Hyundai and Kia are telling the owners of nearly 92,000 vehicles in the U.S. to park them outside because an electronic controller in an oil pump can overheat and cause fires.
Definitely ironic to me that there’s so much fear about EV batteries spontaneously combusting. And in the end, one of the largest recalls for spontaneous combustion is from an oil regulator in an ICEV 😅
You aren’t wrong, but at the same time, I’m not buying a Hyundai/Kia ev anytime soon either. They constantly have electrical problems with fire risks.
And considering that they’ve buried stuff before (metal shavings in their ICE engines like 4 years ago), I could easily see an EV wiring problem they’re sitting on lest they destroy their standing in the EV market. Not that EV fires are actually much worse than gas car fires (a little harder to put out, but far less explodey (gas is also hard to put out, just not as hard.))
I think gasoline fires are easier to put out because basically every fire station everywhere has the equipment/chemicals to deal with an oil/gas fire while not everywhere has the material and training to put out a large battery fire
Yet.
At one time, fire stations didn’t have the knowhow and equipment to put out gasoline fires, but now cars are everywhere and they do. Give it time and even the most podunk volunteer fire station will have stuff to deal with vehicle battery fires.
The trouble is, batteries carry around their own oxidizers, so smothering doesn’t work as well…
That, and most fire stations aren’t set up to put out metal fires.
Dont forget the fact you can drive off with a usb cable as a key.
Not ironic, but a responsible thing to do. The fact Tesla still plays stupid after all the reported issues and hasn’t issue any recalls speaks volumes. Car being recalled means they are taking the correct path. They have identified the issue, found the solution and are recalling cars to fix it.
The recalls cover certain 2023 and 2024 Hyundai Palisades, as well some 2023 Tucson, Sonata, Elantra and Kona vehicles. Affected Kias include the 2023 Soul and Sportage as well as some 2023 and 2024 Seltos vehicles.
Direct links to the recalls
For Hyundai:
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2023/RCAK-23V526-5528.pdf
For Kia:
The recalls cover certain 2023 and 2024 Hyundai Palisades, as well some 2023 Tucson, Sonata, Elantra and Kona vehicles. Affected Kias include the 2023 Soul and Sportage as well as some 2023 and 2024 Seltos vehicles.
Interesting. At least this time they are taking action before any major shit goes down like it happened with the previous generation cars.
It says they’re waiting a month to notify the owners though, let everyone you know who owns a Kia to park away from any structures.
Edit: Maybe they mean for the parts replacement? Confusing language.
Dealers will inspect and replace the oil pump controller if necessary. Hyundai owners will be notified by letter on Sept. 25. Kia will notify owners starting Sept. 28.
I once saw someone refer to Kia and Hyundai as the “fast fashion” of the auto industry. Now I can’t help but look at them and see h&m. It looks trendy, and it’s great for one or two wears, and then it falls apart
I’ve had 3 Hyundais and they were all great for years. Never had any problems with them and figured it’d be my go-to affordable car.
But then my car got stolen (and recovered) because of their cost-cutting bullshit and they’ve been fuckin awful to deal with. It was at the dealership for 5+ weeks and on the day I was supposed to pick it up, they broke a part and wanted me to pay more to fix it. Then, because I was an idiot who didn’t test it before paying, I found out that my remote start now sets off my alarm. And they told me it’s not their problem.
So yeah, fuck Hyundai.
I mean, that sounds more like a shitty dealership problem?
Except for the whole thing where they removed a pretty crucial security feature which led to a MAJOR car theft trend causing a shortage of replacement parts. And that they didnt plan to do anything about it until the government stepped in.
As for the remote start, it was installed at the dealership when I bought the car but no one will service it because it’s third party (they didn’t make Hyundai remote starts for my car when I bought it)
Yeah the dealership sucked but Hyundai fumbled hard with the immobilizers and now there’s another significant recall a few months later. I’m off the Hyundai train.
I bought a Sonata years ago and it ran great for a few years then it just started dying, burning oil with blue smoke when I start the car, really sluggish acceleration, and if I turn eco mode on the car basically has a stroke and sounds like it’s going to explode if I try and get on a highway.
I took it in and they told me there’s nothing wrong with it quite literally while a blue cloud of smoke shot out the exhaust when they were telling me it’s fine. They refuse to acknowledge anythings wrong.
Had to get a part replaced which meant they had to remove the dashboard to do it, realize after I leave when I go to get gas that the gas cap won’t open nor the trunk. So I assume they forgot to plug back in those buttons (they are on the same wiring harness), they tell me it was the fuse and it’s either $75 to replace the fuse or $150 to diagnose it. It was working fine before they had it and I have no aftermarket mods, have never touched the wiring, and never touched the battery, but they just did so it makes sense that within this short period of time the cause of the fuse is from their work. It’s not something that I can prove but it’s the most logical reason and fuses are dirt cheap but nope, they not just denied it they then tried to gaslight me.
First he said it was an old fuse and that’s why it went, I’m not electrical engineer and fuses can corrode this one was clean and fuses don’t just go bad they have too high a voltage traveling and they melt that’s their purpose. So after that explanation the guy told me that they never had to touch the dashboard so it couldn’t be them and goes into this very detailed technical explanation of how they can do what they needed to do (replace the steering wheel coupler). I told him I watched a YouTube video from their official techs showing how the part is replaced and the entire steering wheel column has to be dropped out and/or removed to replace it, one of their techs happens by and we ask him and he confirms what I said. So now the goal post moves again and he tells me that they did have to remove the dashboard and interact with those systems but by simply pushing the button in the manner the system is designed for the system will short out. I point out that sounds like a design flaw and should be covered under the warranty, they told me it’s not.
I was literally thinking of buying a new car to get Android auto as my sonata was prior to that addition, but when their own techs use the argument that their cars are garbage so they shouldn’t be responsible there’s no way I’d buy Hyundai again so now I’m waiting on availability to buy a new Toyota. So yeah, really fuck Hyundai and Hyundai of Trenton especially.
How hilariously similar.
The thing they refused to accept responsibility for breaking was the air bag spring. Where is the air bag spring? Under the steering wheel, exactly where they were working (everything was ripped out to steal it)
I called my insurance guy up in a panic and he bitched them out. In his report he even said he expected the spring to be replaced…
I’m glad you had your insurance company to back you up because it feels like their go-to policy is to gaslight and stonewall until you give up or they get tired and give in. It would be great if we could just cut out dealerships altogether.
Man my insurance guy was so great. I knew I’d like him when he called me because he was one of only TWO people who didn’t say “have a good day” at the end of the call. Bitch, my car got stolen and now it’s all fucked up. My day is NOT going to be good.
Trenton
I think I found the problem. :-P
You are not wrong.
Except it doesn’t if you actually pay attention to reliability data that consistently puts them in the top ten of all manufacturers, sometimes higher depending on model.
Not the best, but not the level of trash you’re talking about here.
At least they issued a recall this time. People can whine about Ford all day but they do proper recalls these days.
Though their other solution to the lack of ignition kill switch problem allowing people to steal your car with a USB cable was to send out a steering wheel lock to people (like the Club people used back in the 90s)
Yep. And now they’re facing a class action about the charge ports overheating on their EVs because those suing know that Hyundai Motor Group won’t recall to properly fix the issue. Makes you think the warranty isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.
I have been wanting a new car for about 6 years now… money issues keep me from doing it. Amazingly my 16 year old car that I’ve had the entire 16 years is still kicking. Anyway for the last 6 years I’ve always said I am going to buy a Hyundai Sonata next, at least a used one. Every year that goes by the more and more I hear terrible things about them… at this point I really don’t think I can invest in them. How are they really screwing up this badly for so long? Fix your stuff! At this point they had to have lost trust in a large amount of its customers. The sad thing is I honestly have no idea what car I want now because none of them looked that good for the same price as the Sonata.
Honda
I currently have a Nissan Sentra. Just looked at the Honda Accord which seems to be the only higher end sedan and its not bad compared to some I looked at but still doesn’t look as nice as the Sonata and is more expensive for less. I’ll keep this one bookmarked to look at it some more, thanks!
Get a second-hand Camry.
Mazdas are really good now. under Ford they were just okay
Doesn’t look like they have a sedan? It’s the only type of car I am looking for. The hatchback one does look nice, I am just not a fan of that style.
Currently drive a 07 mazda 6. It’s a bit of a boat compared to smaller sedans like the Hyundai but it drives like a dream. Maintenance isn’t too pricey either
My husband has an '06 Mazda Speed 6 and I swear it’s the most reliable car I’ve ever seen. It’s only been to the shop for repair a few times ever, and it’s been weird stuff like the AC went out, nothing major. Pretty sure my husband has spent more on tires and oil changes than repairs for that car. It’s been an absolute beast.
Yup. Sounds like mine to a tee. Ac recharge and a bad coolant temp sensor are it for “major” repairs.
They so have a sedan, the Mazda 6! Looks beautiful in my opinion
You are right, I was just looking at the main site. For whatever reason all I see for 2024 models is the hatchback. I just switched to 2023 and found it. Although I only see the Mazda 3, now I have to look for the 6. Not sure why they make it so hard to find the cars.
Edit: after looking some more I found that the 6 was discontinued. Nobody loves sedans anymore!
Ahh so they did, I wasn’t sure so I didn’t mention it. 2023 was the last year then… A used one can still be very new I suppose.
I guess even Mazda has to comply to the demand for SUVs and Crossovers…
Yeah I will absolutely be buying used this time around. The cost difference of a car only 3 years old makes it very hard to go new. I was just looking on their site to get the information, that is a first time a car just didn’t exist anymore like that for me!
Yeah new cars are not worth it for most people, I’ve only heard good things about new Mazda’s so definitely worth doing some research on
boo for suv/xover. i was a mazda tech and now a hyundai tech and their engines are going left and right, especially the 1.6. check tour oil every 1k
You’ll find people that swear Lexus is shit.
Just buy the fucking car and maintain it properly. You will likely never have an issue.
When I was dating my wife she had a used 06 Lexus hybrid. I would like to agree with you but our experience wasn’t very good either. Great car when it was fine but definitely found out the hard way to never hold onto a luxury car longer than 5-6 years. It’s not a problem that things start going, which is to be expected, it’s that they cost significantly more to have repaired. So even the little things started adding up. Thankfully my father is a mechanic and helped when he could but even the parts cost more than a regular car. Just have to find that fine line of when to sell before worrying about all the wear and tear stuff because it adds up quick.
If you can’t afford a Lexus you buy a Toyota. Which is also expensive to repair. Because everything is, because cars are expensive.
My point was the Lexus has, for a long time, been the most reliable brand out there. And they’re still shit sometimes.
The recall doesn’t include the 2022 Santa Fe but that’s what AP uses for the photo… Great job AP. Must be too difficult to find a picture of one of the 8 other models that are actually affected.
Between this and the theft issues, it’s not looking good for these guys.
You’d have to be an idiot to purchase one of their cars after all this
No need, they’re easy to steal.
Especially now that everyone is parking them outside.
I’m so sad I’ve been in love with Hyundai for years! Affordable, lasts forever, easy/cheap maintenance.
I still got another good 10 years on mine, but dunno what I’ll buy after that
And yet people still buy Tesla.
Just pull a Tesla move here and say it’s a feature and it doesn’t happen often.
People should buy whatever they want but I love my Niro. I can drop the seats and throw my bike in the back really easily and my commute is short enough that I’ve barely even used fuel the past 3 months.
Here’s some advice; Don’t but Hyundais or Kias. And especially don’t buy Chevys. Awful garbage vehicles.
Don’t know your evidence for that comment but the Kia I drive is a very good and reliable car.
n=1
Shit quality control.
I think the takeaway might be “don’t buy cars”!
New cars cost so much compared to even a few year old used vehicles its insane.
Not saying that. There are some great car manufacturers. The three mentioned previously are not.
A year ago, I was certain that my next vehicle would be a Kia or Hyundai EV. I have a 2017 Accent and have enjoyed driving it.
Then came the spike in thefts after it became clear they never installed immobilizers in the vehicles. That itself wasn’t enough to make me lose faith in them, but their response (or lack thereof) did. Instead of quickly fixing the issue so that the thefts would rapidly halt, they blamed TikTok and charged owners up to $2K to install window break sensors.
That didn’t work, so they waited a few months and then released a software update for most vehicles (except mine) that supposedly would mitigate the issue by requiring the driver to unlock the doors with the key fob. As drivers quickly discovered, that fix also didn’t work for all vehicles.
I’ve got zero faith in them anymore. They could have come out ahead by pulling a Tylenol - admit the mistake and rapidly recall the vehicles so that immobilizers can be installed. Deflecting never works.
For the record, 96% of all 2014-2021 vehicles not made by Hyundai or Kia came with immobilizers. Every vehicle made by them which had a keyed ignition did not come with one.
Same for me. The lack of action is really the deal breaker. Sure, lapses happen with manufacturing or QA (not having an immobilizer by default is just straight up bad though), but what separates the good ones from the bad ones is that they jump into action and fix it; not delay and provide band-aid solutions. I’m just waiting to use up the pre-paid maintenance package I purchased then I’m trading mine in for a Honda.
They’re pretty solid budget cars these days. The choice between a Chevy and a Hyundai is obvious.
I would drive a motorized unicycle before buying a Chevy.
Same
Used to drive a garbage Tucson. After a couple years everything started to break
I have a Chevy Spark and it’s a great car. Haven’t had many issues (just the ones it came with when I inherited it) but my old mechanic put shitty aftermarket parts in it that have worn down after a year. Charged me outlandish prices as well. My new mechanic is getting official Chevy parts and is charging me much less. I hope to get at least 5 more years out of it. It’s a 2015 and runs exceptionally well, so I’m confident I can get to 2028.
That used to be a good rule, but they have definitely improved a lot over the past decade
My partner’s old hyundai genesis always “smelled” like the engine had been running “hot” despite being fully OEM with no mods. Any time she drove back from a store and parked in the garage, I could go out an 20 later and smell that hot metal engine. Never had another car that smelled like the engine was running hot/hard.
Car only lasted ten years before the timing chain slipped off the pulley and destroyed the engine block. We’ll never own another hyundai/kia product ever again that’s for sure
Timing belt gets inspected at 60k miles and I believe replaced at 90k. I would assume belt slipping off at 10 years would be due to lack of proper maintenance.
Not a belt, it was a chain. The car was regularly maintained and moderately driven (about 150k miles on the odo) - it’s a very common failure on these engines. They suck
I’m pretty sure I read the chain on genesis engines gets replaced at 120k if applicable.
A timing chain (not timing "belt) is designed to last the life of the vehicle. Oil maintenance of a car with a timing chain is an absolute must, but the chain isn’t routinely replaced… if ever. So a 10 year life-span is pretty crap, if the oil changes were maintained. Even 120k miles puts a 10 year car at 1,000 miles per month, which is relatively heavy usage.
I assume the genesis 120k replacement has more to do with the nylon guides and/or shit quality, if that’s the recommendation
I’m not saying 120k is great, but I’m suspect that a timing chain slipped off at 150k with obvious signs of impending failure. Maybe the local mechanic they took it too wasn’t following the recommended inspection interval? Most shops only care that you replace your nearly new oil every 3k miles and sell you $50 wiper blades. I’ve never had a non-dealer pull out a factory maint schedule.
I missed the part where the car was at 150k, so I see what you’re saying now. I just saw the “10 years” and was thinking that, with average driving and regular maintenance, that would be pretty shite. But at 150k, yeah… there would be some warning signs before it just slipped off, but it could be overlooked if “regular maintenance” is all that was being done
I was told when I was a kid, “after about every 50k, ya need to take the car in for a ‘tune-up’ and have it looked at”, and it’s not the worst advice
You had me laugh with replacing “nearly new oil every 3k miles” though. And every time, they’re trying to upsell me on the damn wipers and airfilters. Like, it’s ok I’ve got that covered when I need them… yes, I know it can affect gas mileage… just put the damn airlfilter back! I just need the oil changed please
Do you mean timing belt? (Chains don’t go on pulleys) You’re supposed to change those… That’s just called not maintaining your vehicle
It was a timing chain - it failed somehow and destroyed the engine. It’s a well known issue with this specific engine block which is why they stopped making them and they’re impossible to find new-in-crate engines for this car.
Which year/model or engine? Worth noting many car manufacturers have struggled with timing chain issues on at least one engine. VW struggled with it on more than one engine, BMW, I’m pretty sure there was even a Honda or Toyota engine that had a weak timing chain system at some point. If they actually stopped making the engine because of it, good on them, because other manufacturers (especially VW) definitely don’t. Other Hyundai engines have rock solid reputations. One bad experience is called an anecdote, and it’s not a good reason to discredit a brand.
It was a Theta II 2.0L FR Turbo MPI (G4KF).
But I’m not just going off my experience. My good friend owns a well known mechanics shop in town, he told us these engines are garbage and he sees it often on these early genesis coupes.
Ah yeah that one wasn’t a very good one, it got recalled for crankshaft manufacturing defects and they got sued when the problem ended up being worse than anticipated and the money they set aside wasn’t enough. The early genesis coupes were also pretty unreliable in general. Actually, I’d say Hyundai was unreliable in general in the 2000s. They were a mixed bag, the 2009 Elantra had a rock solid drivetrain but crappy electronics for example, and the theta 2 engines were plagued with failures. But pretty much anything 2015+ is rock solid, they seem to have learned from that one.
I didn’t realize you were talking about Hyundai as of like 15 years ago, though that should have been obvious since the car in your story was 10 years old
Ya know, amongst the Hyundai hate, I kinda forgot that my first car was a used 2003 XG350… and I did love that thing. Drove it into the ground, but it really held it’s own until I finally had to scrap it in 2017.
I switched to Honda because simple repairs are easier and parts are normally cheaper. And it’s just overall, a better and more reliable car. But that xg350 was pretty damn good to me
They were also pretty reliable in the 90s bleeding into the early 2000s lol
Lol yeah it was a 2013 Genesis - the last year they were able to use the wings logo before they got sued by bentley and forced to remove it
Need to show this to my wife she loves her Hyundai even though it is a piece of shit. Runs like shit everytime you fill it with gas.
My partner loved that car, I told them constantly “it’s a beautiful looking car, but it’s a hyundai” - damn I hated being right when that engine failed
Those child workers don’t work as well as they used to!
Seems like this just happened a few months ago or am I wrong?
Seems to happen somewhat regularly:
https://www.npr.org/2023/03/23/1165726222/hyundai-kia-recall-fire-risk-park-outside
https://www.newsweek.com/kia-motors-warns-thousands-suvs-fire-risks-recall-1746838
https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/consumer-alert-important-hyundai-and-kia-recalls-fire-risk
https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/08/business/hyundai-kia-fire-recall/index.html
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/kia-recalls-295000-suvs-sedans-for-more-fire-risk-problems/
Someone feel free to double check those are all separate recalls, but I think they are. How often does this happen with other makes?
Thanks for the links. The thing is if they didn’t ask owners to keep their cars parked outside I probably wouldn’t have even noticed.
