Hyundai Motor Ordered to Fix Sonata Fault

Hyundai Motor Co. (KSE:005380) was ordered Tuesday by South Korea's state-run consumer protection agency to fix a problem with radiator coolant that affects hundreds of thousands of Sonata and Grandeur models.

The problem was discovered by the Korea Consumer Agency after it repeatedly received complaints that "contaminants" were found in the radiator coolant of some of Hyundai's two best-selling models.

The models affected are 275,000 NF Sonata models produced between August 2004 and May 2007 and 173,000 Grandeur TGs produced between May 2005 and May 2007, the agency said in a statement.

"Regardless of production years, such contaminants begin appearing in the models with more than 3,000 kilometers," the agency said.

The problem occurred because a Hyundai Motor plant in Asan, 42 kilometers south of Seoul, had used improper water for the radiator coolant, according to the statement.

Owners of the two models are to be offered a free repair by Hyundai Motor, the statement said.

Officials at Hyundai Motor's public relations team weren't immediately available for comment.

Hyundai Motor is South Korea's biggest automaker.