Hyundai Recalls Nearly 88,000 Vehicles Due To Fire Risk
A design defect in the ABS module on 06-11 Hyundai Azeras and 2006 Sonatas may cause a short circuit and fire, documents say.
Hyundai has some sour news for the owners of 2006-2011 Azeras and 2006 Sonatas, as it has determined that water ingress into the anti-lock brake module could cause an electrical short circuit that could result in an engine compartment fire, even if the vehicle isn’t running.
This recall isn’t massive, affecting just 87,854 vehicles, though it is hard to imagine that there are that many Azeras on the road after all this time, entropy being what it is. That said, Hyundai expects the recall to begin on or around Feb. 23, and it will start notifying owners of affected cars at that time.
The fix for this potential short involves dealers installing a relay in the vehicle’s main fuse panel that would eliminate the possibility of the ABS module shorting out while the car is off. Hyundai will perform this fix at no cost to the vehicle owner, though it’s unclear whether this solves the problem of shorts when the vehicle is on.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration defect document mentions that there has been just one instance of actual smoke, which took place here in the US and one example of an overheated ABS module which happened in South Korea.
We’ve reached out to Hyundai for further comment, but have not yet heard back. We’ll keep you updated.
