US Authorities Intensify Investigation into Hyundai Motor and Kia Engine Defects... Will Additional Recalls Follow?

[Asia Economy Reporter Joselgina] U.S. transportation authorities have stepped up investigations into vehicle engine defects that have plagued Hyundai Motor Company and Kia for more than six years.

According to ABC News and others, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced on the 27th (local time) that it will conduct a new engineering analysis investigation targeting more than 3 million Hyundai and Kia vehicles from model years 2011 to 2016. So far, 161 complaints related to engine fires have been received by NHTSA, and some of these incidents have been confirmed to have occurred in vehicles that were already recalled.

ABC News reported, "Even after these companies announced a recall in September 2015 due to engine defects, reports of failures and fires related to engine defects have continued without interruption," adding that "(NHTSA) has since conducted at least eight additional recalls due to engine defects."

Local media reported that this engineering analysis investigation could lead to further recalls in the future. The investigation targets 2011?2016 Hyundai Sonata, Santa Fe, Elantra, and Kia Sorento, Rio, Optima, and Soul models. Vehicle fires have been associated with Theta2 GDI, Theta2 MPI, Theta2 MPI Hybrid, Nu GDI, and Gamma GDI engines.

NHTSA stated that this engineering analysis investigation is being conducted to evaluate whether Hyundai and Kia's past recalls covered a sufficient number of vehicles. Additionally, the effectiveness of previous recalls will also be examined.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.