Hyundai recalls over 2 lakh cars in US and Singapore for exploding seat belt parts

Three injuries, two in the U.S. and one in Singapore have been reported as Hyundai seat belt pretensioners are exploding and injuring vehicle occupants. Hence, as a result, the Korean automaker is recalling 239,000 cars in the U.S.

In a letter to the Korean automaker, government regulators said that the driver's and front passenger's seat belt pretensioners can explode upon deployment and send shrapnel throughout the vehicle.

Pretensioners tighten the belts in preparation for a crash. The recall, which expands and replaces three previous recalls, includes 2019-2022 Accents, 2021-2023 Elantras, and 2021-2022 Elantra HEVs, or hybrid electric vehicles. Vehicles repaired under the previous recalls will need to be brought to dealerships again for the new remedy.

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Owners will be able to take their recalled vehicles to dealerships where the seat belt pretensioners will be fitted with a cap at no cost. Hyundai is expected to notify owners by July 15, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration said.

For more information, owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460 and reference recall number 229. They can also call the NHTSA vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 or go to www.Nhtsa.Gov.

(With inputs from AP)