Used 2012 Kia Soul Automatic Blue Tooth Air Conditioning Cruise Control on 2040-cars

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Hyundai, Kia and Genesis EVs recalled for damaged charging control unit

Hyundai Motor America and Kia America are recalling a combined 147,100 U.S. vehicles over a damaged charging unit, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Thursday. Hyundai will recall 98,878 vehicles, including certain 2022-2024 Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6, Genesis GV60, Genesis GV70 Electrified and Genesis GV80 Electrified models, while Kia will recall 48,232 vehicles impacting certain EV6 models. The Integrated Charging Control Unit (ICCU) "may become damaged over time from transient high voltage and thermal cycling" and stop charging the 12-volt battery, which can result in a loss of drive power increasing the risk of a crash, the safety regulator said. Kia notes that there will be "audible warning chimes and one or more of the following: Illumination of "Check Electric Vehicle System" warning light, Master warning light, Charging system warning light, "Stop vehicle and check power supply" warning light, power down (turtle) warning light and/or reductions in motive power." Dealers will inspect and replace the ICCU and its fuse, as necessary. In addition, dealers will update the ICCU software. Material from Reuters was used in this report. Green Recalls Genesis Hyundai Kia Electric

2021 Kia K5 starts at $25,455, just $100 more than outgoing Optima

The 2021 Kia K5 continues this year's trend of carmakers placing minimal premium on a brand new or heavily revised model. Cars Direct got a look at an early order guide showing that Kia's new midsize sedan will start at $23,490 before a $965 destination charge, for a total of $24,455. The destination fee doesn't change, and the MSRP is but $100 more than the outgoing entry-level 2020 Optima LX. That also puts the Kia $120 under the 2020 Hyundai Sonata SE, $520 under the Honda Accord LX, and $925 below a Toyota Camry SE. The K5 is powered by a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with 180 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque shifted through an eight-speed transmission, giving it a little less horsepower than the competing trio — the 23 hp given up to the Toyota is the largest difference — but more torque than the other three.   The K5's trim steps have been rearranged compared to the Optima, so instead of LX, S, Special Edition, EX, EX Premium and SX, there will be the K5 LX, LXS, GT-Line, EX and performance-minded GT. The LXS will start at $27,555, the GT-Line at $30,055. Those will be the only two trims offering AWD, and the four-wheel system has late availability as well. Cars Direct didn't mention a price for the EX.   The GT and its exclusive 2.5-liter turbo four-cylinder with 290 hp and 311 lb-ft tied to an eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox will be late availability. The order guide showed that trim costing $31,455 after destination. That's $1,700 less expensive than the less powerful, top-of-the-line Optima SX. Among rivals, only the V6-powered Camrys come close to the K5's output, with 301 hp and 267 lb-ft from a 3.5-liter V6. The Camry TRD stands at $670 more than the K5, butt the only big-ticket extras available for the Camry TRD are two-tone paint jobs costing from $500 to $925. One of the K5 options will be a GT1 Package that adds LED headlights, better driver assistance features such as forward collision avoidance and park assist, adaptive cruise control, semi-self driving on the highway, 12-speaker Bose audio, ventilated front seats with memory, and more. Upgrading to GT1 spec will cost $4,000, taking the price to $35,455. The Toyota Camry TRD V6 doesn't offer some of the GT1's finer tech. The Toyota Camry XLE V6 needs to be optioned up to match a K5 GT1, the Toyota coming out to $38,325. Cars Direct also saw a bulletin to Kia dealers outlining some lease and purchase offers that will run through August 3.

Hyundai Kia asked to pay $28.9M in patent infringement case

After years of litigation, Hyundai and Kia have lost their hybrid technology patent infringement case against Paice LLC. The jury ordered the South Korean automakers to pay $28.9 million, but according to Bloomberg, because the violation was allegedly intentional, the judge could triple that amount. The automakers have announced plans to appeal the ruling. Paice's patent dates from 1994 on a piece of tech called the Hyperdrive, and it was a way to seamlessly switch between power from an electric motor and an internal combustion engine. This lawsuit was first filed in 2012 and covered the systems in the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid and Kia Optima Hybrid. According to Bloomberg, the companies tried to argue that the patent was no longer valid, but the strategy failed. "Hyundai strongly believes its position and will appeal any remaining adverse findings to the Federal Circuit," the company said in a statement to Autoblog. Paice is certainly no stranger to litigating over the Hyperdrive patent, though. It and Toyota had a similar court battle that lasted years. Eventually, there was a settlement, and the result was Paice getting royalties for each hybrid that the Japanese automaker sold. Similarly, there's a lawsuit pending against Ford over tech in the C-Max, Fusion, and Lincoln MKZ. Hyundai Statement: Hyundai believes that the verdict returned by the jury today in the matter of Paice v. Hyundai Motor Company et al., is not supported by the evidence. Accordingly, Hyundai has requested that the presiding judge enter a judgment in its favor notwithstanding the verdict. Hyundai strongly believes its position and will appeal any remaining adverse findings to the Federal Circuit.