Hyundai, Kia Settle U.S. Class-Action Lawsuit
14 October, 2019
Hyundai and affiliate Kia said Friday that they reached a settlement in a class-action lawsuit in the U.S. over defective Theta 2 GDi engines.
The two automakers agreed to give lifetime warranties to owners of cars equipped with the engines in the U.S. and Korea. Once the agreement is approved, they will also compensate owners of the 4.69 million cars for repair costs and losses.
U.S. consumers filed the suit around four years ago. A separate trial is in progress in the U.S. on charges that Hyundai knew about the defects but hid them from consumers, while an executive in charge of the matter has been indicted.
Hyundai and Kia developed the Theta 2 GDi engine in 2008. The gasoline engine underwent a number of upgrades since then, but since 2011 several cars equipped with the engine mysteriously caught fire, leading to the recall of 1.66 million cars sold in the U.S. and 170,000 sold in Korea.
Hyundai and Kia are expected to shoulder around W834 billion worth of warranty and repair expenses (US$1=W1,187). Models made between 2010 to 2019 are eligible for the lifetime warranty.
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