Hyundai and Kia in America are warning the owners of more than 571,000 SUVs and minivans to park them outdoors because the tow hitch harnesses could catch fire. The affiliated Korean carmakers are recalling the vehicles and warning people to keep them away from buildings until they can be repaired.
The Hyundai sports utility vehicles affected include the 2019 to 2023 Santa Fe, the 2021 to 2023 Santa Fe Hybrid, the 2022 and 2023 Santa Fe Plug-in hybrid and the 2022 and 2023 Santa Cruz. The only Kia affected is the Carnival minivan from 2022 and 2023. The recall only applies to the vehicles specifically made for the US market, but it is possible some individuals may have imported the US versions into the UK.
All have Hyundai or Kia tow hitch harnesses that came as original equipment or were installed by dealers. Water can get into a circuit board on the hitches and cause a fire even if the ignitions are off, the Korean firms say in documents posted on Thursday by US safety regulators. The danger remains whether the vehicles are parked or being driven.
Hyundai says it has had reports of one fire and five heat damage incidents, but luckily no injuries. Kia says it has no reports of any fires or injuries.
When the SUVs are brought back to the dealerships, mechanics will remove the fuse and tow hitch computer module until a fix is made available. When a fix is found, they will install a new fuse and wire extension with an improved and waterproof connector.
Owners will be notified from May 16. Last year, Hyundai recalled more than 245,000 2020-22 Palisade SUVs for a similar problem. According to The Express, a company spokesperson said that before that recall there had been three fires and 16 melting incidents in the US and Canada between January 2020 and July 2022, but no injuries or crashes were reported.
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Too add to the car firms' woes, two major car insurers in the US earlier this year refused to insure certain Hyundai and Kia models following a number of thefts sparked by a TikTok trend. In 2021, a group called Kia Boys published videos showing how car thieves broke the plastic parts surrounding the ignition and used a USB cord to hot-wire the starter motor.
Following the TikTok trend, one expert said that Hyundai and Kia vehicles were “almost 20 times more likely to be stolen than other vehicles”. It led to police in the US issuing public warnings describing the trend as a "TikTok Auto Theft Trade".
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