Photo: Hyundai
The Accent, Hyundai’s entry-level car in the United States of America, is recalled once again. As the headline implies, the South Korean automaker has identified a seatbelt pretensioner that may explode upon deployment.
September 15th is when the NHTSA was informed of a crash involving a model year 2021 Elantra where the driver-side pretensioner deployed abnormally, causing metal fragments to injure an occupant’s leg. A law firm tipped off the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and subsequently, the watchdog requested a proper assessment of the incident.
Come October, the North American Safety Decision Authority decided to conduct a safety recall although the cause of the abnormal deployment was - and still is - unknown. Hyundai continued to investigate through December, the month Hyundai became aware of a second exploding pretensioner involving a model year 2020 Accent vehicle in Puerto Rico.
The company is further aware of one related injury from one crash event in the U.S. received on December 3rd. No fewer than 354 vehicles produced by Kia Motors Mexico for the 2020 and 2021 model years are called back, Accent vehicles produced between March 25th, 2020 and July 28th, 2020.
The seatbelt and pretensioner assembly carries part number 88810J0600 and it’s produced by Samsong (not Samsung) in South Korea. Customers will be notified of the recall on February 25th. Authorized retailers have been instructed to replace the assembly free of charge, and every single pretensioner will be collected by the South Korean automaker for analysis. Hyundai says that it’s actively investigating the root cause at press time.
In the meantime, customers of the 2020 to 2021 Accent can run the VIN on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website to find out if their car is called back. The NHTSA’s number for this recall is 21V-796.
Presently listed at $16,645 excluding destination charge, the 2022 Accent makes do with 120 horsepower and up to 41 miles per gallon (5.7 liters per 100 kilometers) on the highway. Not bad for an entry-level sedan, but still, here’s hope that Hyundai will stop cheaping out on parts going forward.
Come October, the North American Safety Decision Authority decided to conduct a safety recall although the cause of the abnormal deployment was - and still is - unknown. Hyundai continued to investigate through December, the month Hyundai became aware of a second exploding pretensioner involving a model year 2020 Accent vehicle in Puerto Rico.
The company is further aware of one related injury from one crash event in the U.S. received on December 3rd. No fewer than 354 vehicles produced by Kia Motors Mexico for the 2020 and 2021 model years are called back, Accent vehicles produced between March 25th, 2020 and July 28th, 2020.
The seatbelt and pretensioner assembly carries part number 88810J0600 and it’s produced by Samsong (not Samsung) in South Korea. Customers will be notified of the recall on February 25th. Authorized retailers have been instructed to replace the assembly free of charge, and every single pretensioner will be collected by the South Korean automaker for analysis. Hyundai says that it’s actively investigating the root cause at press time.
In the meantime, customers of the 2020 to 2021 Accent can run the VIN on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website to find out if their car is called back. The NHTSA’s number for this recall is 21V-796.
Presently listed at $16,645 excluding destination charge, the 2022 Accent makes do with 120 horsepower and up to 41 miles per gallon (5.7 liters per 100 kilometers) on the highway. Not bad for an entry-level sedan, but still, here’s hope that Hyundai will stop cheaping out on parts going forward.
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