Law and Rights
There just isn't anything quite like a "maybe recall" where the manufacturer will fix some cars, but not the ones that it has already sold, but that's what Hyundai is trying to get away with now. They win. You get stuck. Sound familiar?
Hyundai has announced a recall to fix a bad seat belt design in the 2011 Hundai Sonata and 2012 Hyundai Sonata vehicle line. But there's a catch.
The center rear seat belt mechanism design violates federal safety standards and 13,095 of the vehicles have been sold and delivered to drivers - leaving only about 1,633 still in dealer inventory or unsold. Hyundai has told the federal government's safety investigators that it only wants to fix those 1,633 vehicles. Worse than that, they don't even want to tell the other 13,095 owners about the problem.
So, what do you do? We'll get to that in a minute. First, here's the recall notice, hot off the federal government's press release -
Now, what do you do if you are one of the 13,095 owns of the Sonata vehicles that Hyundai does not want to fix and has said it won't fix? Two things.
First, go to your local Hyundai dealer and ask them to fix it. If they say no? Complain. Loudly. Ask to talk to the supervisor. Then ask to speak to the owner. Still won't work?
And second? Call Hyundai at 1.800.633.5151. Busy signal? Call them on their regular phone line at 714.965.3000. No help? Fax them an angry letter at 1.714.965.3861.
Still getting nowhere? Write them a nasty letter about how they don't seem to care about violating federal law and send it to Hyundai Motor America, P.O. Box 20850, Fountain Valley, CA 92728.
Are they responding yet? Then send them a strongly worded email to [email protected].
Hyundai likes to say that they "stood face-to-face with each and every automotive assumption out there and challenged them all" - well apparently that includes the one about following federal safety laws and building cars safely and fixing ALL of them when something is wrong. Instead, Hyundai appears to say "we'll fix what we want to fix - and you can't make us do anything else."
Are you mad enough yet? Send your letter to Hyundai Motor Company, 231 Yangjae-Dong, Seocho-Gu, Seoul 137-938, South Korea. Or, if you are really mad, call them at +82-2-3464-1114. Don't speak Korean?
Then fax your letter to Hyundai in Korea at 714.965.3148.
Would you rather complain direct to the guy in charge? Address your letter to Chung Mong-Koo, Chairman.
The second in command? Chung Eui-Sun, Vice Chairman.
Motor vehicle manufacturers should not get to choose what cars they will fix and what ones they won't fix - especially when they all have the same problem. Oh, you can also complain direct to the federal safety investigators at NHTSA. They make it easy - just click here and follow the instructions online.
And if they won't? Well, when you've got a bad car, you need a good Lemon Law lawyer. Click on the link below and find one near you.
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Law and Rights
Hundai Getting Too Big for its Britches?
Hyundai has announced a recall to fix a bad seat belt design in the 2011 Hundai Sonata and 2012 Hyundai Sonata vehicle line. But there's a catch.
The center rear seat belt mechanism design violates federal safety standards and 13,095 of the vehicles have been sold and delivered to drivers - leaving only about 1,633 still in dealer inventory or unsold. Hyundai has told the federal government's safety investigators that it only wants to fix those 1,633 vehicles. Worse than that, they don't even want to tell the other 13,095 owners about the problem.
So, what do you do? We'll get to that in a minute. First, here's the recall notice, hot off the federal government's press release -
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First, go to your local Hyundai dealer and ask them to fix it. If they say no? Complain. Loudly. Ask to talk to the supervisor. Then ask to speak to the owner. Still won't work?
And second? Call Hyundai at 1.800.633.5151. Busy signal? Call them on their regular phone line at 714.965.3000. No help? Fax them an angry letter at 1.714.965.3861.
Still getting nowhere? Write them a nasty letter about how they don't seem to care about violating federal law and send it to Hyundai Motor America, P.O. Box 20850, Fountain Valley, CA 92728.
Are they responding yet? Then send them a strongly worded email to [email protected].
Hyundai likes to say that they "stood face-to-face with each and every automotive assumption out there and challenged them all" - well apparently that includes the one about following federal safety laws and building cars safely and fixing ALL of them when something is wrong. Instead, Hyundai appears to say "we'll fix what we want to fix - and you can't make us do anything else."
Are you mad enough yet? Send your letter to Hyundai Motor Company, 231 Yangjae-Dong, Seocho-Gu, Seoul 137-938, South Korea. Or, if you are really mad, call them at +82-2-3464-1114. Don't speak Korean?
Then fax your letter to Hyundai in Korea at 714.965.3148.
Would you rather complain direct to the guy in charge? Address your letter to Chung Mong-Koo, Chairman.
The second in command? Chung Eui-Sun, Vice Chairman.
Motor vehicle manufacturers should not get to choose what cars they will fix and what ones they won't fix - especially when they all have the same problem. Oh, you can also complain direct to the federal safety investigators at NHTSA. They make it easy - just click here and follow the instructions online.
And if they won't? Well, when you've got a bad car, you need a good Lemon Law lawyer. Click on the link below and find one near you.
Burdge Law Office
www.USLemonLawyers.com
Helping consumers get rid of bad cars for more than 30 years.
Subscribe in a reader- The $18,851 Shoes At Hyundai
The last time you had a problem getting warranty to pay for a repair to your Hyundai or Kia, did you wonder what they were doing with their money? Well, maybe they were saving it up, as Americans buy more and more foreign cars. Just how much money do...
- Hyundai Sonata Steering System Breaking Apart? Be Careful Out There, Folks
Steering system falling apart?So what's up with the 2011 Hyundai Sonata and their steering system failures? Either no one knows - or no one is talking freely about it. But the problem is there - and it's dangerous. Hyundai built over 161,000 2011...
- Federal Safety Investigators Hide Recall Again?
So what did federal safety investigators learn from the public spotlight's glare on their cozy relationship with Toyota? Apparently not much. On Jan. 22, 2010, CF MOTO, the US company that imports Chinese made motorcycles, reported to federal safety...
- America's Worst Warranty
Don't buy a new Hyundai. That's our advice. That new Hyundai comes with an ugly surprise buried away in the fine print of your glove box manuals. If you buy their new car, you give up your Constitutional rights. No kidding! If your new Hyundai...
- Hyundai Sales Slow
GM, Ford and Chrysler aren't the only ones with excess inventory to get rid of. Hyundai Motor Co. halted production at its Montgomery, Ala., assembly plant a few days ago because their dealers already have too many unsold Sonata sedans. The plant...