---
title: "Hyundai Recalls Nearly 1,000,000 Cars Over Faulty Seat Belts"
description: "Hyundai Motor Company announced a recall today of nearly one million Sonatas and Sonata Hybrids over fears that a faulty fastener can cause front seat belts to detach in a crash."
date: "2017-03-16"
modified: "2017-03-16"
authors:
  - name: "Kyle Cheromcha"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/article/8376/hyundai-recalls-nearly-1000000-cars-over-faulty-seat-belts"
categories:
  - "Hyundai News"
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
tags:
  - "Hyundai"
  - "NHTSA"
  - "Recall"
  - "safety"
  - "seat belt"
---

# Hyundai Recalls Nearly 1,000,000 Cars Over Faulty Seat Belts

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2017/03/hyundai.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Hyundai Motor Company announced a recall today of nearly one million Sonatas and Sonata Hybrids over fears that a faulty fastener can cause front seat belts to detach in a crash. [Documents show](<https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2017/RCLRPT-17V152-7077.PDF>) the anchor connecting the seat belt pretensioner to the vehicle's structure may not have been fully attached during assembly, though Hyundai claims it knows of only one minor injury related to the problem. The recall affects regular Sonatas from 2011-2014 model years, and Sonata Hybrids from 2011-2015 model years.

Owners can visit the [NHTSA website](<https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls>) and enter their VIN or use [Hyundai's online tool](<https://autoservice.hyundaiusa.com/campaignhome>) to see if their car is affected. Strangely though, the company says it won't start notifying individual owners until next month - so it's up to consumers to find out if their car is affected before then. Dealers are prepared to examine the seat belt assembly and fix the fastener if it's found to be defective.

Now if you read that headline and thought "Wait, *another* recall?", don't worry, you're not seeing things. According to the Department of Transportation, auto manufacturers [recalled a record 53.2 million cars](<https://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/10/reuters-america-update-1-us-auto-recalls-hit-record-high-532-million-in-2016.html>) and trucks in 2016 - and that's just in this country. And while a lot of that is due to the expanding [Takata Airbags scandal](<https://www.thedrive.com/?s=takata>), consider that the previous record of over 51 million was set just a year before in 2015.

So what gives? There are a few factors at play. First, the proliferation of technology has made cars more complex than ever. Second is that [greater enforcement](<https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2015/04/the-truth-about-car-recalls/index.htm>) of fines and penalties from the NHTSA has prompted automakers to be a lot more diligent in finding and announcing issues, especially in the wake of Toyota's "unintended acceleration" problem, GM's ignition switch disaster and the Takata scandal. Additionally, the rise in [common parts suppliers](<https://www.edmunds.com/car-safety/why-are-so-many-cars-being-recalled.html>) across multiple manufacturers spreads problems further than in the past.

There are so many it can be easy to lose track - if you're curious about the state of your car, it's worth checking the [NHTSA's website](<https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls>) to make sure you're in the clear.

## Author
Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/kylecheromcha.bsky.social>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/kylecheromcha>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-cheromcha-1550248a/>)