South Korean car maker Hyundai Motor Co. has issued a recall for 140,000 of its Sonata mid-sized sedans in the United States and Canada to check possible defects in the front passenger seat belts
The company said on Thursday that the recall order covers Sonata sedans that were rolled out from April 25 and December 4 last year. Hyundai said the seat belts may not work properly as the buckles may jam and would not fasten.
Associated Press reported that there have been no reports of injury related to the passenger seat belt problem. It added that the vehicle's dashboard will flash a warning light if the seat belt is not properly bucked. Dealers will be repaired or replace free of charge to the vehicle owners, who can take out the car in an hour.
In February, Hyundai also issued a recall for more than 200,00 of its Elantra sedans on concerns about the vehicle's power steering reverting to manual steering. The company estimated that 3 percent of the vehicles, produced from June 1, 2008 to April 30, 2010, were affected by the problem.
Despite these, car drivers in the U.S. have a growing appreciation for the quality of South Korean cars with Hyundai and its affiliate brand Kia landing in the fourth and second spots of the respected industry wide survey done by market researcher J.D. Power for 2015. Its study showed that American drivers regard Korean cars as having the least number of problems. Hyundai and Kia both did better than Japanese car makers, which have long established a reputation for quality.
Hyundai also just recently posted a press release on its website on the Sonata receiving the top mark for a midsized sedan in the 19th annual Vehicle Satisfaction Awards for its outstanding quality.
The press release said Hyundai has been able to improve owner satisfaction due to improvements in reliability, quality, safety, braking among others.
