Photo: Hyundai
An old favorite of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Hyundai Motor Group has issued a safety recall that affects 4,132 units of the compact Elantra plus 2,108 units of the subcompact Accent. In these vehicles, an abnormal pyrotechnic pretensioner deployment may result in metal fragments that may injure the driver and passenger. At press time, the South Korean company is actively investigating the root cause.
According to the chronology of events leading up to this recall, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has informed Hyundai Motor America of a crash incident on September 15, 2021. The driver-side seatbelt pretensioner of the subject vehicle deployed abnormally, causing metal fragments to enter the cabin at tremendous speed, resulting in an occupant's leg injury.
Come October, a safety recall was announced. The following month, a second incident occurred on a 2020 model year Accent in Puerto Rico. The subject vehicle was equipped with a pretensioner that wasn’t included in the production lot identified in the previously mentioned recall. This incident prompted yet another investigation. Hyundai became aware of a third abnormal deployment in February 2022, this time an Elantra in Singapore.
Given these circumstances, the safety boffins didn’t have a choice but recall certain 2020 model year Accents and 2021 to 2022 model year Elantras. The subject Accents were built between February 28th, 2020 and April 4th, 2020 while the Elentras were manufactured between February 24th, 2021 and July 15th, 2021 as per the attached report. These 6,240 vehicles are fitted with seatbelt pretensioners produced by South Korean supplier Samsong.
Both dealers and customers will be notified on May 31st. The fix is rather simple: replace the front driver- and passenger-side seatbelt pretensioners free of charge. Hyundai further notes that customers who paid from their pockets for any service related to this issue are eligible for reimbursement.
Come October, a safety recall was announced. The following month, a second incident occurred on a 2020 model year Accent in Puerto Rico. The subject vehicle was equipped with a pretensioner that wasn’t included in the production lot identified in the previously mentioned recall. This incident prompted yet another investigation. Hyundai became aware of a third abnormal deployment in February 2022, this time an Elantra in Singapore.
Given these circumstances, the safety boffins didn’t have a choice but recall certain 2020 model year Accents and 2021 to 2022 model year Elantras. The subject Accents were built between February 28th, 2020 and April 4th, 2020 while the Elentras were manufactured between February 24th, 2021 and July 15th, 2021 as per the attached report. These 6,240 vehicles are fitted with seatbelt pretensioners produced by South Korean supplier Samsong.
Both dealers and customers will be notified on May 31st. The fix is rather simple: replace the front driver- and passenger-side seatbelt pretensioners free of charge. Hyundai further notes that customers who paid from their pockets for any service related to this issue are eligible for reimbursement.
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