Hyundai Motor America has issued a recall for a small number of Santa Cruz and Tucson vehicles produced for the 2024 model year. Due to contaminated solder flux on the printed circuit board in the electric power pack, a short may lead to a loss of power steering assist while driving.
The sudden loss of power steering during vehicle operation increases the risk of a crash. Hyundai Motor America claims that supplier HL Mando America is to blame for the contaminated solder flux. The part numbers of the electric power packs are 56370K5000 in the case of the Santa Cruz and 56370CW110 for the Tucson.
Between May 17 and May 20, 2024, the automaker identified five vehicles located at a processing center with confirmed motor-driven power steering system malfunctions, including the aforementioned loss of power steering assist. In addition to said five vehicles, a further two were identified in the US market. Fortunately, there are no reports of crashes or injuries attributable to the recall condition.
Dealers will be instructed to replace the MDPS electric power pack at no charge to the customers, while owner notification letters will be mailed on or about August 3, 2024. The remedy packs contain printed circuit boards that were soldered with contaminant-free flux. According to Hyundai Motor America, the folks at HL Mando America replaced the solder flux used in the manufacturing of the circuit board back on April 29, 2024.
795 vehicles are believed to have been produced with iffy circuit boards, of which the 2024 model year Santa Cruz makes up 679 of them. Their production dates range from April 29 to May 21, whereas affected 2024 model year Tucson vehicles were assembled between April 29 and May 6.
Photo: Hyundai
Owners can easily determine if their pickup trucks/crossovers are included in this recall by running the vehicle identification number on Hyundai's website. The Santa Cruz should always start with 5 because it's produced exclusively in the United States of America, while certain Tucson vehicles feature VINs beginning with K because they're made in South Korea rather than the US.
Outsold by the Ford Maverick time and time again, the Tucson-based Santa Cruz moved 8,417 units in the US in the first quarter of 2024. By comparison, the Maverick is listed by Dearborn's favorite son with 39,061 sales during the three-month period.
Refreshed for the 2025 model year at the 2024 New York International Auto Show, the compact truck soldiers on with the same 2.5-liter NA and 2.5-liter T engines as the pre-facelift Santa Cruz. With Ford Motor Company offering a hybrid powertrain for the Maverick ever since the Escape-based trucklet came out, it's no wonder the more affordable Maverick continues to outsell the Santa Cruz.
Due fall 2024, the 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz doesn't have a starting price at press time. The 2024 model retails at $26,900 for the entry-level specification, whereas the soon-to-be-refreshed Maverick is $23,920 before destination charge and options.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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