Posted on 03/27/2023 7:51:11 AM PDT by george76
DETROIT -- Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia are once again warning drivers of certain models of their vehicles to park outside due an increased fire risk. According to the Associated Press, 571,000 vehicles are being recalled due to a problem with the tow hitch harnesses which can catch fire when the car is parked or when it’s being driven.
According to safety regulators, the fire risk stems from water which can get into a circuit board on the hitches, which can then cause short circuit even if the ignitions are off. Until repairs can be made, the automakers say owners should not park their vehicles near any structures or other vehicles.
...
The latest recall marks the fourth time in the last 13 months the companies have issues a recall over an increased fire risk. In February 2022, the companies recalled an estimated 485,000 vehicles over a fire risk that was the result of possible contamination in the antilock brake control module.
In August 2022, they recalled 283,000 vehicles for the same issue with water in tow hitches causing a possible short in the circuits. Then in November 2022, an estimated 44,000 2018 Kia Sante Fe models were recalled as the anti-lock brake computers can short and catch fire.
In each of those cases affected owners were warned to park their cars outside and away from other vehicles or structures.
In 2021, Hyundai and Kia each announced recalls of at least 440,000 vehicles over increased fire risks.
...so that it can easily be stolen.
From another source: “Hyundai Santa Fe models from 2019–2023 are at risk, as are 2022–2023 Hyundai Santa Cruz and Kia Carnival models.”
There’s an error in the above-excerpted blurb, as the Santa Fe is a Hyundai-branded model... but I suppose owners would already know that.
I thought only Battery Electric vehicles burst into flames . . .
This is why I would temporarily stay away from larger Hyundai/Kia SUV’s (for now). At least the smaller Hyundai vehicles (Elantra, Venue and I believe recent production Konas) don’t have that issue. 🤞
That should be easy is a large city. /s
I’m not gonna look, but I’ve got $5 that owners could pull a fuse to eliminate the risk until the vehicle tow harness problem can be rectified.
If not, then there’s yet another reason not to buy the brands.
I promise you that there are NOT 571,000 newest cars of these couple of models with factory tow hitches installed. NOT.
I don’t know the motivation, but this is an attempt to demonize these Korean car companies. It’s BS.
You go ahead and buy American and Turkish pieces of cr@p. It leaves the good cars cheaper.
Depends. This a is a module and the fuse you pull may impact other circuits. But who knows these days.
I was being sarcastic.
Clearly there’s no fuse in the fusebox, and if there is, it should have been backed up with a fusible link in the affected harness itself of a much lower rating to guard against the problem.
It’s idiot engineering. In my circle we discuss this at my prodding. It’s a pet theory of mine that when engineers retire, so does the bulk of their experience, resulting in such problems.
It is NOT isolated to any one industry.
Why to tow hitches need circuit boards in the first place. There’s way to much electronics on cars. Each system is another future maintenance problem.
Yes. Over-engineered crap is still crap. I watch a mechanic "South Main Auto Repair" on YouTube. He's a wizard when it comes to tracking wiring and code problems. Fuses working but circuit isn't or is throwing codes. He's in up-state NY, and in the rust belt. Had one truck in that was simply stumping other shops. Turned out to be the chassis ground strap had rotted. It was braided copper and crumbled in his hand as he went to check it. The truck was maybe three years old. Some things would work then not, then all kinds of unrelated codes were thrown. What a fricking nightmare.
So that rats can get in it and chew up the wiring.
It’s not wizardry:
It’s well-known among gear heads that mysterious vehicle problems are most often caused by poor electrical connections, notably ground connections.
It’s auto repair 101: Have an electrical anomaly with one or multiple symptoms, ‘go to ground’, so-to-speak. ESPECIALLY in states using road salt.
That stated, my boy went through UTI; they don’t teach that little nugget.
For others reading this, wisdom to interpret a Carfax report lies therein.
You house will catch fire if the electrical system is improperly designed. If this vehicle was properly fused it would not catch fire even if water got onto some circuit board because its enclosure is improperly designed.
In the case of EV batteries there is no better design available. And the fires they produce are far more intense and difficult to put out. And causing major environmental damage as 30,000 gallons of chemically polluted water seeps into the ground.
Yep. My kid bought a beater to replace a truck that was destroyed by a drunk driver. His friend had owned the beater for years with no problem. Two weeks after my kid bought it, it went up in flames on the freeway. (He got a great video of the spare 9mm ammo cooking off)
It was a very quick fire to put out.
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