Hyundai driver had ‘no idea’ her car was part of an urgent recall when it suddenly caught on fire

A Sydney mother “had no idea” her car was subject to an urgent recall when it suddenly caught fire while she was driving to her family on Christmas Day.

Jessica Wynne’s 2015 Hyundai ix35 stalled without warning after picking up her grandparents from a nursing home on December 25.

While trying to start it, a passerby stopped to notice flames coming from under the hood of the car.

She said that she and everyone else in the car had to get out immediately.

The Good Samaritan also helped pull Mrs. Wynne’s elderly grandparents out of the burning vehicle.

“We got their walkers out of the car and then we watched the flames get higher and higher. It was crazy,’ said Mrs Wynne 9News.

“I later found out my car was affected by the spontaneous fire hazard recall,” he later wrote on a Facebook page for Hyundai owners affected by engine failure.

An urgent recall notice was issued for the ix35 on December 7, saying it was at risk of fire due to a possible short in the ABS brake system “even when the vehicle is off.”

‘I had no idea about the recall until after the fire happened. I did not receive a letter or an email,” Ms. Wynne wrote on the Hyundai owners Facebook page.

“I contacted Hyundai and gave them all the information about the car, but now when I call for an update, they just don’t take my call or call me back.”

Hyundai has minimal information on vehicle recalls available on its website. The car company encourages owners to enter their Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) into a page of your website ‘to see if your car is affected by a recall campaign’.

“I want compensation because it’s not good enough,” Ms Wynne said of the life-threatening fire in her car.

He has struggled “even to get a call back” from representatives of the South Korean car company in Australia.

When they’ve responded, it’s just to say ‘we don’t have an update’.

“It’s not acceptable, it’s not good enough,” he told 9News.

The ix35 isn’t the only Hyundai with problems serious enough to put people at risk of serious injury or worse.

The handlemycomplaint consumer group received 180 complaints about Hyundai vehicles and helped prepare a class action lawsuit against the auto company.

The law firm Maurice Blackburn Lawyers has filed a class action lawsuit against Hyundai in the High Court of Victoria and is preparing a similar case against another Korean car giant, Kia.

Both are related to the risk of fire caused by failures in the ABS braking system.

“A vehicle fire can cause injury or death to vehicle occupants and bystanders, as well as property damage to homes or other nearby flammable structures and buildings.”

The law firm warned vehicle owners to park affected Hyundais and Kias “outside in an open space and away from homes, other buildings, or materials that may be flammable, such as a garage or driveway.”

He claimed that six Hyundai and two Kia models were at risk from the defect in the ABS braking system.

An urgent recall was also issued on December 7 for the Hyundai Santa Fe due to a dangerous seat belt failure during manufacturing.

In the event of an accident, “metal fragments can be thrown at high speed towards the occupants of the vehicle and cause serious injuries.”

Jo Ucukalo of handlemycomplaint said that other models were at risk of “catastrophic engine failure” during which the brakes “harden up” and the power steering stops working.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Hyundai for comment.