Hyundai, KIA issue recall over increased fire risk.

NBC Nightly News (1/16, story 8, 0:15, Holt, 8.03M) reported that “Hyundai and KIA are going ahead with a recall of nearly 170,000 vehicles due to fire risks, though the government agency that oversees recalls is mostly closed due to the shutdown.” The AP (1/16, Krisher, Press) reports that “the problem stems from improper repairs during previous recalls for engine failures.” Both manufacturers are “under investigation by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which has been trying to figure out whether initial recalls covered enough vehicles.” The AP notes that “NHTSA employees who do safety investigations and recall notifications are not at work” due to the government shutdown. KIA spokesman James Bell claims they will move ahead with the recall despite government delays, saying, “Making our customers comfortable is vastly more important than making sure we’re following additional government processes right now.”

        Reuters (1/16, Shepardson) reports that the recall is to replace “a high-pressure fuel pipe that may have been damaged or improperly installed as part of an engine replacement during the prior recall.” Six fires have been “linked to the new recall but no reports of injuries, while Hyundai said it had no reports of fires linked to the new recall.”

        The Detroit News (1/16, 521K), Cars (1/16, 1.21M), Consumer Reports (1/16, 14.13M), and Fortune (1/16, 3.95M) also report.