Shares of Hyundai Motors and its Kia Motors affiliate slumped on Thursday, after both companies said they are recalling more than 1.8 million cars and SUVs in the United States to address a potentially faulty switch and a loose headliner, according to U.S. safety regulators.
Hyundai and Kia tumbled 5 percent and 4 percent respectively in early trade in Seoul.
Hyundai is recalling 1,059,824 cars and SUVs and Kia 623,658 vehicles from model years 2007 through 2011 to replace a switch that could increase the risk of a crash, according to documents filed with U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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A Kia spokesman in the United States said the company was not aware of any accidents or injuries related to the issue, and did not have any information on whether the recall was being done in other countries. Reuters could not immediately reach officials at Hyundai.
In addition, Hyundai is recalling another 186,254 Elantra cars from model years 2011 through 2013 to apply adhesive strips to the headliner to prevent that part from becoming displaced during a side curtain airbag deployment and increasing the risk of cuts during a crash, the NHTSA said.
The malfunctioning stop lamp switch in the larger recall affecting Hyundai and Kia may cause the brake lights not to illuminate when the brake pedal is depressed, or cause an inability to deactivate the cruise control by pressing the brake pedal, the NHTSA said.
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