Hyundai and Kia produce their own engines, and a recent manufacturing fault may result in the premature death of more than 1 million of those engines.
For the same problem, Hyundai and Kia made separate recall announcements. About 572,000 examples of the 2013-2014 Santa Fe and 2013-2014 Sonata are included in Hyundai’s recall. About 618,160 units of the 2011-2014 Optima, 2012-2014 Sorento, and 2011-2013 Sportage are included in Kia’s recall.
One of two engines—a 2.4-liter, direct-injected, naturally aspirated I4 or a 2.0-liter, turbocharged I4—powers each of the involved vehicles. The motors’ various production dates range from 2010 to 2014.
The problem is due to manufacturing mistakes. It appears that metal debris in the crankshaft oil passageways wasn’t properly wiped out, and a second mistake led to surface roughness in the crankpins (crank journals). The connecting rod bearings, which enable the connecting rods to move freely, may receive less oil as a result of these two issues.
The engine may begin to knock as the bearing ages from contacting a rough surface without lubrication. The engine may seize up and be doomed to the scrap heap if the driver doesn’t understand what’s wrong and the bearings fail. If the engine seizes while the car is moving, it also poses a safety risk.
In May, notice will be given to dealers and owners, the latter by first-class mail. Owners must visit the dealership so that mechanics can examine and perhaps replace the engine. Owners who have previously paid for repairs must follow certain procedures in order to receive reimbursement from Hyundai or Kia.
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Hyundai has produced 5 million engines in Alabama, and counting.
Birmingham, Alabama – The 5 millionth Alabama-made engine was produced by Hyundai today, marking a significant achievement for the company’s Montgomery auto plant.
Less than 12 years have passed since the facility first built a Lambda six-cylinder engine in May 2005.
Hyundai claims that its engine shops, which have been serving two auto factories since 2010—Hyundai’s auto assembly lines in Montgomery and those run by partner Kia in Georgia—had reached this milestone faster than any other engine assembly operation in the Southeast.
“Five million engines could be arranged in a straight line from Montgomery to California.”
Workers from the engine shop and executives from Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama (HMMA) came together for a luncheon to celebrate the accomplishment.
According to Chris Susock, vice president of production at HMMA, “We would not have been able to celebrate this milestone if it weren’t for the great support of all our engine manufacturing and maintenance team members.” They have a history of working together to complete tasks while giving the highest priority to safety, effectiveness, and the greatest quality for their clients.
The Alabama Department of Commerce’s Greg Canfield commended Hyundai on the achievement.
According to Secretary Canfield, Hyundai is a vital component of Alabama’s auto industry, which continues to produce astounding numbers of engines and vehicles year. We are proud of Hyundai’s employees and the plant’s management for their dedication to producing high-quality, high-performance engines and automobiles for clients all around the world.
The Theta 2.0- and 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engines, as well as the Nu 1.8-liter 4-cylinder engine, are now produced by HMMA’s two engine shops. They can produce more than 700,000 engines annually and have a total workforce of more than 700 people.
Hyundai plays a significant role in the state of Alabama’s car industry, which continues to manufacture a staggering amount of engines and vehicles annually.
More than 1.75 million engines were produced in the state’s engine factories last year, including Toyota’s engine factory in Huntsville and Honda’s auto facility in Talladega County.
And just a month ago, Toyota celebrated the completion of its 5 millionth engine, marking another significant achievement.
Added Pete Branham, senior manager of HMMA’s engine production: “To ensure that every engine achieves the greatest standards of quality, our team members give their all to it. The foundation for the long-term success of HMMA and the Hyundai brand in the North American market has been laid by their reputation for excellence.”
To commemorate the occasion, Hyundai played around with the numbers:
- 5 million engines might be arranged in a straight line from California to Montgomery.
- 750,000 tons, or the equivalent of 150,000 elephants, would be generated by five million engines.
- More engines have been produced by HMMA than there are automobiles with Alabama registrations.
- If each of the 5 million HMMA engines went 150,000 miles, 750 billion miles would be covered, or more than 3,000 journeys to Mars.
Powertrain teams were transformed into EV development units by a South Korean carmaker.
The leading automaker in South Korea, Hyundai Motor Group, will stop creating new internal combustion engines in order to hasten its transition to an electric vehicle producer.
According to industry sources, Hyundai Motor Co., the bigger automaker in the group, shuttered its engine development division at its research and development facility on December 23. With around 12,000 researchers, the Namyang R&D Center in South Korea serves as the group’s brain.
In an email to staff, the newly hired R&D leader Park Chung-kook stated that the conversion to electrification is now unavoidable. “The invention of our own engine is an excellent accomplishment, but we must alter the system to foster future innovation based on the excellent resource from the past.”
The decision was made at a time when the global car industry is transitioning to EVs more quickly than anticipated. An internal combustion engine and transmission are not required for an electric vehicle (EV), which uses an electric motor as its power source.
The late Chung Ju-yung, founder of the Hyundai Group and the grandfather of the current chairman of the Hyundai Motor Group, Chung Euisun, commanded that the business produce its own engines, which led to the establishment of the engine development team in 1983.
The Alpha engine, which Hyundai Motor presented in 1991 as its first self-produced item, was followed by the Beta, Theta, and Nu engines, which helped the Hyundai Motor Group become one of the top five manufacturers in the world.
To improve its EV development business, however, Hyundai Motor shut down its engine development branch this month after approximately 40 years.
Hyundai Motor has transformed its powertrain teams into units for electrification development. The powertrain is responsible for transferring engine power to the wheels on the ground. Previously, the powertrain development units were under the EV development units.
Only a few of the researchers from the engine design unit are still working on modifying current engines because the majority have transferred to the electrification design center. The powertrain performance development center is evolving into an electrification performance development center, while the powertrain system development center is evolving into an electrification test center.
The electrification development division has also developed a battery development facility in order to obtain breakthrough battery technology, which is essential to EVs’ competitiveness. The facility has teams for developing battery performance, designing batteries, and other tasks.
Chang Jae-hoon, President & CEO of Hyundai Motor, recently declared that the company would move swiftly to become an EV manufacturer.
Given the rapidly expanding global EV market, Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp. announced an aim to sell 1.7 million EVs globally in 2026, up from 1 million units in 2025.
Compared to predictions made in 2020 that the environmentally friendly cars would account for half of new car sales in 2040, EVs are forecasted to rule the worldwide market by 2030.
The immediate challenge, according to Park, is to create cutting-edge automobiles that can rule the market in the future. “This restructuring will serve as a pivotal beginning point for future reform in the coming year.”
The R&D Center will also concentrate on battery and semiconductor raw materials as these areas are anticipated to increase along with the global EV and autonomous vehicle sectors.
To speed up EV development, the corporation combined project management teams and product integration development teams in the R&D center.
From obtaining engines from Mitsubishi to supplying them to Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai
We had lunch with Dr. Hyun-Soon Lee, President of the R&D and Corporate Product Planning and Strategy Divisions of Hyundai-Kia Motors, yesterday after testing the new rear-wheel-drive Genesis sedan at Hyundai’s cutting-edge research lab and test tracks in Namyang, Korea. Dr. Lee started working for Hyundai in 1984, long before the business began selling cars in the United States (the Hyundai Excel, that gem of a subcompact, debuted here in 1986).
The Genesis is a significant accomplishment for this carmaker, which was founded only forty years ago as a satellite assembly facility for Ford’s U.K. branch to assemble Ford Cortinas for the Korean market. Dr. Lee emphasized this when he emphasized the company’s history. Aside from those kit cars, Hyundai’s first vehicle was the 1975 Pony, which was in fact created by Giugiaro. Throughout the 1980s, Hyundai obtained licenses to produce vehicles using Mitsubishi’s designs. Hyundai didn’t create its own engines until the 1991 release of the Alpha four-cylinder. That engine, which is currently utilized in the Accent, was proudly created by Dr. Lee.
Since producing its first engine seventeen years ago, the business has progressed to producing a wide range of four- and six-cylinder passenger car engines as well as a brand-new, ultra-modern V-8, the Tau, which is an option for the new Genesis luxury sedan. “Dr. Lee recalls that all began in 1990 when Toyota introduced Lexus. Although we were only observers, we wondered, “Why couldn’t we do it, too?” Our daydream at the time appeared absurd, but thanks to perseverance and hard effort, it has become a reality. We had no technology prior to 1991, when we created our first engine, and were entirely dependent on Mitsubishi. We had a huge confidence boost thanks to The Alpha, and we are now capable of doing anything. We could construct a $2000 people’s automobile or a supercar with 600 horsepower. But the vehicle you drove today—the Genesis—is the one we have always wanted to make.”
The soft-spoken Dr. Lee spoke on Hyundai’s technological achievements and expansion while overseeing a magnificent lunch at Rolling Hills, Hyundai’s opulent new hotel close to its Namyang facilities. Hyundai now provides technology for the 2.0-liter and 2.4-liter Theta engines for both Mitsubishi and Chrysler, reversing the connection it once had with Mitsubishi. In 2007, 1.9 million of them were constructed. Lee recalled that “Dr. Dieter Zetsche [leader of Mercedes-Benz] said that he would like to partner with Hyundai for four-cylinder engines” at this year’s Beijing auto show.
I’m not sure we want to share our technology, Dr. Lee replied after giving this issue some thought.
Richer than the cream of mushroom soup on the table was the irony. Here was the man who created a straightforward four-cylinder engine to free his business from dependence on one of Japan’s secondary automakers, and he was now able to consider offers for an engine-sharing contract from the most prominent manufacturer in the world. How swiftly the automotive industry is changing. And how fast you come to see that Hyundai is a serious competitor.
Engines from Hyundai and Kia models are utilized.
Yes, a lot of the engines used in Hyundai models are also used in Kia cars, and the reverse is also true. Several instances include:
- The Hyundai Kona, Hyundai i20, Kia Ceed, and Kia Stonic all have Kappa G3LA/G3LC engines.
- The Hyundai i30, Kia Ceed, and Hyundai Elantra all feature the Kappa G4LD engine.
- The Kia Rio, Kia Ceed, and Hyundai i20 all have Gamma G4FA engines.
- The Kia Ceed, Kia Rio, and Hyundai Accent all employ the Gamma MPI/GDI/T-GDI.
- The Kia Sorento, Hyundai Sonata, and Kia Stinger all use Theta MFI/GDI Turbo engines.
- The Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento both use the D4HB engine.
- The Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Stinger both use the Lambda MPI/DGI/T-GDI.
The Hyundai Motor Group will close its engine development division at the end of 2021 in order to focus more on its EV plans.
On December 23, 2021, the Korean company closed the engine development section at its Namyang R&D facility, according to sources, The Korea Economic Daily reported.
When the business launched a more aggressive EV push in late December 2021, CEO Chang Jae-hoon hinted that this change was in the works, though it wasn’t immediately apparent when it would occur.
The automaker’s newly hired research and development leader, Park Chung-kook, reportedly sent an email to staff members explaining the shift, writing: “Now, it is inevitable to convert into electric.
“The invention of our own engine is an excellent accomplishment, but we must alter the system to foster future innovation based on the excellent resource from the past.”
It is believed that a small team of engineers will continue to work on internal combustion engines, but they will be in charge of maintaining current models rather than creating brand-new gasoline and diesel engines.
The majority of drivetrain personnel have been transferred to teams developing EV powertrains. A new battery development center will be constructed, and existing development centers will be upgraded to function with electric motors.
The manufacturer will be able to meet its revised EV sales target thanks to the reallocation of resources inside the R&D division. The company’s new objective is to sell 1.7 million EVs in 2026, a significant increase from its previous target of 1.0 million EV sales in 2025.
Although the Hyundai engine development team was founded in 1983, it wasn’t until 1991 that the automaker’s first internally developed engines were put into production.
The 1.5-liter Alpha four-cylinder engine, which is available in both normally aspirated and turbocharged versions, debuted in the S Coupe.
When the second-generation Elantra, still known as the Lantra in Australia, was introduced in 1995 with the new Beta engine, which was available here in 1.8-litre trim, the task of replacing the company’s Mitsubishi-sourced engine designs stepped up a notch.
Since then, the business has created its own in-line three-, four-, and V6 and V8 gasoline and diesel engines.