All About Japan Autos

The 2011 Hyundai Sonata is getting excellent reviews. It’s also getting recalled.

Reuters reports, “Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s top automaker, will recall some 139,500 Sonata sedans sold in the United States, due to problems with the steering wheel that could cause a loss or reduction of control.”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gives the specifics of the recall: “Hyundai is recalling certain model year 2011 Sonata Vehicles manufactured from December 11, 2009, through September 10, 2010. On some of these vehicles, the steering column intermediate shaft universal joint connections may have been improperly assembled or insufficiently tightened.”

The risk of the improper assembly or insufficient tightening is “a separation of the intermediate steering shaft assembly’s upper universal joint can cause either a reduction in, or a complete loss of steering capability,” explains Left Lane News.

This is the second recall for the 2011 Sonata. About 47,000 of the sedans were recalled in February due to faulty door locks. For this round, Autoblog reports “Dealers should begin sending out recall notices in October. They will inspect and re-torque the assembly, and update the steering software too, at no charge.”

If you have questions about the recall, call the Hyundai Customer Assistance Center at 1-800-633-5151, or the NHTSA vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236.

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