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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