Millions of Kia and Hyundai owners are one step closer to receiving a piece of the nearly $760 million settlement over car and SUV fires after a California federal judge granted preliminary approval to a class action settlement.
The settlement agreement would compensate Kia and Hyundai owners for an engine defect that caused thousands of vehicles to catch fire.
ABC Action News I-team Investigator Jackie Callaway first exposed the cause behind these fires in 2018.
UP IN FLAMES | The latest on the Kia/Hyundai fires investigation
The settlement deal – first announced last year – would cover reimbursement for past repairs and expenses, free repair or replacement of damaged engines and money for lengthy engine repairs, denied warranty coverage and loss of vehicle value.
The class-action lawsuit includes drivers who owned or leased the following vehicles with 2.0-liter or 2.4-liter gasoline direct injection engines:
- 2011-2019 Hyundai Sonata
- 2013-2019 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport
- 2014-2015 and 2018-2019 Hyundai Tucson
- 2011-2019 Kia Optima
- 2012-2019 Kia Sorento
- 2011-2019 Kia Sportage
Now that the settlement has received preliminary approval, notices are expected to be mailed out to the more than 4 million car owners affected.
A final approval hearing is scheduled in federal court for November.
One of the attorneys who filed the class-action case told the I-Team that Kia and Hyundai owners could start receiving checks from that nearly $760 million settlement fund by early next year.
