Hyundai and Kia are recalling 571,000 vehicles in the US and warning owners to park the vehicles outside and away from structures over fire concerns. Owners of affected models will be notified next month.
Safety regulators from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) warned that the fire could be caused because of a short circuit.
The affiliated Korean car manufacturers will start recalling certain models that are affected from next month.
The Hyundai vehicles being recalled include the 2019 to 2023 Santa Fe, the 2021 to 2023 Santa Fe Hybrid, the 2022 and 2023 Santa Fe Plug-in hybrid and the 2022 and 2023 Santa Cruz.
The only Kia affected is the Carnival minivan from 2022 and 2023.
Kia America Inc will also recall another 3,555 of its Carnival model manufactured between 2022-2023, over a similar defect.
In a statement, the NHTSA said: “Water accumulation on the tow hitch harness module printed circuit board (PCB) may cause an electrical short, which can result in a fire.”
Owners will begin being notified from May 16.
Dealers will then remove the fuse and tow hitch computer model until a fix is possible.
