— Hyundai and Kia sudden acceleration allegedly should be investigated after a defect petition alleged eight fatalities and numerous injuries have been caused by electronic throttle control problems.
According to the defect petition submitted by auto safety experts Tom Murray and Byron Bloch, sudden acceleration can occur in 6 million of these Hyundai and Kia vehicles.
- 2005-2016 Kia Optima
- 2005-2016 Kia K5
- 2006-2015 Kia Sorento
- 2007-2016 Hyundai Elantra
- 2007-2016 Hyundai Santa Fe
- 2006-2015 Hyundai Sonata
The petition says a Hyundai and Kia electronic throttle control system consists of a throttle body with an integrated control motor and throttle position sensor. Instead of the traditional throttle cable, an accelerator position sensor is used to receive driver input.
The Hyundai sudden acceleration petition alleges no later than 2009, Hyundai was informed of a “potentially dangerous and possibly fatal fault with the throttle sensor assembly.”
The petitioners claim Hyundai's own documents show vehicles hesitate on acceleration and surge during steady throttle with no diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs).
The defect petition alleges the Hyundai and Kia vehicles not only suffer sudden unintended acceleration, but the vehicles allegedly also experience runaway throttle problems, surging, stalling and power loss.
According to the Hyundai sudden acceleration petition, the throttle control systems contain deadly defects and fail to meet U.S. safety standards.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will evaluate the claims in the Hyundai and Kia sudden acceleration petition and determine if the request to investigate should be denied or granted.
CarComplaints.com will update our website with NHTSA's decision.