CHARLOTTE — More drivers have contacted Action 9 saying their gas tanks suddenly expanded while they were driving causing the backseats to pop up.
It’s an ongoing issue that Action 9 started investigating in March, and Hyundai Sonata now joins Kia K5 models experiencing the issue.
“It gave me no warning. Nothing,” said Melissa Washington. She says she heard a loud boom when it happened to her Kia. Washington says the dealer told her it was the gas tank expanding.
“What if I had had my little baby in the backseat? That’s where she rides,” she said.
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Mark Garcia drives a Hyundai Sonata. “I’m just driving on the highway and it was like an explosion in the backseat,” he said.
Garcia says his mechanic told him that the floor was structurally damaged due to the swelling of the gas tank.
All the drivers that Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke has spoken with say their cars have 45,000 miles or more on them.
Another thing the six cases have in common is that they’re all in southern states.
In most of these cases, the company gave the drivers a loaner or rental.
After Action 9 got involved, the companies offered to buy back the cars, even at top dollar.
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For weeks, Stoogenke has been asking Kia and Hyundai why this keeps happening.
The companies wouldn’t say.
If it happens to you, contact Action 9 and make sure you report it to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration here.
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