More than 5000 Hyundai cars have been urgently recalled after the discovery of a manufacturing issue that could cause serious injury.
The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications issued the recall of 5211 Hyundai i30 Sedans (CN7) earlier this week.
All variants of the model are subject to the recall, with every vehicle manufactured from 2020 to 2022 said to be affected.
“Due to a manufacturing issue, the seat belt pre-tensioner inflator may fracture when deployed in the event of an accident,” the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications said.
A seatbelt pre-tensioner is designed to retract some of the seatbelt in an accident, tightening it to restrain occupants quickly and reducing how much they are thrown forward in a moderate or severe frontal crash.
According to the department, “if the seat belt pre-tensioner inflator fractures, metal fragments may be propelled at high speed towards the vehicle occupants causing serious injury”.
Owners of affected vehicles are advised they will be contacted by Hyundai Motor Company Australia in writing, requesting they make an appointment with at an authorised Hyundai dealership to have the component inspected and rectified. There is no charge for the repair work.
The full list of affected vehicle identification numbers can be found here.
The Hyundai i30 Sedan recall is one of a spate of recent vehicle defects to hit Australian drivers.
Earlier this month, thousands of Holden vehicles across Australia were urgently recalled over a potentially deadly manufacturing defect.
Almost 14,000 recalls were issued for Holden ZB Commodore cars by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications.
In June, car maker Kia recalled tens of thousands of its most popular vehicles after discovering a worrying software issue that could cause the vehicles to catch fire.
At the same time, Kia’s parent company, Hyundai, and its electric Ioniq 5 were issued a recall over software issues that might lead to parking failures.