IF your car’s steering wheel falls off, it could increase the possibility of a crash.
That bit of logic is why Hyundai is recalling nearly 44,000 2018 Santa Fe and 2018 Santa Fe Sport SUVs sold in the US and another 8500 of them in Canada.
Hyundai says that owners should begin receiving notices in the mail from March 16.
On the affected vehicles, part of the steering wheel assembly may break, which may result in the wheel detaching from the steering column while the vehicle is being driven.
One owner said he was reaching for his wallet and using the steering wheel as leverage when it became loose. Fortunately the SUV was stationary at the time.
No injuries or crashes have been reported as a result of the defect.
“These vehicles may contain defective steering wheel assemblies from a certain suspect production lot from the supplier,” Hyundai said.
“No other Hyundais or Genesis models use the same steering wheel assembly or contain steering wheel assemblies from the suspect production lot.
“Temperatures may have increased during the moulding process causing damage to certain steering wheel assemblies.”
Dealerships will replace the steering wheel assemblies.
The good news . . . Santa Fes sold in Australia are not affected.
The recall affects a small percentage of Santa Fe and Santa Fe Sport SUVs manufactured between July and October 2017 at Hyundai’s Alabama manufacturing plant.
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