Hyundai Overstated Horsepower on 1.3 Million Vehicles
(September 10, 2002)
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
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