A somewhat urgent recalls, and strange court cases have dominated the automotive headlines over the past week.
The National Traffic Safety Administration (NTSA) is offering a new service on its safercar.gov website which gives users the ability to “track” their vehicle and determine if it is subject to a recall.
The feature is not only designed as a resource for people who are on the market to buy a used car to check if the model they are considering was ever recalled; it also helps get the word out in the rare instance that a recall occurs over a year or two after the vehicle’s release.
Owners or prospective buyers will need to enter a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) located on the bottom left corner of the windshield, to pull up the brand’s history and any pending recalls.
One automaker that made the NTSA’s list this past week is Kia. According to Kelly Blue Book, the South Korean auto giant’s cars and crossovers have, in recent years, been recalled for faulty steering, trailer hitch modules, power sliding doors and oil seal leaks.
Over the past two decades, Kia has distinguished itself as an automaker that builds solid and competitive, if somewhat bland, vehicles; the recent spate of recalls are a new trend affecting mostly cars built from 2021 to present.
The most recent recall targets two specific models, the Telluride and K5 from between 2023 and 2025. According to the NTSA, both models suffer from interior problems with plastic moldings, specifically the seat belt and window moldings that may become attached.
While the latest recall is largely a cosmetic issue, it could cause driver distraction if a piece breaks off on the highway. The NTSA also warns that the pieces, held on by a faulty adhesive, could break and fall into the road, causing accidents or damage.
Humans committed theft and murder, but the car maker is responsible?
The Daily Mail newspaper reports that in August of 2023, two Las Vegas teens, Jesus Ayala, 19, and Jzamir Keys, 17, stole a Hyundai Elantra and intentionally committed murder while on the highway in their stolen prize. Prosecutors allege that during the joyride, Ayala encountered and taunted bicyclist Andreas Probst, 66, a retired police officer on a lonely stretch of highway.
According to the complaint, Ayala hit Probst with the car as his passenger Keys filmed a video of the attack. The men can be heard laughing as Probst is killed.
Both men have been indicted on murder, grand larceny, and other felony charges, with their trial expected to begin on Nov. 3.
Yet members of Probst’s family believe that Hyundai itself is partially to blame for the death and have filed a civil suit in the case targeting the teens and Hyundai, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The suit claims that a defect present in the car’s anti-theft system allowed the theft to happen; however, the “defect” was not one that would have ever showed up on safercar.gov as the suit alleges the “defect” was in Hyundai’s decision not to add engine immobilization and other theft preventatives on certain vehicles that could have prevented the theft, therefore never putting Probst and his alleged killers on a collision course.
While this case may seem like grasping by a family in throes of terrible grief, it does open up an interesting legal question in terms of when does vehicle equipment go from being an upgrade or luxury add-on to something considered vital to the automobile and/or possibly viewed as life-saving safety equipment.
As it turns out, the Hyundai Elantra consistently ranks in the top five of the The Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) most stolen vehicles. In 2024, it was listed as the most stolen vehicle in America.
In recent years, Hyundai vehicles have become known as a vehicle high on the list that are targeted by thieves, with TikTok users uploading videos offering tutorials on how to start the Elantra without using a key.
Hyundai has not filed a response and the plaintiffs are requesting a jury trial in the case.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter, Editorial Page Editor and weekly columnist for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
