Hyundai and Kia Owners Sue over Engine Defect Causing Spontaneous Car Fires
LOS ANGELES – A class-action lawsuit filed today against Hyundai and Kia alleges a dangerous defect affecting certain vehicle models can cause premature engine failure and spontaneous fires in the engines, putting owners at risk of accident, injury and death, according to Hagens Berman.
Affected vehicles include: 2011-2019 Hyundai Sonata, 2013-2019 Hyundai Santa Fe and Santa Fe Sport, 2011- 2019 Kia Optima, 2012-2019 Kia Sorento, 2012-2019 Kia Soul and 2011-2019 Kia Sportage.
The defect at the center of the suit affects Hyundai and Kia vehicles equipped with certain gasoline direct injection (GDI) engines and “presents consumers with an unacceptable risk of their vehicles spontaneously bursting into flames,” according to the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The defect prevents proper oil flow to the engine’s vital moving parts, such as connecting rods and bearings, according to the suit, causing premature wear and failure. When the parts fail, the engine seizes and stops running during operation. Engine seizure often causes these internal parts to break and knock a hole in the engine, permitting fluids to leak and ignite a fire. Along with creating a severe driving hazard and increasing the chance of injury or death, the end result of the engine defect is serious, extensive and expensive damage to the engine and/or total loss of the vehicle, according to the suit. View photos of one plaintiff’s vehicle fire damage here.
The lawsuit states that more than 350 consumer complaints regarding the affected vehicles have been submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) detailing non-collision events in which the vehicles have caught fire, a direct result of Hyundai and Kia’s concealment of the defect, according to attorneys.
“Hyundai and Kia are putting their own consumers in grave danger of spontaneous fires, loss of property and personal injury, and alarmingly they have also chosen to actively conceal the defect, failing to appear before Congress to answer questions,” said Steve Berman, managing partner and co-founder of Hagens Berman. “We believe Hyundai and Kia are failing consumers in every sense of the word. Owners deserve safe cars, and Hyundai and Kia need to take responsibility for this widespread issue, instead of waiting for another fire to start.”
“Congress was alerted to the safety issues in the Class Vehicles and requested that the CEOs of Kia and Hyundai appear to answer questions as to why the Class Vehicles spontaneously burst into flames. Even the CEOs of tobacco companies, opioid manufacturers, and gun manufacturing companies appeared when summoned by Congress. Not so here. Hyundai and Kia’s CEOs refused to appear.” the suit states.
According to the lawsuit, Hyundai and Kia knew about the defect prior to sale of the affected cars and knew that this defect posed an “unreasonable risk,” yet the automakers have concealed the defect, minimized the scope, cause, and dangers of the defect with inadequate recalls, and refused to investigate, address, and remedy the defect as it pertains to affected vehicles.
The lawsuit seeks to recoup losses vehicle owners have faced, including expensive repairs, car rentals, car payments, towing charges, time off work and other miscellaneous costs. Plaintiffs allege that they did not receive the benefit of their bargain in purchasing these vehicles because, had they known about the engine defect, they would not have purchased the vehicles at all or would have paid less for them. Attorneys also seek injunctive relief that could include an order requiring Hyundai and Kia to repair, recall and/or replace the affected vehicles.
The suit’s eight named plaintiffs all purchased their affected vehicles under the assumption they were safe and reliable and not prone to engine fire, and that Hyundai and Kia would have notified them of vehicle defects; two suffered spontaneous engine fires caused by the defect, and several others brought their vehicles in under Hyundai Kia’s earlier recalls where the vehicles purported to pass inspection, only to suffer engine failure a short time later.
One plaintiff from Georgia purchased the vehicle for his teenage daughter’s use and chose the Sonata specifically because of its touted safety, but on Nov. 18, 2018, the vehicle’s engine erupted in fire while his daughter was driving on the highway. His daughter pulled over to the side of the road and evacuated the vehicle. Later inspection of the vehicle’s engine confirmed the vehicle’s connecting rod bearing failed, resulting in it breaking and punching a hole in the engine, ultimately causing the fire, according to the lawsuit.
“This risk of serious injury or death is utterly unacceptable,” Berman said. “We intend to do everything in our power to force Hyundai and Kia to address this imminent danger.”
Find out more about the class-action lawsuit against Hyundai and Kia.
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About Hagens Berman
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is a consumer-rights class-action law firm with 10 offices across the country. The firm’s tenacious drive for plaintiffs’ rights has earned it numerous national accolades, awards and titles of “Most Feared Plaintiff’s Firm,” and MVPs and Trailblazers of class-action law. More about the law firm and its successes can be found at https://www.hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.
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