— Allegations of Hyundai Sonata unintended acceleration events have caught the attention of Singapore safety officials who are looking into claims of Hyundai Sonata cars that experience "unintended acceleration in reverse gear."
According to local newspaper reports, the investigation was opened after accidents were reported from a taxi company called ComfortDelGro, the largest taxi company in Singapore.
Although Sonata owners across the world have complained about unintended acceleration, most complaints have always involved cars speeding forward. This investigation is focusing on allegations involving incidents that occurred in reverse gear where the operators slammed into objects located behind the Sonata cars.
Hyundai Sonata owners have previously complained about unintended acceleration events, sometimes in situations that involved both driving forward and in reverse.
"...once ignition is on and put car into drive or reverse to pull out of space, the car races back and or forth. I must always be aware of this when pulling out from a parking space. I cannot go right into drive or reverse as the car will speed in both directions. I must keep my foot on the brake until car warms up. This is dangerous and alarming because it feels like the car will not stop!" - 2010 Hyundai Sonata owner - Staten Island, New York
Singapore officials say they have no idea what might be causing the reports and no conclusions can be reached at this early stage of the investigation. As for Hyundai, it will cooperate fully with any agency that has questions about the cars.
Hyundai customers have complained about accidents caused by unintended acceleration but previous government investigations found no problems with the Hyundai vehicles. For example, South Korean safety officials have tried to replicate what could be occurring when the acceleration events are taking place, but those officials concluded sudden unintended acceleration is not caused by mechanical or electronic problems with the cars.
Hyundai Sonata owners in the U.S. claim their cars can take off on their own and cause not only a scary ride, but also plenty of property damage.
"I was approaching a stoplight and as I was approaching stop light and attempted to put on brakes to stop. Instead of stopping the car the car sped up and didn't stop until I smashed into him. Car did not stop until collision occurred upon impact. I called insurance reported incident, and with this collision there was $1300 damage to his vehicle." - 2011 Hyundai Sonata owner / Harwood Heights, Illinois
A few years ago a different alleged Hyundai Sonata unintended acceleration event was investigated by the South Korean Ministry of Land, Transport & Maritime Affairs.
The incident caused serious injuries to the man and woman, both in their 60s, after their Sonata allegedly took off and out of control slamming into another vehicle while traveling about 80 miles per hour. (See video below)
South Korean officials said they could find nothing wrong with the Hyundai Sonata and blamed the accident on driver error.
