Hyundai Motor will recall 139,500 of the vehicles in the United States | SEP 26

Citing problems that could make it difficult to steer its popular Sonata sedan, Hyundai Motor will recall 139,500 of the vehicles in the United States, according to the Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
But Hyundai is only the latest of many car makers this year forced to recall faulty vehicles.
A Hyundai spokesman confirmed the recall Sept. 26. South Korea's No. 1 automaker is recalling Sonatas that were manufactured from December through September 10. This latest recall of the Sonata comes only seven months after Hyundai recalled 47,000 of its 2011 Sonata sedans in the United States and Korea because of faulty front-door locks.

Other recall problems

Last year, Sonata made up about 37 percent of Hyundai's U.S. sales, but it is not the only vehicle the company makes that had to be recalled, according to the Economic Times. The company's affiliate Kia Motors has recalled about 86,000 of its models including its Soul compact sedan.
Automakers have recalled nearly 20 million vehicles in the past year, including some recalls involving marginal safety risks, according to the law firm of Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels & Friend.
In the first six months of 2010, car manufacturers recalled 10.2 million vehicles, according to the Detroit News. This is nearly twice as many as were recalled during the same period last year. In the second half of 2009, recalls, led by Toyota and Ford, soared to 8.8 million cars, trucks and SUVs.

Toyota, especially, has felt the bite of the federal watchdog, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Since November of 2009, the Japanese auto giant has recalled 8.5 million vehicles over acceleration and braking problems. The world's largest automaker was later fined a record $16.4 million for not recalling vehicles promptly enough.

An list of the latest recalls

General Motors has recalled 2.9 million vehicles this year, including 1.3 million for defective windshield wipers. Honda has recalled 1.1 million vehicles, including 383,000 to fix potential problems with ignition systems in Accords and Civics from the 2003 model year and elements from the years 2003 and 2004. The locks can become so worn that they can lead to potentially dangerous vehicle roll aways.
Chrysler has recalled 22,300 vehicles because an improperly formed part could allow brake fluid to leak. Nissan has recalled 780,000 vehicles, including a small number of Armadas because of concerns with a rear seat that might lock and increase risks of injury in the event of a crash. Ford had recalled 34,000 vehicles through the end of June after last year's massive recall of 4.5 million vehicles.