This past week, it has been revealed that Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia had overstated the fuel economy of many of their models, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday. In response, Hyundai and Kia said that they will pay owners for additional fuel costs associated with the mileage difference. Meanwhile, the EPA will post new lower fuel economy figures for many Hyundai and Kia models on its website, fueleconomy.gov, and new window stickers will be printed for cars still on dealer lots.
According to the EPA, mileage figures on most car labels will be lowered by one or two miles per gallon. The discrepancies involve about 900,000 Hyundai and Kia vehicles already sold and on the road. The largest drop will be for the Kia Soul. Its highway fuel economy estimate will be lowered by six miles per gallon, taking it down from 35 mpg to 29 mpg. In addition, fuel economy for the Hyundai Elantra, a compact model that was named Car of the Year at last year's Detroit Auto Show, will be reduced by one mile per gallon. However, two of the automakers' most popular models, the Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima mid-size sedans, are not involved.
The fuel economy figures shown on automobile window stickers are usually based on testing done by the automakers themselves according to a strict laboratory testing procedure dictated by the EPA. In this case, Hyundai and Kia would be the ones conducting the testing. Then, the EPA tests about 15% of all models itself to ensure automakers are performing the tests properly and reporting accurate results.
While those audits occasionally result in fuel economy adjustments for a vehicle, this is the first time any automaker has shown such a consistent overstatement in its mileage results, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. According to Hyundai and Kia, this whole situation stems from a problem creating an error that involved a particularly complex part of the testing procedure.
In order to make up the problem, the automakers have agreed to issue debit cards to owners of models that were sold with overstated mileage figures. Vehicle owners will be able to take their car or SUV to their local dealership to have the odometer checked and the number of miles driven recorded.
Owners will then receive a debit card based on the miles driven and the average local price of gasoline, plus an additional 15%. Owners can then have their odometers checked and get a debit as often as they like as long as they own the car. For owners who have already sold their Hyundai or Kia vehicle, they will be able to receive a single debit card based on the mileage recorded on the car's bill of sale.
Personally, I applaud the initiative that the Environmental Protection Agency took to get the correct, accurate information out to consumers throughout the United States. By doing this, consumers will be able to make better decisions on what car they should purchase. In addition, I like the response that Hyundai and Kia both took in order to try and remediate the situation. Even though this problem shouldn't have taken place to begin with, it is great to see companies stepping up, admitting their mistakes, and offering a solution to those affected in order to set things right and move on. It is truly refreshing to see these actions being taken instead of doing nothing and hoping that the situation will disappear on its own.
Sources
http://money.cnn.com/2012/11/02/autos/hyundai-kia-mpg-overstated/index.html
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