Issues
Combustible Kias? Owners report vehicles going up in flames
“In May, we started noticing reports of a significant number of Kias and Hyundais catching on fire in what we call a non-collision fire,” said Jason Levine, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, an independent consumer watchdog. “We started getting reports of this on Sonatas and Santa Fes and Sorentos and Optimas and…
Feds defend voluntary robot car regulations
“Since the passage of the FAST (Fixing America’s Surface Transportation) Act in 2015, drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and bicyclists have served as human guinea pigs across the United States without even the minimal requirement that those testing autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicle technology make public information demonstrating the safety of their technology,” the Center for Auto Safety,…
Expert Voices: AV diagnostic systems needed for road safety but easy to hack
Under current regulations, vehicles must allow connection to their diagnostic systems for analysis and repair. This access point is crucial for ensuring that both conventional and future self-driving cars are safe on the road, yet it is vulnerable to hacking by physical and wireless intrusions. Why it matters: Autonomous vehicles are highly dependent on networked…
Senate panel wants Hyundai, Kia to testify on engine fire reports
“We’re glad to see Sen. [Bill] Nelson and the Congress committee call Hyundai and Kia up to explain to the Senate and, more broadly, the American people exactly why so many of their cars are catching on fire and what they plan on doing to fix the problem,” Levine told Automotive News. “If they’re not going…
OPINION: Don't repeat deadly limo crash safety mistakes with driverless cars
By: Jason Levine, Executive Director of the Center for Auto Safety While holding considerable promise to improve highway safety, driverless cars today have more in common with the modified limousine that killed 20 people in New York this month than with the foolproof car of the future they are made often out to be. Driverless…
Risk of fire? Recall demanded of nearly 3 million vehicles
Click here to watch the full clip from ABC’s Good Morning America.
Safety group wants Hyundai and Kia to recall 2.9M vehicles
“The volume of fires here make it appear that Hyundai and Kia are content to sit back and allow consumers and insurers to bear the brunt of poorly designed, manufactured and repaired vehicles,” Jason Levine, the center’s executive director, said. The fire reports have come in from across the country, including a death in Ohio…
Deadly Limousine Crash In New York Brings Fresh Attention To Safety Regulation Loophole
“Limousines are treated almost uniquely when we think about motor vehicles. Jason Levine is the executive director of the Center for Auto Safety.” He says limos should have their own standards because they’re neither cars nor buses. “Regulators have tried to jam it in between the two of them and have come up with nothing.”…
Hyundai, Kia Called On to Recall 3 Million Cars After Rampant Reports of Random Fires
“Based on the data collected to date, and these manufacturers’ inability, or unwillingness, to determine the cause of these fires on behalf of the hundreds of Kia and Hyundai customers who own cars which have burst into flames, the Center believes the additional remedy which is warranted is a full recall,” responded [executive director of…
Sudden Fires: Center seeks recall of 2.9 million Kia, Hyundai vehicles
“The number and severity of these complaints, when people are simply driving their cars on the highway, is frightening,” Jason Levine, the center’s executive director, said in a press release. “It is long past time for Kia and Hyundai to act. Car fires put everyone on the road in significant danger.” A consumer watchdog group…