NHTSA Complaint #10934828 — 2011 HYUNDAI ELANTRA

IN MAY 2014 WHILE UTILIZING THE CRUISE CONTROL,APPLYING THE BRAKES DID NOT DISENGAGE THE CRUISE CONTROL EVEN WHILE MY HUSBAND WAS BRAKING TO DECREASE SPEED AS WE WERE ENTERING BASTROP, TX ON HWY 71. IT TOOK US BY SURPRISE, AND MY HUSBAND FINALLY MANAGED TO BRING THE CAR UNDER CONTROL BY PRESSING THE CRUISE CONTROL DISENGAGE BUTTON ON THE STEERING WHEEL. I TOOK OUR VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP WHERE WE PURCHASED THE CAR, AND THE DEALERSHIP REPLACED THE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH. ON SUNDAY, NOV. 27, 2016, WE WERE USING THE CRUISE CONTROL WHILE WE WERE TRAVELING SOUTHBOUND ON HWY 79 APPROACHING HEARNE, TX. THE CAR IN FRONT OF US SLOWED, AND MY HUSBAND BRAKED TO SLOW DOWN AS WELL, BUT IT SEEMED THAT THE CAR ACTUALLY SPED UP. HE LOOKED DOWN TO BE SURE THAT HE HIT THE BRAKE AND NOT THE ACCELERATOR. BY THE TIME HE LOOKED UP, WE WERE ABOUT TO HIT THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF US. HE HIT THE BRAKES HARDER, AND THE CAR SEEMED TO SPEED UP AGAIN. MY HUSBAND SWERVED TO THE LEFT TO AVOID HITTING CAR IN FRONT OF US, BUT THERE WAS ANOTHER VEHICLE NEXT TO US IN THE LANE TO OUR LEFT. FORTUNATELY, THE DRIVERS OF THE OTHER VEHICLES MANAGED TO SWERVE TO THE RIGHT AND TO THE LEFT SO THAT WE HAD ROOM TO PASS BETWEEN THE TWO VEHICLES. OUR BRAKES WERE SQUEALING, BUT THE CAR WAS NOT SLOWING DOWN. FINALLY MY HUSBAND MANAGED TO DISENGAGE THE CRUISE CONTROL AND PULLED OFF THE ROAD SO THAT WE COULD COLLECT OUR COMPOSURE. I RETURNED TO THE HYUNDAI DEALER IN ROUND ROCK ON NOVEMBER 29. THE SERVICE MANAGER TOLD ME THAT MY VEHICLE WAS NO LONGER UNDER WARRANTY, SO I WOULD HAVE TO PAY TO HAVE THE ISSUE FIXED. I KNOW THAT HYUNDAI AND KIA HAVE HAD RECALLS FOR DEFECTIVE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCHES ON OTHER MODELS, MODEL YEARS, AND I BELIEVE THAT THIS IS A CONTINUATION OF THE SAME TYPE ISSUE WITH MY VEHICLE. IT IS TRULY A SAFETY ISSUE, AND I THINK THAT HYUNDAI SHOULD FIX THIS AGAIN ON MY VEHICLE AT NO CHARGE.