Aug. 13, 2012—Consumer rights law firm Hagens Berman recently reached a settlement with Hyundai for a lawsuit regarding faulty airbags in the auto manufacturer’s Sante Fe crossover vehicles.
The lawsuit alleged that airbags in some 2007-2009 Hyundai Santa Fe crossover vehicles failed to deploy during certain types of collisions.
The settlement allows owners of 2007-2009 Hyundai Sante Fe crossovers to return defective vehicles if the company cannot repair them through a software upgrade, Hagens Berman said.
Hagens Berman said Hyundai has ordered a recall of roughly 200,000 vehicles in response to the lawsuit. The recall is the latest in a series of recalls by Hyundai, which have amounted to about 1.3 million vehicles since 2006.
Hagens Berman said the settlement will be filed in court for approval by Aug. 17. The recall will occur even if the court does not approve the settlement.
“We negotiated a settlement that is very favorable to consumers, giving Hyundai owners the ability to return their vehicle if the settlement’s software upgrade does not fully solve the problem,” said Rob Carey, attorney for Seattle-based Hagens Berman. “This is especially important when it comes to something as critical as an airbag, a safety feature mandated by federal law.”
