2020-2022 Hyundai cars – including i30 N hot hatch – recalled for transmission fault

Hyundai Australia has recalled a total of 8466 cars in two separate recalls – for the 2022-2022 Santa Fe SUV, Kona N SUV, i30 N hatch and sedan, and Sonata N Line sedan – because of a gearbox software fault that could cut engine power.

There are two recall notices but they are for the same fault, with the cars built in different Hyundai factories.

The Hyundai i30 N hot hatch is manufactured in the Czech Republic while the Hyundai i30 Sedan N is built at Ulsan in South Korea.

The largest number of vehicles involved in the recall is the Hyundai Santa Fe family SUV.

“We have had three reported incidents in Australia, but there were no accidents or injuries,” a Hyundai Australia spokesman told Drive.

The recall notices, lodged with the Department of Infrastructure, say: “Due to a programming issue, the 'fail-safe' driving mode may not respond as intended when certain transmission faults are detected.

“Under certain driving conditions the vehicle fail-safe mode may activate resulting in reduced acceleration followed by a loss of motive power.

“A loss of motive power while driving at high speed could increase the risk of a crash. This could potentially result in injury or death to vehicle occupants and other road users.”

A full list of vehicle identification numbers for the 7237 South Korean-built vehicles involved in the recall can be found here, with the 1229 from the Czech Republic here.

“We are contacting owners. It is a software fix, so it should be a reasonably quick job that will take around 20-30 minutes in the workshop,” the Hyundai spokesman said.

Owners can contact Hyundai Australia by clicking here, or contact the car-maker's customer assistance centre by calling 1800 186306.