After reports from eight unsatisfied customers experienced a steering defect, Hyundai is recalling almost 140,000 of its 2011 Sonatas. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says the defect could cause the driver to lose control of the vehicle.
Hyundai is a Korean manufacturer that was hoping its new line would successfully compete with Toyota’s Camry and the Honda Accord. This recall is a setback.
NHTSA suspects the problems is the “intermediate shaft universal joint connections may have been either improperly assembled or insufficiently tightened.”
The New York Times reports that the Sonatas were assembled in Montgomery, Alabama beginning in December of last year up through September 10, 2010.
NHTSA is not aware of any accidents that have resulted from the steering defect, but the agency says the “the driver could experience a loss of or reduction in steering capability, increasing the risk of a crash,” the agency said in a document posted recently on its website.
You may recall that Toyota earlier this year was penalized with the largest fine ever issued by NHTSA for failing to notify regulators as soon as they were aware of problems with Toyota vehicles. NHTSA has since opened an investigation into whether automakers are complying with the rule. Specifically, the agency wants to know whether Hyundai reported steering problems with the Sonata as soon as it received the reports.
One of the first things that Farah & Farah does in an auto accident case is to determine if the automobile was defective. The case could also become a product liability case with a claim against the automaker.
An accident can result from a defective automobile in its entirely or component parts such as the seat belt or tires. An experienced Florida auto product liability law firm has attorneys trained in recognizing these defects in different types of accidents.
