Hyundai Ioniq owner in the US has sued company for falsely advertizing of safety features
Auto companies manufacture millions of cars every year. With the ecosystem comprising a complex global web of manufacturing hubs, suppliers, dealers, and partner, there are bound to be some errors and omissions. Naturally, some customers end up getting a bad deal. While carmakers try to settle complaints in an amicable manner, there are cases that end up in the court of law.
Hyundai sued for alleged false claims about safety features
In a recent case, an owner of Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid has filed a class-action lawsuit against the company for misleading advertisement about certain safety features.
As per the complaint filed in California in the U.S. District Court, Ioniq does not have the exact safety features as mentioned in the Monroney sticker. This sticker is mandated by law in the US and it contains a wide range of information such as details about standard equipment, mechanical parts, safety & security features, price, fuel economy, safety rating, etc.
According to the owner, the safety features listed on the sticker include rear cross-traffic collision avoidance assist and blind spot collision avoidance assist. However, the owner has alleged that his Ioniq Limited only has warning system and not assist features, as mentioned in the sticker. The owner said that he had contacted Hyundai multiple times to resolve the issue, but he did not get any proper solution.
Warning only vs. assist systems
In terms of safety, there’s significant difference between warning only and warning + assist systems. In the former, the driver is only warned about an imminent danger. In case of assist features, the car is equipped with intelligent systems that can take evasive action to prevent an accident.
This is activated when the driver may fail to respond to the warning in time. For example, assist systems may apply brakes to avoid a collision or steer the car to safety during unintentional lane departures.
If we look at Hyundai USA website, the current Ioniq Limited model does offer rear cross traffic collision avoidance assist. However, the blind spot feature is only a warning system. Other safety features listed on the website include forward collision avoidance assist with pedestrian detection, lane following assist and smart cruise control with Stop & Go.
It is not clear who is at fault in this case because details about the exact Ioniq variant have not been mentioned in the Car Complaints reports. Moreover, the image of the Monroney label is also missing. We shall be able to get more clarity once these details are made public.