PARKING OUTSIDE: Hyundai, Kia recall cars due to fire risks

Hyundai and Kia on Friday told owners of more than 571,000 SUVs and minivans in the United States to park them outdoors because the hitch belts can fire while parked or driven. (David Zalubowski, The Associated Press)

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DETROIT — Hyundai and Kia are telling owners of more than 571,000 SUVs and minivans in the United States to park them outdoors because hitch belts can catch fire while parked or driven.

affiliated Korean automakers They summon vehicles and warn people to park them away from structures until they are repaired.

Affected Hyundai vehicles include the 2019 to 2023 Santa Fe, 2021 to 2023 Santa Fe Hybrid, the 2022 and 2023 Santa Fe Plug-in Hybrid and the 2022 and 2023 Santa Cruz. The only Kia affected car is the Carnival minivan from the 2022 and 2023 model years. All are equipped with Hyundai or Kia coupling belts that come as original equipment or were dealer-installed.

In documents released Thursday by US safety regulators, the Korean automakers say water can enter the circuit board on the deflectors and cause a short circuit even if the ignition is turned off.

Hyundai reported one fire, five heat damage incidents, and no injuries. Kia has no reports of fires or injuries.

Dealers will initially remove the fuse and pull out the computer unit until a repair is available. Later, they will install a new fuse and wire with an improved waterproof connector. Owners will be notified as of May 16th.

Last year, Hyundai recalled more than 245,000 model year 2020 to 2022 Palisade vehicles due to a similar issue.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday that the latest recall is a direct result of the agency that monitors the Palisade recall from last year.

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