The 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe and Santa Fe Sport have a serious problem: Their steering wheels could detach during driving. This sort of problem is clearly dangerous — and potentially fatal — due to the fact that the steering wheel is probably the most vital piece of equipment in the automobile. Without it, drivers will lose control, drive off the road and potentially roll over, collide with something or strike another car.
Approximately 44,000 vehicles are affected by the recall in the United States. Approximately 8,500 are affected in Canada. Hyundai owners in the United States and Canada should receive notices of the recall by mid-March.
The problem relates to a debility in the steering wheel assembly that can result in it breaking and detaching during driving. Fortunately, Hyundai has confirmed that no accidents or injuries have happened as a result of steering wheel detachments so far. Furthermore, no steering wheels have come off while a Hyundai was driving down the road. Only in one instance did a man report his steering wheel breaking off. His Hyundai was not moving at the time.
In the automaker’s words, the “mold temperature may have increased during the molding process,” resulting in damage to some steering assemblies. Hyundai is asking that vehicle owners bring their cars in for examination and the dealer will fix any damaged steering wheel assemblies they find.
There’s a lot that can go wrong when an automaker builds a car, and sometimes these errors lead to deadly or injury-causing defects. If you or your loved one suffered an injury or died because of such a defect, the facts of your case could support a lawsuit to pursue compensation in court.
Source: New York Daily News, “Hyundai recalls almost 45,000 Santa Fe and Santa Fe Sport SUVs over detaching steering wheels,” Joanna Tavares, March 07, 2018