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Hyundai announced that they would be conducting a voluntary recall of nearly 200,000 of their Santa Fe models that had been assembled in Montgomery, Alabama, due to an airbag malfunction. The malfunction has been shown to result in a failure of the driver’s side airbag.
According to the car manufacturer there have not been any reports of injuries that can be linked to the airbag malfunction. However, Hyundai decided to voluntarily recall the affected vehicles to avoid any possibilities of injuries or fatalities.
Hyundai was alerted about the issue when they received more than a dozen complaints about the airbag, although none of the complaints involved reports of injuries, fatalities, or any other serious complications. If the deploying mechanism has been damaged and the airbag rendered useless, an airbag indicator light on the dashboard of the affected vehicles will turn on.
The recall affects both the Hyundai Santa Fe and Veracruzes, specifically those belonging to the 2007 and 2008 model year. Hyundai specified that the faulty part that prevented the airbag from working correctly was installed correctly in the Montgomery assembly plant, but had been flawed during the manufacturing process.
The part in the steering wheel that enables the airbag to deploy as it should can become damaged over time in the recalled models, which has been shown to lead to a complete failure in the driver’s side bag. Owners of the affected vehicles will be sent a letter notifying them about the recall, and the problem will be fixed free of charge at Hyundai dealerships.
Owners of the vehicles that fall under the recall should especially take the time to take their vehicles to a dealership if their airbag indicator light has been on. The repair only takes about an hour, and no charges will be incurred.
Hyundai announced that they will not be able to manufacture the replacement part fast enough to repair all affected vehicles at once, so owners are asked to take their vehicles to their local Hyundai dealerships in a staggered manner. This information will be highlighted in the recall letter sent directly to vehicle owners.
