Genesis Recalls 90K Vehicles for Fire Risk

A new recall has been issued for numerous models in the Genesis family of vehicles, stretching all the way back to 2015 when about half of the vehicles in this safety alert were still named the Hyundai Genesis.

Trouble apparently stems from wiring connected to the car’s starter solenoid, a piece of technology with which most of us old-timers in the audience will be familiar thanks to janky wiring on hoopties from the ‘70s and ‘80s. Back then, more than a few of these starter solenoids were mounted on the inside fender of a car’s engine bay, making it a very convenient reach when it came time to cross the terminals with a bent and pitted chrome vanadium screwdriver during attempts to coax the beast into life.

No? Maybe that’s just me and a few box-body Crown Vics, then.

In any event, those days are long gone but starter solenoids are not – at least not on 90,907 Genesis vehicles including the 2015/2016 Hyundai Genesis, 2017 to 2019 Genesis G80s and G90s, plus the scattered 2019 Genesis G70. Safety wonks at the federal level claim the starter solenoid in these rigs could be contaminated with water if operated in abnormally wet conditions like as a flooded road. Moisture contamination within the starter solenoid could then cause an electrical short over time, leading to a possible overcurrent and subsequent conflagration.

As with any recall involving a fire, the brand is recommending parking these vehicles outside and away from structures until the recall is completed – but that’s a standard line invented by pencil necked bedwetting lawyers to cover the company’s interests. It’s easy low hanging fruit to write a bombastic headline shouting that GENESIS VEHICLES CAN’T BE PARKED INSIDE TAKE CARE BARB GOBBLESS because, whilst technically true, we feel the need to point out that wiring to a solenoid only carries electrical current whilst the driver is thumbing the Start button, not continuously. Yes, ok, better safe than sorry and all that.

The recall states recent models were given a protective boot on the starter solenoid magnetic switch as a running change in production during January 2019, explaining why newer model years are not affected by the recall. Interestingly, the remedy for this issue doesn’t involve retrofitting this boot but will be gifted a “remedy relay kit” in the engine junction box.

[Image: Genesis]

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