 
Hyundai Sued for Exploding Veloster Sunroofs
January 18, 2013
by Casey Neeley, cneeley@glass.com
Hyundai Motor America is being sued for the defective sunroofs
featured in its 2012-2013 Veloster models.
Linda, Sonia and Fernando Palacios of McAllen, Texas, are suing
the automaker in a federal class action suit after the sunroof of
the Veloster Sonia and Fernando purchased for their mother, Linda,
unexpectedly exploded according to a report issued by Courthouse
News.
The Palacios claim that Linda was not in the vehicle at the time
the sunroof malfunctioned, but "The force of the explosion was so
great that it bent the metal frame surrounding the sunroof assembly."
Further, the Palacios allege that the recall
issued by Hyundai in December does not cover the full scope
of potentially affected vehicles. Linda Palacios' 2013 model is
not covered under the current recall notice.
Hyundai recognized an issue with the sunroofs, manufactured by
Hankuk Sekurit, in October when it launched an investigation after
receiving multiple consumer
complaints through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA). After evaluating the complaints, Hyundai issued a voluntary
recall notice through NHTSA in December.
"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," Jim Trainor, product public relations
senior group manager for Hyundai Motor America told glassBYTEs.com/AGRR
magazine. "That contact in some cases caused damage to the glass
which is what lead to the fracture of that glass in the field."
Trainor says Hyundai's official stance is, "We haven't seen
the lawsuit and are unable to comment any further."
Counsel for the Palacios had not responded to request for comment
at the time of press.
Stay tuned to glassBYTEs.com
as this case develops. Also look to the January/February issue of
AGRR magazine for more on the rising number of exploding
sunroofs.
This story is an original story by AGRR™ magazine/glassBYTEs.com™. Subscribe to AGRR™ Magazine.
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