs than in similar vehicles. Hyundai and Kia said in a statement that they are collaborating with the investigations and have been open and transparent with NHTSA and provide extensive data, messages were retrieved from NHTSA comments, and in documents describing the investigations, NHTSA reported that it had received According to the documents, the Agency investigators sent information requests to both automakers in September and October last year, according to the documents, which will look at how often fires occur, how many vehicles are affected and the safety-related consequences, the documents said Robles with Hyundais and Kias have affected more than 6 million vehicles since 2015, according to NHTSA documents. So far, Hyundai and Kia have recalled approx. 2.4 million vehicles to fix problems that can cause fires and engine failures. In addition, automakers make a "product improvement campaign" that covers an additional 3.7 million vehicles to install software that will alert drivers of possible engine failures and send the cars to a reduced speed mode if problems are detected. Only last Friday, the NHTSA announced a recall of about 20,000 Veloster cars with 1.6-liter engines in the United States and Canada, because fuel can prematurely ignite in cylinders around the pistons. It can cause excessive pressure and damage the engine, causing the vehicle to stop and in some cases fire. But that is a different problem than what has caused the rest of the recall since 2015. In February, Kia announced that it would pick up the little soul SUV with the same size engine due to engine failure and fire problems, but for reasons not related to Veloster problems. Most of the engine failure messages are for problems with Hyundai's 4-liter and 2-liter "Theta II" four-cylinder engines. The spark from the factory can seal a gate and cut off the oil flow, causing the shutdowns to fail. It can damage the engine block and cause oil to leak and burn. Car manufacturers have also announced recalls to inspect a fuel pipe problem that can cause leaks and fires. Virginia has said that NHTSA fires come from all over the country, including a death in Ohio involving a Kia Soul in April 2017. Kia says the driver in that incident injured the transfer by pressing the brake and accelerator simultaneously, causing the transmission fluid to leak and burns. It is not clear whether this death is the one mentioned in the NHTSA figures. Kia's statement said it will continue to work with NHTSA "to reach our common goal of protecting American car passengers." Hyundai stated that it monitors the performance of the engines on the roads and has made a number of improvements in its engine production. The company also said it has made a significant effort to solve engine problems in some of its vehicles. For a two-year period that began in November 2016, Hyundai made fire-related inspections of 428 vehicles out of the approximately 8.7 million vehicles it is currently driving. The statement says that for every 1 million Hyundai vehicles on the road, 49 had a non-fire over the two years. But the Highway Loss Data Institute, an insurance industry group, found that owners of five Hyundai and Kia cars and SUVs filed fire insurance claims at a rate far higher than comparable vehicles. The institute found that some Hyundai and Kia vehicles with four-cylinder engines have at least twice as high demands on fire damage as the average of comparable vehicles.
The US Government's Security Agency has decided to open two new investigations into fires involving Hyundai and Kia vehicles after receiving complaints of over 3,100 fires and 103 injuries.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Monday it granted an application filed in June last year, and is seeking the investigation from the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety, a consumer ban group.
The surveys, one for Hyundai and the other for Kia, cover non-crash fires in nearly 3 million vehicles from affiliated Korean automakers. The probes cover 2011-2011 2014 Hyundai Sonata and Santa Fe, 2011 through 2014 Kia Optima and Sorento, and 2010 through 2015 Kia Soul. The complainants came from consumers and from data provided by both car manufacturers.
A death was reported involving a Kia vehicle, according to the documents.
NHTSA had previously said it would incorporate noncrash fires in a 2017 survey that investigated recalls of Hyundai and Kia engine failure vehicles. It opened the new probes "based on the agency's analysis of information received from several manufacturers, consumer complaints and other sources."
Jason Levine, director of the center, said in a statement that it is a long time for the agency to investigate why so many Kia and Hyundai vehicles have taken fire when not involved in crashes.
"While it may be six months after the due date, we are pleased to see the NHTSA's Office of Defect Investigations, open formal investigations based on our claim," Levine said.
The center claimed that there are several noncrash fires in Hyundai and Kia cars and SUVs than in similar vehicles made by other automakers.
Hyundai and Kia said in statements that they cooperate with the investigations and have been open and transparent with NHTSA and provide comprehensive data. Messages were left to seek comment from NHTSA.
In documents describing the investigations, NHTSA reported that complaints about fire in the engine well had been received, as well as fires involving other components, including tail light housings, wiring and light bulbs. The agency's investigators sent information requests to both car manufacturers in September and October last year, according to the documents.
The survey will look at how often fires occur, how many vehicles are affected and the safety-related consequences, the documents said.
Engine failures and fire problems with Hyundais and Kias have affected more than 6 million vehicles since 2015, according to NHTSA documents. So far, Hyundai and Kia have recalled approx. 2.4 million vehicles to solve problems that can cause fires and engine failures.
In addition, automakers make a "product improvement campaign" covering an additional 3.7 million vehicles to install software that will alert drivers for possible engine failures and send the cars to a reduced speed mode if problems are detected.
Just last Friday, NHTSA announced a recall of about 20,000 Veloster cars with 1.6-liter engines in the United States and Canada because Fuel can prematurely ignite in the cylinders around the pistons. It can cause excessive pressure and damage the engine, causing the vehicle to stop and in some cases fire.
But that's another problem than what has caused the rest of the recall since 2015.
In February, Kia announced that it will remember the Soul small SUV with the same size engine due to engine failure and fire problems, but for reasons not are related to the Veloster problems.
Most engine error messages have problems with Hyundai's 2.4 liter and 2-liter "Theta II" four-cylinder engines. The spark from the factory can seal a gate and cut off the oil flow, causing the shutdowns to fail. It can damage the engine block and cause oil to leak and burn. The automakers have also announced a recall to inspect a fuel pipe problem that could cause leaks and fires.
Levine has said that NHTSA fires have come from all over the country, including a death in Ohio involving a Kia Soul in April 2017. Kia says the driver in that incident damaged the transmission by pressing the brake and accelerator simultaneously and causing that the transmission fluid leaks and burns. It is not clear whether this death is the one mentioned in the NHTSA figures.
Kia's statement said it will continue to work with NHTSA "to achieve our common goal of protecting US car passengers."
Hyundai stated that it monitors the performance of the engines on the roads, and it has made a number of improvements to engine manufacturing. The company also said it has made "great efforts" to solve engine problems in some of its vehicles.
During a two-year period that began in November 2016, Hyundai made fire-related inspections of 428 vehicles out of about 8.7 million vehicles it has on the road today. The statement states that for every 1 million Hyundai vehicles on the road, 49 had a non-fire during the two years.
But the Highway Loss Data Institute, an insurance industry group, found that owners of five Hyundai and Kia cars and SUVs filed fire insurance claims at a rate much higher than comparable vehicles. The institute found that some Hyundai and Kia vehicles with four-cylinder engines have at least twice as high demands on fire requirements than the average of comparable vehicles.
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