The thought of loosing control of a car’s steering system while barreling down a highway going 73 miles per hour is frightening, and Hyundia Motor Co. agrees.
South Korea’s largest car maker has decided to recall around 2,100 Sonata midsize sedans. The sedans were produced from their Alabama car manufacturing plant and were found to have wiring-related issues that have the potential to affect the power steering system.
It can be difficult to determine what is wrong with a car, and not to mention expensive if there is something found to be the matter. Engine and transmission problems, for example, require the most expensive auto repairs in the U.S.
The Sonata steering system issue has been traced back to the wiring harness, which is responsible for making the steering wheel easy to maneuver. The issue, then, is that drivers may now have to exert more effort to steer the vehicle. Luckily, these issues were not discovered by customers.
“The problems were found in-house, and the company took action to notify consumers,” said a corporate employee. The cars in question have a 2.4 liter petrol engine and were made at the Montgomery plant from May 2 to May 23.
A steering issue such as this would not have been detected by the car’s check engine lights. It is important, no matter what kind of car consumers drive, to seek professional help right away if the check engine light does come on, but routine car checkups are also necessary in case the engine does not detect minor faults.
The spokesman said the issue most likely occurred due to workers not being completely familiar with the new vehicle’s assembly pattern. Small technical errors are not uncommon for new cars, much like how video game systems and cell phone models have minor system glitches, and almost every car manufacturer has had to recall a model of theirs.
General Motors, for example, recalled 57,192 vehicles from their 2015 line, including Chevrolet Silverados and GMC Sierras. Usually, car recalls do not have any effect on car makers, though companies like Toyota often receive bad press and lose profits due to recalls. For example, in 2010, the Japanese car maker was in the process of recalling one of its models, only to see sales and stock prices plummet. This incident was also due to links between the Toyota car model and deadly car accidents at the time.
Hyundai stressed that no Sonata ever produced has been involved in an accident due to this particular steering issue. New car owners are encouraged to receive inspection and get the problem fixed free of charge.