Heads up Hyundai and Kia owners, the auto companies are recalling 168,000 vehicles to fix a fuel pipe problem that can cause engine fires. The problem stems from improper repairs during previous recalls for engine failures. According to CBS News, this is a result of a 2015 recall on vehicles that may not have been properly fixed. CBS News explained:

Hyundai and Kia started recalling 1.7 million vehicles in 2015 — about 618,000 of which are Kias — because manufacturing debris can restrict oil flow to connecting rod bearings. That can cause bearings in 2-liter and 2.4-liter four-cylinder engines to wear and fail. The problem can also cause fires. The repair is an expensive engine block replacement.

 

Hyundai To Recall Over Million Vehicles Over Potential Engine Failure
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Kia released a statement saying that the high-pressure fuel pipe may have been damaged, misaligned, or improperly tightened while the engines were replaced in the 2015 recall. The concern with that is it could possibly allow fuel to leak onto areas of the engine that are hot, causing fires.

According to CBS News, "Kia is doing the fix on only 68,000 of its 618,000 vehicles recalled for the engine problems, while Hyundai is recalling only 100,000 of more than 1 million."  So what vehicles are included in this recall? You can find the list of recalled vehicles below.

  • 2011 through 2014 Kia Optimas (2-liter and 2.4-liter four-cylinder engines)
  • 2012 through 2014 Kia Sorrentos (2-liter and 2.4-liter four-cylinder engines)
  • 2011 through 2013 Kia Sportages (2-liter and 2.4-liter four-cylinder engines)
  • 2011 to 2014 Hyundai Sonatas
  • 2013 and 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe Sports

Kia and Hyundai will notify owners by letter, so keep an eye out for that in the mail. According to CBS News,

In addition to the recall, each automaker said it will do a "product improvement campaign" covering a total of 3.7 million vehicles to install software that will alert drivers of possible engine failures and send the cars into a reduced-speed "limp" mode if problems are detected.

Now here's where another issue comes into play, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does safety investigations and recall notifications. However, they are not working as a result of the Government shut down. Kia and Hyundai are preceding with this recall even with the current Government shut down. This raises some concerns among officials as they believe the recall should be overseen by NHTSA. You can read more on this issue on CBSNews.com

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