Hyundai and Kia recall over 1.9 million vehicles

In what's perhaps one of the largest recalls ever by both Hyundai and Kia, over 1.9 million vehicles are being recalled due to electrical and airbag issues. The 1.9 million vehicles are spread out between three different recall campaigns. Hyundai issued a similar recall back in 2009 over electrical problems with some of its vehicles.

First off, Hyundai said it is recalling 1.06 million vehicles for electrical problems that could result in any number of electrical failures such as "intermittent operation" of the push-button start feature, removing the vehicle's shifter from the park position, illumination of the "ESC" (Electronic Stability Control) indicator lamp, interference with operation of the cruise control feature, and possible issues with the brake lights.

Kia is recalling 623,000 vehicles to address the same problem as Hyundai's recall. Hyundai and Kia actually share a technical center in Michigan and are controlled by the same Korean company, but the auto makers mostly operate independently from one another. The list of cars affects include the 2007-09 Accent, 2007-10 Elantra, 2010-2011 Genesis Coupe, 2007-11 Santa Fe, 2011 Sonata, 2007-09 Tucson and 2008-09 Veracruz.

As for Kia vehicles, the 2007-10 Rondo, 2007 Sedona, 2011 Optima, 2007-11 Sorento, 2010-11 Soul, and the 2007-10 Sportage are being recalled. Kia will notify owners of these vehicles in May, and the company says that no injuries or accidents due to the cars' issues have been reported. Furthermore, Hyundai is recalling around 190,000 2011-13 Elantras for possible airbag problems. None of the Kia vehicles that we test drove back in February are affected, including the 2014 Sorento and Forte.

[via Detroit News]