Kia, Hyundai expand U.S. engine fire recalls by 534,000 vehicles

Kia Motors Corp and affiliate Hyundai Motor Co said on Thursday they are recalling around 534,000 additional U.S. vehicles at risk of engine fires.

Kia said it is recalling 378,000 2012-2016 Kia Soul vehicles over engine damage and fire risks, while Hyundai and Kia are recalling 155,000 2011-2013 Tucson vehicles and 2011-2012 Sportage vehicles over possible oil pan leaks in a separate callback.

Last month, the companies said they would recall 168,000 vehicles for fire risks.

The South Korean automakers have now recalled more than 2.3 million vehicles since 2015 to address various engine fire risks in a series of recalls. read more »

Center for Auto Safety demands congressional investigation into car fires

Kia, Hyundai vehicles unexpectedly caught on fire

The number of Kia and Hyundai vehicles that have unexpectedly caught fire has grown to more than 300, the Center for Auto Safety announced Wednesday. The group sent a letter to Congress requesting a formal investigation.

The watchdog group is concerned with 2011-2014 Kia Sorentos and Optimas and Hyundai Santa Fes and Sonatas. It also says Kia Souls from 2010 through 2015 are affected. read more »

Fatal Tesla crash forces police to rethink approach to EV batteries

Following three reignited fires with one vehicle, police say they didn't know just how flammable lithium ion batteries were

Six years ago, when auto enthusiasts first questioned how the lithium ion batteries that power Teslas and others EVs would fare in a wreck, Elon Musk was unequivocal that the chances of a Tesla battery catching on fire after a crash were almost non-existent.

“You are more likely to be struck by lightning in your lifetime than experience even a non-injurious fire in a Tesla,” Musk said in 2013.

“The theoretical probability of a fire injury is already vanishingly small and the actual number to date is zero,” he added.

the risk of a Tesla catching on fire isn’t an abstract problem, and it may be higher than the company has previously let on.

Tesla fires are a big enough concern that first responders are learning to approach EV battery fires differently than they would fires in gasoline-powered cars. read more »

Tesla’s controversial ‘full self-driving’ version of Autopilot is back

Tesla is bringing back its “full self-driving” feature, after removing the option from its website in October amid criticism the company was overstating the autonomy of its vehicles. The option is back on the menu as part of a shift in how the company markets its advanced driver-assist system Autopilot to its customers, coinciding with news of the company’s new $35,000 Model 3 and its plan to move sales largely online.

The option was controversial when it was introduced with the Autopilot 2.0 hardware in 2016. At the time, Tesla said that it would release self-driving capability through over-the-air updates after validating the software and gaining regulatory approval.

But two years later, those updates hadn’t arrived and Tesla customers were starting to question their decision to spend the extra $5,000 for the option. Last October, Tesla removed the Full Self-Driving option from its website. read more »