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2013 HYUNDAI SONATA — STEERING

crash1 injured · 1513353 · 2018-11-06

Vehicle

Make
HYUNDAI
Model
SONATA
Year
2013
Manufacturer
Hyundai Motor America
Component
STEERING
Miles at failure
93,000

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
1
Fire
No
Crash
Yes
Police report
Yes
Medical attention
Yes
Vehicle towed
Yes

Narrative

STEERING MALFUNCTION OCCURRED ABOUT 10 MINUTES INTO A DRIVE ON THE HIGHWAY. WHILE TRAVELLING ABOUT 45 TO 50MPH, THE CAR UNEXPECTEDLY STARTED PULLING TO THE RIGHT, AND WOULD NOT RESPOND WHEN THE STEERING WHEEL WAS TURNED TO THE LEFT. IT WAS ALMOST LIKE CHANGING LANES, IN THAT WHILE THE CAR WAS GOING FORWARD, IT ALSO KEPT MOVING TO THE RIGHT. THE CAR WOULD NOT CHANGE DIRECTION, EVEN THOUGH I KEPT TURNING THE STEERING WHEEL TO THE LEFT. THIS CONTINUED ACROSS SEVERAL LANES OF THE HIGHWAY, UNTIL THE CAR HIT THE HIGHWAY BARRIER WALL. THE AIRBAG DEPLOYED, AND THANK GOD THAT I WAS ABLE TO GET OUT OF THE CAR, AND THEN CALL 911. THERE WAS DAMAGE MAINLY TO THE RIGHT-FRONT OF THE CAR. BOTH THE OFFICER AND THE INSURANCE ADJUSTER CHECKED AND CONCLUDED THAT THE TIRES WERE IN GOOD CONDITION. THE ENGINE STILL STARTED WITHOUT HESITATION, HOWEVER DUE TO THE ENTIRE REPAIR COST, THE INSURANCE COMPANY TOTALED THE CAR. CONSIDERING THAT THERE WERE MANY OTHER VEHICLES ON THE HIGHWAY AT THAT TIME, IT WAS A MIRACLE THAT MY CAR DID NOT HIT ANY OTHER CARS, AND THAT OTHER CARS DID NOT HIT MY CAR. THE NHTSA SERIOUSLY NEEDS TO INVESTIGATE THIS DANGEROUS SONATA VEHICLE-STEERING ISSUE, TO PREVENT THIS FROM HAPPENING AGAIN, AND BEFORE IT RESULTS IN EVEN MORE HAZARDOUS, OR TRAGIC CONSEQUENCES.

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
11149792
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown