Kia, Hyundai and Genesis audit query AQ23002
Hyundai and Kia ABS Module Fires. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this audit query about the control unit/module on 133 model years (2008–2021). Opened Nov 17, 2023 and still open — 3.0 years so far. open
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedThe Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received eight Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) and eight Kia America, Inc. (Kia) Part 573 Recall Reports between 2016 and 2023. The combined 16 safety recalls all involve the antilock braking system (ABS) modules or Hydraulic Electronic Control Units (HECU) manufactured by the equipment supplier Mando. The Part 573 Recall Reports contain varying defect descriptions and differing remedy descriptions for the same or similar equipment supplied by Mando. Safety recalls included in this Audit Query (AQ) review include: Hyundai recalls 20V-520, 20V-543, 21V-161, 21V-160, 21V-303, 22V-056, 22V-810, and 23V-651. Kia recalls 16V-815, 20V-518, 20V-519, 21V-137, 21V-331, 22V-051, 22V-800, and 23V-652 The purpose of this AQ is to evaluate the timeliness and scoping of Hyundai and Kia’s defect decision making and adherence with reporting requirements; and understand the varying defect descriptions and remedies between these recalls.
A Audit Query is an audit of whether the manufacturer met its early-warning reporting obligations — the data and reports it must send NHTSA — rather than of a vehicle condition. The summary is the agency’s own text from its investigation file, unedited; the resumes carrying the full reasoning are linked below.
The paperwork NHTSA filed
Source: every document on this action, at nhtsa.gov- Opening resume — ODI’s own summary of why it opened this — the subject, what prompted it, and the vehicles in scope.
| Document | Code | Filed | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening resume | INOA | 2023 | |
| Information request to the manufacturer | INIM | 2023 | 3 files 123 |
| Manufacturer's response — data | INRD | 2023 | |
| Manufacturer's response — full submission | INRL | 2023 | 6 files 123456 |
| Memo granting a response extension | INRE | 2023 | 3 files 123 |
| Filed document | INIS | 2023 | |
| Confidential business information notice | INSS | 2023 | 2 files 12 |
| Filed document | INOV | 2023 |
These are NHTSA’s own files, served from the agency’s site — the resumes are what ODI wrote when it opened and closed the action, and the rest is the correspondence behind them, including what the manufacturer sent when the agency asked. They are linked, not copied: where a document names the people who wrote in, that redaction is the agency’s to make and its copy is the one you should read.
What owners had already reported
Source: complaints on file the day it openedWhen NHTSA opened this on Nov 17, 2023, owners had filed 3,298 complaints with the agency about the model years above, of which 454 named the service brakes NHTSA went on to investigate. Owner complaints are the agency’s main early signal, and more can be filed while an action is open.
This is what the complaint file held on that date, not a claim about which reports prompted the investigation — NHTSA’s complaint records carry no investigation number, so nobody can make that link from the data alone. The opening resume linked above names the reports ODI itself cited. Complaint records on this site begin with 2016.
What this means for an owner
Source: and what happens nextAn investigation is not a finding that a defect exists, and it puts no duty on anyone. NHTSA opens a Preliminary Evaluation when complaints and other reports suggest a condition worth asking the manufacturer about; it upgrades to an Engineering Analysis when the answers warrant testing; it closes either when it recommends a recall, when the manufacturer recalls on its own, or when no defect trend is found. The agency’s own goals are about four months for a petition, eight for a Preliminary Evaluation or a Recall Query and eighteen for an Engineering Analysis; many run longer.
This one is open. Nothing is owed on the vehicle today; if it becomes a recall, owners are written to and the repair is free. The moment to know is the day the campaign number appears — Recall Watch checks each VIN against every new NHTSA campaign and emails you when one lands, or take a free one-line alert by model year.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themAlso named on model years this site has no page for: 2012 Hyundai Accent; 2013 Hyundai Accent; 2014 Hyundai Accent; 2015 Hyundai Accent; 2012 Hyundai Azera; 2013 Hyundai Azera; 2014 Hyundai Azera; 2015 Hyundai Azera; 2011 Hyundai Elantra; 2012 Hyundai Elantra; 2013 Hyundai Elantra; 2014 Hyundai Elantra; 2015 Hyundai Elantra; 2013 Hyundai Elantra Coupe; 2014 Hyundai Elantra Coupe; 2015 Hyundai Elantra Coupe; 2014 Hyundai Equus; 2015 Hyundai Equus; 2015 Hyundai Genesis; 2011 Hyundai Genesis Coupe; 2012 Hyundai Genesis Coupe; 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe; 2014 Hyundai Genesis Coupe; 2015 Hyundai Genesis Coupe; 2013 Hyundai Santa FE; 2014 Hyundai Santa FE; 2015 Hyundai Santa FE; 2013 Hyundai Santa FE Sport; 2014 Hyundai Santa FE Sport; 2015 Hyundai Santa FE Sport; 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid; 2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid; 2013 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid; 2014 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid; 2015 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid; 2010 Hyundai Tucson; 2011 Hyundai Tucson; 2012 Hyundai Tucson; 2013 Hyundai Tucson; 2014 Hyundai Tucson; 2015 Hyundai Tucson; 2015 Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell; 2012 Hyundai Veloster; 2013 Hyundai Veloster; 2014 Hyundai Veloster; 2015 Hyundai Veloster; 2010 Hyundai Veracruz; 2011 Hyundai Veracruz; 2012 Hyundai Veracruz; 2010 Kia Borrego; 2011 Kia Borrego; 2012 Kia Borrego; 2013 Kia Borrego; 2014 Kia Borrego; 2015 Kia Borrego; 2016 Kia Borrego; 2017 Kia Borrego; 2018 Kia Borrego; 2019 Kia Borrego; 2014 Kia Cadenza and 41 more.
A vehicle page’s investigation list carries the same action; a name here is the scope NHTSA opened, not a list of affected VINs.
An investigation is not a recall. Yet.
If NHTSA’s questions become a recall, the campaign lands in the federal file first. Recall Watch checks your VINs against every new campaign the night it is filed.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs AQ23002 a recall?
No. A audit query is NHTSA asking questions, not a recall. A safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number and a duty to repair for free; this one has not produced one. Whether one particular vehicle has an open recall is a VIN question at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Is AQ23002 still open?
Yes, as of NHTSA’s latest file: opened Nov 17, 2023, 3.0 years ago.
Which vehicles does AQ23002 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 133 model years: 2021 Genesis G70, 2020 Genesis G70, 2019 Genesis G70, 2020 Genesis G80, 2019 Genesis G80, 2018 Genesis G80 and more. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.