Hyundai has recalled almost 12,000 Sonatas and Nexos over a fault in the Remote Smart Parking Assistant feature that can lead to unintended vehicle movement
Hyundai is recalling a total of 11,870 units of the 2020 Sonata and Nexo FCEV combined because of a problem with the Remote Smart Parking Assist (RSPA) feature, also called the ‘smart park’. The said feature allows the vehicle to park itself without the driver at the wheel, and is extremely handy in tight spaces.
The “Smaht Pahk” was advertised by Hyundai at the 2020 Super Bowl, with a commercial starring Hollywood actors Chris Evans, John Krasinski, and Rachel Dratch and a former baseball player David Ortiz.
This feature can be controlled using a remote-control function on the key fob, which can both park and unpark the car, while it can also be controlled by pushing a button inside the car before exiting. The RSPA system is available with both the 2020 Sonata, as well as the Nexo fuel-cell SUV.
According to a filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the software could fail to prevent vehicle movement upon detection of an RSPA system malfunction, and the unintended vehicle movement increases the risk of a crash.
Hyundai said the first anomaly was seen during developmental testing of the feature in its home country. However, the faulty coding in the software was detected and fixed at that time and fixed. In March this year, Hyundai received a report from somebody claiming that the vehicle “continued to move without stopping while performing a parking maneuver commanded by the Remote Smart Parking Assistant feature.”
After extensive testing, Hyundai confirmed that this continued movement after triggering the “fail-safe” mode does indeed happen in some cases. Based on the information, Hyundai issued the recall of the affected vehicles.
The Korean carmaker has claimed that as of now, there have been no accidents or injuries as a result of the faulty RSPA system, and that the manufacturer will fix the problem at no charge, starting on June 4. Owners can check if their 2020 Sonata or Nexo is a part of the recall on the NHTSA recalls website.