The Hyundai Motor Company has issued a recall for 32,525 ix35s due to an issue with the airbags in the vehicles.
The ix35 is the South Korean automaker's top selling small SUV in Australia, according to Daily Mail. The recall includes models made between January 2011 and December 2013.
The airbag in the steering wheel may not be correctly secured. The recall also focuses on horns that may not work.
"An incorrectly tightened bolt could result in the misalignment of the airbag module, possibly affecting its deployment, and could also affect the operation of the horn," said Hyundai Australia in a statement about the safety issue.
"It will not cause the airbag to deploy unintentionally. (But) the effectiveness of the airbag could be reduced if the bolt is not tightened properly."
The recall is the second for the ix35 this year and is included in a recall of over 137,500 Hyundai vehicles from around the world. The global recall was announced this week, NEWS.com.au reported.
6,193 of the small SUVs were recalled in January because of a potentially faulty seatbelt pre-tensioner.
Hyundai said that there have been no reported incidents involving the faulty airbags, but added that customers may notice a rattle in the steering wheel, Daily Mail reported.
The automaker said only four SUVs needed to have their airbag bolts tightened during preliminary inspections.
A safety bulletin has been published on recalls.gov.au saying that Hyundai customers will be contacted by mail in the next few days to have their cars checked for free, NEWS.com.au . They will also be contacted to have the bolts inspected.
In Hyundai's earlier years, the company refused to issue recalls, even after the front suspension assembly of 46 Hyundai Excel vehicles collapsed while the car was in use in 1998.
Hyundai's recent safety campaign for the ix35is this year's 33rd vehicle recall, NEWS.com.au reported.
The biggest recall this year was issued by Toyota in April, and covered about 300,000 cars. 118,600 of these vehicles were Yaris small cars because the seats could slide forward, and 179,000 of them were HiLux utilities because of a potential failure in the airbags.
