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Toronto-area driver of brand-new Hyundai traumatized by self-braking malfunctions

Markham, Ontario Tucson owner wants a refund after four dangerous stops caused by Hyundai Forward Collision Avoidance

Elliot Alder
Mar 09, 2021  •  May 20, 2021  •  2 minute read  •  Join the conversation
Tucson self-braking nightmare
Photo by Erica Mesa /CTV News Toronto

A Unionville, Ontario woman has been left with a car she deems unsafe to drive after four jarring incidents caused by one of the vehicle’s safety systems.  

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Erica Mesa purchased her Hyundai Tucson new in 2019, CTV News Toronto reports, but that it started malfunctioning just three months in. The first incident  brought the car from highway speeds to a standstill w ith four passengers on board. S haken but unscathed , she continued on and took the car to the dealer later that w eek.   

Hyundai’s Forward Collision Avoidance system automatically applies a vehicle’s brakes if sensors detect an impending front-end collision. Though these systems have relatively clean records  and have doubtless averted many collisions , the handling responses they trigger are not to be taken lightly.   

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The dealer  suggested  that  something might simply have blocked and triggered the sensor, but that   it should not happen again . Nevertheless,   the fault recurred two months later — twice within two days, in fact. Mesa had the vehicle towed .  She was told that moisture in the  system’s  inhibitor sensor  might have  sent a  faulty   signal to the Tucson’s computer, but that it had been replaced with an assurance that “it’s not going to happen again.”  

One year later, it has happened again :  “It was 120 km/h to zero in seconds. I really thought I was going to die… The person behind me almost hit me. ”  

The offending sensor has been replaced again, with a Hyundai Canada spokesperson telling CTV  News  that  “Our records show that the technicians found a damaged inhibitor switch, which was replaced under warranty and at no cost to the customer… The repair was also performed with a field engineer present. The vehicle was then road-tested extensively and no faults were observed.”  

For her part, Mesa no longer feels safe driving her $47,000 car, and feels that the dealership‘s  offer of a $21,000 trade-in cr edit  fails to match the severity of her case .   

“I don’t want to die driving this car,” she told CTV. “It’s given me such trauma.”  

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