Both Hyundai and Kia have recalled more than 500,000 vehicles across the United States due to a possible fire risk and warned that motorists should park their vehicles away from structures in the meantime.
Affected Hyundai vehicles include the 2019 to 2023 Santa Fe, the 2021 to 2023 Santa Fe Hybrid, the 2022 and 2023 Santa Fe Plug-in hybrid and the 2022 and 2023 Santa Cruz. The only Kia affected is the Carnival minivan from 2022 and 2023. All have Hyundai or Kia tow hitch harnesses that came as original equipment or were installed by dealers.
The Korean automakers say in documents posted Thursday by U.S. safety regulators that water can get into a circuit board on the hitches and cause a short circuit even if the ignitions are off. As a result, the automakers told owners of the vehicles to park them away from structures and added that they shouldn’t be parked inside a garage….