Recall: More than 221,000 Sonatas, Santa Fes for Faulty Airbags
Hyundai says the safety devices may fail to deploy or deploy without cause.
Hyundai is recalling 221,630 vehicles for airbag problems, according to filings today with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Of the total, 199,118 Santa Fe crossovers from the 2007 to 2009 model years are being recalled because of faulty front passenger-seat sensors that may not detect smaller adults. As a consequence, the passenger airbag may not deploy when required in a crash. Seat sensors measure weight and tell the airbag system whether or not to deactivate the passenger airbag -- such as when children are sitting up front or if the seat is unoccupied.
The remaining 22,512 are 2012 and 2013 Sonata sedans for side curtain airbags that can deploy inadvertently because of leaks in the gas inflater modules. The Sonata recall will begin in August. Hyundai owners can contact the company at 1-800-633-5151. Hyundai has not announced a recall date for the Santa Fe. No related injuries have been reported.
In September last year, Hyundai recalled 2007 and 2008 Santa Fe models because of driver's-side airbags that could fail to deploy. In March, 1,633 Sonata Hybrid models were recalled for center rear seatbelts that did not comply with NHTSA regulations; Hyundai petitioned the agency to not conduct further recalls because the issue was "inconsequential" to passenger safety. In 2010, Hyundai recalled more than 138,000 Sonata models because of loose steering-wheel joints and 5,833 Sonata models for door locks that wouldn't lock.
[Source: NHTSA (PDFs here and here)]
All seats for these vehicles are produced in the US. Airbags are supplied from overseas or Mexico. Most of the recalls have to do with an error during assembly. The problems are detected by the manufacturer though dealership repair reports way before it hits the press. Engineering changes are made on the fly with poor testing to cover up the problem.....YOU are the crash dummies! This is only the beginning for Hyundai and Kia...look into the change of seat manufactures. 2007-08 program was pulled from Lear due to poor quality..2009-present is Johnson Controls making the seats. They have a long history of poor seat assembly in Honda, Acura, Toyota and now Hyundai and Kia.... All due to when you take a critical part like an airbag...design and build it 3000 miles away and then fit it to a seat that is built in the U.S. on top of that add in the fabric covering the airbag also manufactured by another country and the real culprit the wiring that makes it work ( also another overseas manufacturer).....now add in the assembly variations and you have the perfect storm.
The Big 3 can at least design build and in one country, one language and no one else to point a finger at when something goes wrong!
This is only the beginning for Hyundai and Kia...the newer seats 2009- present are more complex and made by labor with NO training. Management even has a 80% turnover due to the lack of quality in the plant...And guess what? They won't even drive the cars that hold their own seats.
Consider this inside information.....
If you buy an import that is made in this country and lets say it cost $25k, approx. $2k goes back to the country that owns the manufacturer. If you buy a domestic vehicle at the same price, at least $2k is going to foreign parts and labor. Either way, approx. $23k gets pumped into our economy so please keep your ignorant pie holes closed if you are not going to get educated on the topic.
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