Driving in the Dark? Kia & Hyundai Sued Over Allegedly Faulty Headlights

A group of drivers say they’ve been left in the dark by Hyundai and Kia, with the automakers allegedly selling them vehicles with faulty headlights and then refusing to fix them. 

Plaintiff Ahmand Young filed a proposed class action lawsuit against Hyundai and Kia on March 20 in a California federal court, alleging violations of state and federal consumer laws. 

He says the automakers pumped out vehicles with defective headlights that get fogged up and unfocused without warning, leaving drivers in dangerous night-time situations. 

Young is now looking to represent anyone who bought or leased any 2020-present Kia Telluride vehicle or 2020-present Hyundai Palisade, claiming the companies knew the cars’ headlights were faulty, but sold them anyway.

Plaintiff afraid to drive at night

Young filed a lawsuit after having an issue with his own car, he says. The Santa Ana, California resident says he bought a new 2022 Kia Telluride in 2021.

Shortly after, he says he started having issues with his Kia Telluride headlights. The headlights wouldn’t produce enough light, he says, and he couldn’t see far enough ahead of the car while driving at night, leaving him feeling unsafe.

“He sometimes drives with high beams to compensate for the low visibility because of the headlight defect, but even the high beams do not produce sufficient light,” the lawsuit says. 

Young has even stopped using his car at night and in certain weather conditions where he doesn’t feel safe, the lawsuit says. “Plaintiff is in fear of, and in danger from, unilluminated pedestrians, animals, and road hazards while driving at night.”

Young says he took his car to the dealership to get the issue fixed, but – more than a year later – says he has not received a permanent repair under warranty for the issues.

Faulty, foggy headlights

Young says the issue with the headlights is that they are made in a way that does not seal out moisture and humidity sufficiently.  

As a result, the light coming from the lamp is dim and becomes “progressively dimmer over time” with the high beams failing to illuminate entirely – often without warning, he says. 

Other times, the headlights can become improperly aimed and fail to properly illuminate ahead of the vehicle, or become “extremely fogged and unfocused,” the lawsuit alleges.

Young says the defect presents a significant safety hazard. Drivers like himself are unable to see at a distance in front of them while driving at night, putting them at risk of missing potential road hazards, including people, animals, and objects. 

Automakers won’t repair headlights, lawsuit alleges

Despite the alleged headlight issues, Kia and Hyundai refuse to fix the problem, Young states.

While the vehicles are sold with a 6-year/60,000-mile warranty for Kia, or a 5-year/60,000-mile warranty for Hyundai that purports to cover the headlights, drivers say they were denied repairs and replacements both within and just outside those warranty periods.

Young says this is evidenced through publicly available reports to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in which drivers state they are being charged for headlight repairs within the warranty period. 

As a result, Young is suing for violations of California consumer laws, breach of warranty laws and fraudulent concealment. He’s seeking certification of the class action, damages, fees, costs and a jury trial. 

The plaintiff and proposed class are represented by Capstone Law APC and Berger Montague PC.

The Kia Hyundai faulty headlights class action lawsuit is Young et al., v. Hyundai Motor America Inc. et al., Case No. 8:24-cv-00690-JVS-ADS in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.