Hyundai and Kia will recall more than 600,000 vehicles across the United States due to an issue that could prevent the inner trunk latch from working.
The recall impacts 348,158 vehicles from Hyundai and 253,074 Kias. The South Korean car manufacturers have determined that in high-temperatures, a thermal crack can develop in the pawl of the trunk latch which can intermittently cause the trunk’s interior emergency release to fail. This means impacted vehicles do not comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 401 §S.4.3(a) and if a person was in the trunk and the latch pawl had cracked, they may not be able to get out.
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To rectify the issue, replacement parts have been manufactured to better resist thermal contraction and also include steel reinforcement to prevent damage or separation. While Hyundai and Kia aren’t aware of any injuries related to the problem, there have been more than 40 warranty claims.
Vehicles impacted by the recall consist of the 2018-2020 Hyundai Accent, 2016-2017 Azera, 2017-2018 Sonata and 2016-2018 Sonata Hybrid, as well as the 2016-2018 Kia Forte and Forte Koup and the 2018-2019 Rio.
All owners of affected vehicles will be notified by first class mail with instructions to bring their vehicles to local dealerships to have the trunk latch assembly replaced with a new one. Dealers will be notified on September 30 while owners will be notified between October 5 and October 8. Owners will be reimbursed if they have already paid to have the problem fixed.
