201 Sudden Acceleration Accidents Over 6 Years... Manufacturer Defect Acknowledgment Is '0'

70% of Accidents with Airbags Not Deploying
Increasing Trend in Sudden Acceleration Cases of Electric Vehicles

Although there are about 40 cases of sudden unintended acceleration (SUA) accidents involving automobiles every year, there has not been a single case where a defect by the manufacturer was acknowledged.

The majority of accidents occurred in vehicles produced and sold in large numbers by Hyundai and Kia Motors, and with the expansion of electric vehicle adoption, sudden unintended acceleration accidents involving electric vehicles are also rapidly increasing.

According to the 'Automobile Recall Center Sudden Unintended Acceleration Report Status' data submitted by the Korea Transportation Safety Authority under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to Hong Gi-won, a member of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, the total number of SUA reports from 2017 to July of this year was 201 cases.

Sudden unintended acceleration refers to a phenomenon where the vehicle accelerates beyond the driver's control and against their will. It generally involves the failure of the braking system, which increases the likelihood of major accidents.

Looking at the annual SUA accident report status, there were 58 cases in 2017, 39 in 2018, 33 in 2019, 25 in 2020, 39 in 2021, and 7 cases up to July 2022.

This means that an average of 39 suspected SUA-related automobile accidents occur each year. Considering accidents not reported to the Automobile Recall Center, the actual number of suspected SUA accidents is likely higher.

By fuel type, there were 72 cases involving diesel vehicles, 65 gasoline, 25 LPG, 20 electric, and 19 hybrid vehicles.

In particular, the number of SUA accident reports involving electric vehicles increased alongside the growth in electric vehicle adoption, with 4 cases in 2019, 3 in 2020, and 8 in 2021.

By manufacturer, Hyundai vehicles accounted for 47% (95 cases) of the SUA accidents, nearly half of the total. This was followed by Kia with 29 cases, Renault Korea 18, BMW 15, SsangYong 11, GM Korea 9, Mercedes-Benz 7, Volkswagen 6, Toyota 3, and Honda 3 cases.

Among the 201 SUA reports, 141 cases, or 70%, involved no airbag deployment. Hyundai had the highest number of non-deployment cases at 73, followed by Kia with 15, Renault Samsung 14, BMW 12, and GM Korea 8 cases.

Source: Office of Assemblyman Hong Gi-won

The Korea Transportation Safety Authority's Automobile Recall Center is a vehicle defect investigation system operated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, which continuously conducts comprehensive investigations on vehicles with sudden unintended acceleration.

Under the current system, the only remedy available to victims of SUA accidents is the automobile recall system.

However, there has not been a single case recognized as SUA caused by a vehicle defect, and both the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Transportation Safety Authority have yet to identify the cause.

It has been pointed out that the process of proving the defect after reporting to the recall center is complicated, and since the burden of proof does not lie with the manufacturer, it is difficult for consumers to receive actual relief.

Assemblyman Hong Gi-won said, "Since sudden unintended acceleration accidents can lead to significant casualties without warning, related ministries should devise ways to improve the relief rate for accident victims and establish accident prevention measures. To uncover the causes of the continuously occurring SUA accidents, active improvement efforts by manufacturers are necessary."