Kia, Hyundai Class Action Alleges Vehicles Burst Into Flames

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In a class action lawsuit, Kia and Hyundai drivers say that their vehicles burst into flames because of an engine defect.

Plaintiffs Susie Rexroad, Deonte Witcher, Eduardo Silvera, Claudia Galindo, Guan Perry, Melissa Gurtler, and Julie Esqueda claim that they are owners of Kia and Hyundai vehicles that possess an engine defect that causes the vehicles to burst into flames while being driven, posing a risk of injury to drivers and passengers.

The plaintiffs aim to hold the makers of the vehicles, Hyundai Motors Corporation, Hyundai Motors America, Kia Motors Corporation, and Kia Motors America Inc., liable for damages.

According to the drivers, certain vehicles possess an engine defect that restricts oil flow to the engines’ parts, like the rod bearings.

Allegedly, this restriction of oil flow causes those parts to wear out prematurely and seize.

The drivers say that this occurrence can cause engine failure and can cause engine parts to “break off and knock holes into the engine, leaking fluids and igniting a fire.”

Rexroad and other consumers say that Kia and Hyundai claim on their websites that they conduct extensive testing on their vehicles, so the companies should have known of the defect, and should have not sold the vehicles to consumers if they know about it.

The Hyundai, Kia class action lawsuit also claims that the companies knew or should have know of the defect because between 2010 and the middle of 2018, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration received more than 100 complaints of non collision-related fires in the vehicles with the allegedly defective engines.

Additionally, the NHTSA reportedly received more than 200 complaints “describing potential fire indicators, such as melted wires and smoke, in Class Vehicles.”

The Kia, Hyundai class action states that the Center for Auto Safety petitioned the NHTSA in June 2018 to investigate these complaints, which then prompted a recall of millions of vehicles with the defect in October 2018.

These vehicles reportedly included all 2011-2014 Kia Sorentos, Kia Optimas, Hyundai Sonatas, Hyundai Santa Fes, and 2010-2015 Kia Souls.

The Kia Hyundai vehicle fires class action lawsuit says that despite their knowledge of the engine defect, the car makers only implemented limited recalls that did not fully address the injury that consumers suffered as a result of the defect.

Allegedly, the companies only released technical service bulletins to technicians and not to the public at large.

The Kia Hyundai class action lawsuit claims that “none of these affirmative steps reveal the existence of the Engine Defect that renders their engines prone to failure and non-collision fires.”

The drivers say they were injured by Kia and Hyundai’s actions because had they known that the vehicles possessed an engine defect and would burst into flames, they would not have purchased the vehicles at all or would not have paid as much for them.

The drivers are represented by Hassan A. Zavareei, Annick A. Persinger, and Tanya S. Koshy of Tycko & Zavareei LLP; by Jonathan Streisfeld and Daniel Tropin of Kopelowitz Ostrow Ferguson Weiselberg Gilbert; by Jeffrey Kaliel and Sophia Gold of Kaliel PLLC; and by E. Powell Miller and Sharon Almonrode of The Miller Law Firm PC.

The Kia Hyundai Engine Fire Class Action Lawsuit is Susie Rexroad, et al. v. Hyundai Motors Corporation, et al., Case No. 4:19-cv-01461, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.