Kia, Hyundai recall vehicles to fix accelerator and steering faults

With the Toyota “sticky” gas pedal conspiracy fiasco still in the back of our minds, any vehicle recall concerning that ever-important component tends to catch our attention.

The latest comes from Kia, which is recalling more that 12,000 examples of its brand-new Sorento crossover to fix a fault that could cause the car to enter “limp home” or “forced idle” mode. The former would limit acceleration and top speed, while forced idle mode would allow the engine to run, but not respond to the throttle at all.

The problem stems from an improperly soldered component in the drive-by-wire accelerator’s circuitry. Kia will replace the faulty gas pedal assembly with a new one.

Hyundai has issued a recall that applies to nearly 205,000 Elantras from the 2008 through 2010 model years to fix a potential fault with the car’s electronic power steering (EPS) that could cause a loss of steering assist. Even in case of a fault, the car would remain driveable, but the recall is necessary because the sudden increase in steering effort could cause a crash. As part of the recall, Hyundai dealers will verify that the steering control unit is working properly; if a fix is necessary, it will most likely be a software update for the EPS module.

Both recalls are listed at the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) website, but have not yet been posted to Transport Canada’s recalls database.