Hyundai Recalls Quarter of a Million Cars in U.S.

Hyundai Motor will recall 262,000 units of its Sonata, Grandeur, called the Azera in the U.S., and Santa Fe from the U.S. market, the carmaker said on Wednesday.

The Sonata and Grandeur sedans are being recalled due to possible corrosion on the underside of the vehicles by road salt, which is used for removing snow in the winter, while the Santa Fe SUVs have defective drive shafts.

Regarding the sedans, corroded components connecting the rear wheels to the underbody panel of the vehicle could cause the axle to separate from the wheels, the carmaker said. For the SUVs, the right axle shaft can fail in rare cases, leading to power loss. But no accidents linked to the defects have been reported so far, the company added.

The recall covers vehicles sold in northern regions afflicted by cold-weather, including Washington D.C. and 20 states such as Michigan, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

The recall involves 215,000 Sonata NFs made from 2006 to 2010 and 24,000 units of the Grandeur TG released from 2006 to 2011. Many of the Sonata sedans were manufactured in the U.S., while all of the Grandeur sedans were made in Korea for export to the country.

The recall also affects 23,000 Santa Fe Sport models built from July 2012 through March.

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