New information this morning regarding an investigation the Call 6 team has been following for months. Thousands of Kia and Hyundai vehicles have spontaneously caught on fire, however, only some of the vehicles have been recalled.
There are now two federal investigations into the situation underway.
Officials at the Center for Auto Safety said the issue could affect nearly 5 million vehicles in the U.S.
The issue has been affecting Kia and Hyundai vehicles for years. Pictures and video have circulated widely on social media showing vehicles like the Hyundai Sonata and Santa Fe and the Kia Optima, Sorento and Soul just bursting into flames.
It happened to David Hollis' Kia Soul in Indianapolis while he drove down Interstate 65 in December.
There has been a nationwide recall of about 500,000 of those vehicles, but many vehicles were not included — including Hollis' vehicle.
The Federal Highway Transportation Safety Administration is opening two investigations to see if more vehicles should be recalled.
"It's an investigation that's overdue," Jason Levine, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, said. "But the reality is investigations don't fix cars. Recalls get cars off the road, repairs get them fixed, that's really what we're focused on. But we're certainly happy this first step is being taken even though this first step is much later than what we would have liked to have seen."
The Center for Auto Safety said they originally filed a petition for the vehicles to be investigated last June, but there was no movement on it until this week.
