Have you ever thought why Hyundai and Kia companies, recalled almost 1.5 million products in Canada, South Korea and the US in 2017? That was one of the biggest recalls of the year.
Apparently, there has been some errors and mistakes, rooting back to the production day of the vehicles. According to the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration, these errors were the reasons for premature bearing wear within the engine. The cars affected by this problem were 2011-2014 Hyundai Sonata and 2013-2014 Hyundai Santa Fe. Some of the Kia models seemed to struggle with the same problem. In exchange, the Korean company agreed to make it up to the owners by changing the engines for free.
Now, as a part of the contract, Hyundai must pay $54 million penalty for its errors. It is also supposed to invest approximately 40 million dollars in order to improve the safety of its products, to prevent such problems and recalls from happening in the future.
Hyundai might need to pay 46 million dollars dependent upon its compliance upon the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration’s orders. The extra 40 million dollars investment must include building a safety field for further tests and as inspection lab in the United States. The company must implement a new IT system for its data and to identify potential future errors.
Brian Latouf, chief safety officer of Hyundai Motor North America said:
Customer safety is our highest priority and we are taking immediate action to enhance our response to potential safety concerns. We value a collaborative and cooperative relationship with the U.S. Department of Transportation and NHTSA, and will continue to work closely with the agency to proactively identify and address potential safety issues. We are committed to a best in class U.S. safety office