Hyundai and Kia are recalling more than 113,000 new vehicles due to a problem that could cause the vehicles to catch fire. Additionally, officials are urging owners to park the vehicles away from structures until the fix is completed.
The action covers about 52,000 Hyundai vehicles and 40,000 Kia vehicles in the U.S. Another 11,000 Hyundai and 10,700 Kia vehicles are affected in Canada.
The vehicles in the recall include: the Hyundai 2023-2024 Palisade, 2023 Tucson, Sonata, Elantra, and Kona vehicles and 2023-2024 Seltos and 2023 Kia Soul, Sportage vehicles.
The problem centers on electronic controllers for the Idle Stop & Go oil pump assembly, which may contain damaged electrical components that can cause the pump to overheat. Kia said it has six reports of potentially related thermal events but no accidents or injuries while Hyundai has four similar reports.
Resolving the problem
Hyundai and Kia informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration a suspect part was eliminated from production in March.
Owners will be notified in late September and dealers will inspect and replace the electric oil pump controller as needed. Dealers have been instructed to provide owners with a rental vehicle who believe their vehicles are unsafe while driving before the repair can be completed.
If owners smell a burning/melting odor, they should have the vehicle towed to the nearest Hyundai dealer and do not attempt to drive, Hyundai officials noted. In addition to the fire risk, heat damage could trigger a short circuit impacting other onboard vehicle controllers, Hyundai said.
In December Hyundai received a report of a 2023 Hyundai Palisade vehicle that exhibited heat damage on the wire harness/connector of the electric oil pump, prompting the automaker to open an investigation. Kia said in June it received a report of melting in a 2023 Soul, according to Reuters.
