Hyundai said it advertised incorrect horsepower ratings on 1.3
million cars and trucks sold in North America over the last 10
years, Reuters reported.
The figures on more than two dozen
models and variants were overstated going back to the 1992 model
year, Hyundai said, with an average overstatement of 4.6 horsepower
on a sales weighted basis. Two vehicles had their horsepower figures
understated.
The discrepancy was discovered a few months ago after the
Canadian government questioned the horsepower on the Elantra.
Hyundai advertised the Elantra as having 140 horsepower, but after
reevaluation it was discovered the figure was actually 135.
In
the worst case, Hyundai overstated the horsepower on the Sonata with
a 2.0 liter engine by 9.6 percent. The Sonata's actual horsepower
was 125 but marketing materials continued to advertise the rating as
137 horsepower.
"Horsepower was misstated and I think we're obligated to come
forward and correct the record," Hyundai of America Chief Executive
Officer Finbarr O'Neill said. "It has no impact on the safety or
reliability of the vehicles...these errors had occurred because we
didn't have established procedures in place to verify that our
preliminary horsepower figures matched the actual horsepower."
Kia, which uses Hyundai engines in its Optima sedan, also said
that its power ratings were overstated for that vehicle in model
years 2001 and 2002. Kia said in a statement that it is currently
notifying customers of those vehicles about this discovery and
offering a choice of additional warranty coverage or an extension of
their 24-hour roadside assistance plan in recognition of this
inaccurate information.
Hyundai said that it will send letters to affected owners over
the next few weeks offering compensation.
"I am very regretful
for these errors and for any concerns it raises among Hyundai
customers," said O'Neill. "We are announcing these errors because we
want our relationship with our customers, our dealers, and all our
business partners to be open and honest. We are also offering our
assurance that we are taking aggressive measures to prevent errors
of this nature from happening again."
"As an expression of goodwill and an attempt to demonstrate how
important Hyundai customers are to us, we are offering certain
enhancements to those individuals whose model's horsepower ratings
were misprinted by more than four percent. For the 2000 model year
forward we offer a choice of three warranty-enhancement options or,
for 1999 model year and earlier vehicles, five-year roadside
assistance coverage," said O'Neill.
The warranty-enhancement
options for 2000 model year forward include:
- Extending Roadside Assistance Benefit from five
years/unlimited miles to 10 years unlimited miles
- Extending New Vehicle Limited Warranty from five years/60,000
miles to 6 years/72,000 miles
- Extending Powertrain Limited Warranty from 10 years/100,000
miles to 12 years/120,000 miles for original owners
The owners or lessees of the identified vehicles will receive
a letter from HMA over the course of the next few weeks detailing
these options and providing information on how they can be
activated. In the interim, customers can obtain information about
these options by contacting a special toll-free consumer hotline at
800-218-9797 or contacting http://www.hyundaistatus.com/.
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