Hyundai, Kia Class Action Says Power Windows Are Defective

A class action lawsuit claims that automatic windows on some Kia and Hyundai vehicles pose a serious risk of injury because they do not comply with federal safety regulations.

Zachary McCready and Brianne Schumpert say they own Hyundai and Kia vehicles, respectively, whose automatic windows do not have a “stop and reverse” function.

The Kia window defect class action lawsuit says that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has developed safety standards that regulate vehicle development, dictating many elements of a vehicle’s production. Allegedly, these Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards are in place to make sure that the vehicle are safe for humans. 

One important Vehicle Safety Standard is the regulation governing power window systems. McCready and Schumpert explain that all vehicle produced since 2008 are required to have a “stop and reverse” function in their automatic windows. This requirement requires automatic windows to “stop closing, and reverse direction, upon encountering a foreign obstruction of 100 newtons of pressure,” or 22.5 pounds of force.

This regulation is allegedly in place to prevent harm that could occur if a finger, hand, or neck accidentally were caught in the window. According to the Kia, Hyundai window class action lawsuit, 100 newtons of force could bruise a finger, but would leave it in tact.

The Kia and Hyundai automatic window class action lawsuit says that the Kia and Hyundai windows exert far more than the federally allowed amount of force as they close.

Allegedly, the force with which the windows close puts vehicle occupants at risk of “losing fingers or hands, and even their lives by getting heads or necks stuck in the closing power windows.”

To illustrate the danger posed by the Kia and Hyundai windows, the drivers note that 200 newtons of pressure is required to slice through a raw carrot. Allegedly, an automatic window system that complies with federal regulation would never be able to slice through a raw carrot, because the legally allowed amount of force is less than half that required to do so. 

However, the same reportedly cannot be said for Kia and Hyundai windows — the drivers’ automatic window class action lawsuit says that “Hyundai and Kia automatic windows regularly slice carrots in half,” meaning that they exert more than twice the legally allowed amount of pressure.

The two car owners say the power defect and danger that the defect possess have decreased the value of their vehicles, causing them financial injury.

The plaintiffs claim that they were caused additional financial injury because had they known that their vehicles possessed that defect, they would not have purchased their vehicle or would not have paid as much as they did for it.

Do you own a Kia or Hyundai vehicle made in 2008 or later? Have you noticed a problem with the power window? Let us know.

McCready and Schumpert are represented by Johnathan A. Michaels, Kyle Gurwell, and Ryan Jones of MLG APLC.

The Kia, Hyundai Automatic Window Class Action Lawsuit is Zachary McCready, et al. v. Hyundai Motor America, et al., Case No. 30-2019-01108261, in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Orange. 

UPDATE: The Vehicle Safety Defect Investigation is now open! If you own a vehicle that has a safety defect and you believe it should be covered by the warranty and it’s not, submit your information here.

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