South Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia are recalling some 1.9 million vehicles, the vast majority to fix a faulty electrical switch that could increase the risk of a crash while braking.
The recalls were posted on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's website.
According to the automakers, 1.7 million vehicles across several different model years are being recalled to repair a stop lamp switch that may malfunction and keep the brake lights from illuminating. The malfunction could also fail to deactivate the vehicle's cruise control when depressing the brake pedal.
The faulty stop lamp switch may also cause the push-button start feature to malfunction and keep the shift from being moved out of the park position. It can also cause the Electronic Stability Control malfunction light to come on.
The recall affects just more than 1 million Hyundai vehicles, including certain models of the Accent and Tucson (2007-09), Elantra (2007-10), Santa Fe (2007-11), Veracruz (2008-09), Genesis Coupe (2010-11) and Sonata (2011). It also affects about 624,000 Kia vehicles, including the Rondo and Sportage (2007-10), Sorento (2007-11), Sedona (2007), Soul (2010-11) and Optima (2011).
Hyundai plans to notify owners and replace the stop lamp switch beginning in June. Kia expects to send an interim notification to owners in May and send a second notification to owners when parts become available to have the vehicles repaired.
Meanwhile, Hyundai also reported another recall of 186,000 vehicles saying a support bracket attached to the headliner can become displaced during side curtain airbag deployment and result in cuts to the driver.
The recall affects certain model year 2011-13 Elantras made from Nov. 12, 2010, through March 5, 2013. Hyundai will notify owners and dealers will apply adhesive strips.
