NHTSA Complaint #10561028 — 2008 HYUNDAI AZERA

I PURCHASED A USED 2008 HYUNDAI AZERA FROM A NON-HYUNDAI DEALERSHIP. SEVERAL DAYS AFTER TAKING POSSESSION OF IT, WE DROVE IT ON AN OVERNIGHT TRIP OUT OF TOWN. ON THE DRIVE BACK HOME, THE FRONT DRIVER'S SEAT, WHICH IS EQUIPPED WITH FULL POWER SEAT CONTROLS, MOVED FORWARD AUTONOMOUSLY, CRUSHING MY HUSBAND AGAINST THE STEERING WHEEL WHILE WE WERE ON THE HIGHWAY. HE QUICKLY PUSHED THE POWER SEAT CONTROL TO MOVE THE SEAT BACK, BUT AS SOON AS HE LET GO, THE SEAT WOULD MOVE FORWARD AGAIN. AFTER SEVERAL INCIDENTS OF MOVING THE SEAT BACK ONLY TO HAVE IT MOVE FORWARD AGAIN, HE PULLED OVER, GOT OUT, PUSHED THE SEAT BACK, AND GOT BACK IN. HOWEVER, ONCE HE WAS BACK IN THE CAR, IT MOVED FORWARD AGAIN. AFTER MOVING IT BACK YET AGAIN, IT DIDN'T MOVE AGAIN FOR A LITTLE WHILE. I CONTACTED THE SALES PERSON THE FOLLOWING DAY. HE SAID I NEEDED TO CLEAR THE "SEAT PREFERENCE" MEMORY (WHICH I SUBSEQUENTLY DID SEVERAL TIMES) BUT OTHERWISE HE (AND THE DEALERSHIP) DISAVOWED ANY RESPONSIBILITY. DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER, I DROVE ANOTHER CAR FOR SEVERAL DAYS. BUT, WHEN I WENT TO DRIVE THE AZERA, THE FRONT DRIVER'S SEAT WAS UP AGAINST THE STEERING WHEEL, HAVING MOVED ON ITS OWN SOMETIME AFTER THE CAR HAD BEEN PARKED/TURNED OFF. I CONTINUED TO FIND THE SEAT UP AGAINST THE STEERING WHEEL OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS, DESPITE IT BEING IN A NORMAL POSITION WHEN I HAD TURNED THE CAR OFF. THEN THE DRIVER SEAT START MOVING FORWARD WHILE I WAS DRIVING. I WAS ABLE TO OVERRIDE THE CONTROL TEMPORARILY. I PARKED THE CAR, BUT WHEN I ATTEMPTED TO GET BACK IN IT, IT KEPT PINNING ME AGAINST THE STEERING WHEEL. I FINALLY MANAGED TO HOLD THE SEAT SWITCH WITH ALL MY STRENGTH TO DRIVE THE CAR SEVERAL BLOCK HOME. IT HAS SINCE BEEN TOWED TO A HYUNDAI DEALERSHIP TO BE REPAIRED. GIVEN THE OTHER COMPLAINTS OF THE SEAT MOVING ON ITS OWN, I BELIEVE THERE IS A DEFECT IN THE SWITCH EQUIPMENT THAT HYUNDAI SHOULD FIX. *TR