National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has reported that the car companies Kia and Hyundai have had even more complaints by the customers. Many have filed complaints concerning engines, which caused another great recall.
Many new complaints have forced these two automakers into another big recall, this time 1.2 million of their cars are at stake. The first recall was back in 2015, but additional engine failures have arrived and the companies were forced to act. The models that are affected are 2011–2013 Kia Sportage, 2012–2014 Sorento, 2011–2014 Optima, and also 2013–2014 Hyundai Sonata and Santa Fe.
It has been said that metal shavings have been found within the oil passages and that the crankpins are not in their best conditions either, so, the oil gets blocked and the connecting rod starts wearing off. This leads to failure of the entire engine, and the whole car becomes useless.
This is the repetition of the exactly the same problem that already occurred back in 2015 when Hyundai was forced to recall 470,000 Sonata sedans from both 2011 and also 2012. The company had to extend the warranty on the powertrain, which means that the original-owner-10-year/100,000-mile deal had to be extended to 120,000 miles, and that was supposed to cover all subsequent owners.
Two kinds of engines were affected back then, a 2.4-liter GDI (Gasoline Direct Injection), and 2.0-liter four-cylinders that were used in 2011 Kia Optima and Sportage, and also in the Hyundai Sonata.
Hyundai has finally managed to settle a lawsuit concerning 2011-2014 Sonata. The company was sued by the Sonata owners after they had to pay thousands of dollars for the car repairs since the dealers weren’t honoring their warranty service. This has happened because the dealers thought that the improper owner maintenance was the problem. The problem was posted on the owner forums, and after they decided to act, the law firm Girard Gibbs has also entered the picture.
Kia, of course, began its own investigation after the Hyundai recall in January 2016, and the problems were found across their vehicle range. Warranties were offered to the owners of Sportage, Optima, and Sorento, and Kia also urged the dealers not to refuse their customers’ warranty only because they weren’t able to provide records of making oil changes.
Also, owners are told to report any serious engine issues, such as the activation of the check-engine light, an oil-pressure warning, or even a knocking sound heard from the engine. If any of these start to happen, the owners may have a right to receive a new engine. All of the reported vehicles will be inspected, but the replacement may include stripping some of the parts of the engine and installing them on the replacement engine. Both Kia and Hyundai have reported no injuries, or any sort of accident so far, and the recall is expected to start in May.
