Hyundai pulled 90,000 Genesis-branded cars made between 2015 and 2019 this week because of a fire risk in some of its sedans. Hyundai Genesis cars from 2015 to 2016 are included in the recall. So are Genesis G90s from 2017 to 2019, Genesis G80s from 2017 to 2019, and Genesis G70s from 2019. A file from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that the problem is caused by water rusting the starting switch. Hyundai says that if an electrical short happens, this “may cause an engine compartment fire while parked or driving.” The short could start a fire that could spread to the engine area and then to the rest of the car. The document says that the brand will fix the problem by putting a repair relay kit in the engine junction boxes of the affected cars. So that a car fire doesn’t turn into a house fire, owners are being told to keep their cars away from buildings that could catch fire until the recall fix is done. It’s not clear if any of the few “thermal incidents” Hyundai says happened because the problem turned into real car fires. There is a fire risk under a car’s hood, even though none of those incidents were known to have caused accidents or injuries. If you own a Genesis that could be affected, you should contact the recall team right away.
