Hyundai Sonata (car)

2020: A withdrawal of 12 thousand sedans of cars because of the rejected clever valet

In the middle of April, 2020 Hyundai announced a withdrawal of 12 thousand Sonata sedans because of the rejected clever valet. Fault of electronics can lead to road accident.

The intellectual assistant to the remote parking of Hyundai is created to help the Sonata cars of 2020 of release to park with hard-to-reach spots. It allows the machine to perform the autonomous parking or departure from the parking space even without presence of the driver at the car. A system is capable to perform also independently setting of the car on the parking a backing on clicking by the driver of the corresponding button. But if in the software there is a failure, the machine just continues to move in the set direction.

In the middle of April, 2020 Hyundai announced a withdrawal of 12 thousand Sonata sedans because of the rejected clever valet

Such failure became the reason that the National administration of traffic safety recalled 11,870 Hyundai cars in the USA. The newest Sonata sedan of 2020 was the main vehicle in this list though the response also includes several Nexo crossovers with the electrical power unit on hydrogen fuel elements.

The software of Remote Smart Parking Assist (RSPA) does not stop the movement of the vehicle at failure detection of the RSPA system, said in the official statement of National administration of security. - the Inadvertent movement of the vehicle increases risk of collision.

It is quite simple to correct this shortcoming: dealers of Hyundai will just reprogram the clever valet of cars free of charge. It is expected that works on a response will begin on June 4, 2020. The Hyundai company stated that it did not receive messages about the accidents or injuries connected with this problem.

The technology of the remote parking supplies only the Sonata cars and as the new model of 2020 went on sale only recently, the response affects rather small amount of cars.^[1]

2019: The beginning of sales of the version with solar panels on a roof

At the beginning of August, 2019 Hyundai put on the market the first hybrid Sonata car with the solar batteries for accumulator charging located on a roof. The Korean car maker stated that use of batteries for 6 hours a day can provide up to 60% of energy of the automobile accumulator.

Panels will provide the sufficient power that Sonata could pass 1300 km a year. Hyundai adds a roof with solar batteries as the additional hardware for other models in the assortment. As the South Korean producer claims, equipment of hybrids solar panels will increase efficiency of use of fuel and will reduce emissions of a carbon dioxide gas.

The Hyundai Sonata sedan with solar panels on a roof

On the one hand hybrid cars, such as Sonata, have rechargeable batteries, than normal electric vehicles, smaller on volume, therefore such roof can be useful to drivers. However, as critics specify, solar batteries increase the cost and weight of cars, and is still not clear as far as they are effective in actual practice. It is noted that the solar battery is additional, but not main power supply of the accumulator.

Meanwhile Hyundai works on a roof with solar batteries of the second generation which will be translucent and to pass a part of beams in a cabin of the car. The hybrid Sonata car with solar batteries went on sale in North America and South Korea. In Hyundai say that the company is not going to sell it in other regions.

Hyundai is not the only producer of cars which decided to use solar batteries. The systems of charging from the sun are available as an option on Toyota Prius and Karma Revero. Besides, the Dutch startup of Lightyear works on the electric vehicle which will use solar batteries on a cowl and a roof for recharge of the accumulator.^[2]

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