Drivers across the country have been reporting more and more incidents of Hyundai and Kia cars and SUVs spontaneously bursting into flames, enough to prompt the Center for Auto Safety to demand a recall of millions of vehicles.
One Los Angeles man related an incident in which his 2012 Hyundai Sonata caught fire while his young daughters were in the back seat. “My girls were, you know, hysterical. They were terrified,” Jason Tellefsen told NBC News in LA. One woman reported that she had just pulled her 2012 Kia Sorento off an LA freeway and minutes later the vehicle spontaneously burst into flames. “Thank God I got out of the vehicle and I’m here today,” she said.
The incidents are widespread as are stories of narrow escapes from car on fire. There have been so many reports, in fact, that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has begun an investigation and the Center for Auto Safety has demanded that Hyundai Motor Group, which owns both car manufacturers, recall 2.9 million cars and SUVs. The NHTSA probe centers around some 1.2 million cars that Hyundai had already recalled for an engine defect. The same autos are reportedly catching fire.
The cars with reported fires date back to models from 2010, with hundreds of reports from that year. The cars affected include the following:
- 2011-2014 Kia Sorento
- 2011-2014 Kia Optima
- 2011-2014 Hyundai Sonata
- 2011-2014 Hyundai Santa Fe
- 2010-2015 Kia Soul
In some of the cases, should there be serious injury inviled, car owners may have grounds for lawsuits. Kline & Specter, PC, has had exceptional success litigating vehicle and product liability claims. The firm, with more than 40 attorneys, has had numerous victories against some of America’s largest corporations, including major carmakers. Just recently, Kline & Specter obtained a $30 million settlement from a major auto manufacturer for person rendered a paraplegic following a lap belt injury; further details of the case were confidential. That settlement followed others, one coincidentally also for $30 million, against carmakers. Verdicts of $153 million, $52 million and $8.75 million have also been won by the firm against the Ford Motor Co. over defective parking brakes.
In addition to having among the largest staff of attorneys for a plaintiffs firm, Kline & Specter also has five doctor/lawyers on staff, the most of any firm in the country. We handle cases in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Delaware and nationwide. The law firm provides free case evaluations.
Visit our website for more information about Hyundai/Kia car fires.
