Hyundai Canada pleads guilty to 6 recall-related criminal charges

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Transport Canada announced mid-April that Hyundai Auto Canada Corp. has pleaded guilty to six criminal charges of violating the Motor Vehicle Safety Act. The company is being charged after failing to send out recall notices for six different defects within 60 days of identifying. In addition, Hyundai will pay a fine of $360,000.

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The recalls were issued by Hyundai to owners of affected vehicles in 2020 and 2021, but not within Transport Canada’s 60-day prescribed timelines. Those six recalls affected almost 300,000 Hyundai vehicles, and some had to do with defects that could cause a loss of engine power or a vehicle fire.

Update: “Nothing is more important to Hyundai Canada than the safety of its customers and their families,” Hyundai Canada said in a statement to Driving.ca. “Hyundai Canada recognized that during the COVID pandemic, it was not meeting the precise timing requirements identified in the applicable regulations in a limited number of instances. However, we immediately corrected the issue and accepted responsibility. All customers were notified of the recalls and no safety incidents occurred arising from this matter.”

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The charges and fines against Hyundai were issued to rectify the situation, and Transport Canada now considers the matter resolved. The Department of Transportation says it will continue to monitor the company’s compliance to ensure requirements are being met going forward.

“Canadians have a right to obtain timely information about safety issues impacting their vehicles. It is alarming that Hyundai failed to notify vehicle owners of a recall in a timely manner on six different occasions, which is why Transport Canada pursued criminal charges against the company,” said the Honourable Omar Alghabra, Minister of Transport.

“We expect all vehicle manufacturers to abide by the law, and Transport Canada will not hesitate to act when safety has been compromised.”

You can also check online at Transport Canada, using your VIN, to see if your vehicle has been affected by a recall.