Hyundai Adds More Cars to Shattering Sunroof Recall
March 1, 2013

by Casey Neeley, cneeley@glass.com

Hyundai Motor Corp. has added 6,071 cars to its sunroof recall affecting 2012 Veloster models. The newly added vehicles, manufactured between July 4, 2011, and October 31, 2011, bring the total number of recalled vehicles to approximately 19,600 in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

The recall, issued through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), was initially announced in December, affecting Velosters manufactured between November 1, 2011, and April 17, 2012. The addition to the recall expands the timeframe in which the panoramic sunroofs "may have been weakened during installation at the factory" according to the recall notice.

In December, an estimated 13,500 vehicles in the U.S. and Puerto Rico were recalled for the defect. In an exclusive interview with glassBYTEs.com™/AGRR™ magazine following the initial recall announcement, Jim Trainor, product public relations senior group manager for Hyundai Motor America, said the defect had been determined to have occurred during the installation process.

"There was an intermittent malfunction with the assembly and loading robot and occasionally there was contact with the robot loading arm and the sunroof glass," said Trainor. "That contact in some cases caused damage to the glass which is what lead to the fracture of that glass in the field."

Trainor said Hankuk Sekurit manufactured the sunroofs.

NHTSA opened an investigation into the sunroofs this past October after receiving numerous complaints from consumers stating the vehicle sunroof had spontaneously exploded.

A class action suit was even filed following the recall, alleging Hyundai "concealed the exploding sunroof defect from consumers." The suit was voluntarily dismissed 10 days after it was filed.

According to the newly issued recall, Hyundai will begin notifying consumers by letter this month.

This story is an original story by AGRR™ magazine/glassBYTEs.com™. Subscribe to AGRR™ Magazine.
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