Hyundai & Kia Airbag Control Unit Settlement

Who Is Eligible?

You may be eligible to file a claim if you:

• The class is everyone who, on 14 April 2025, owned or leased — or had previously owned or leased — a Hyundai or Kia Class Vehicle originally sold or leased in the United States or its territories. Entities count, not just individuals. That date is fixed: it is not where you stand today.
• Recalled vehicles, covered by NHTSA recall 18V-137 for Hyundai and 18V-363 for Kia, are certain 2011–2013 Sonata; certain 2011–2012 Sonata Hybrid; 2010–2012 and certain 2013 Forte; 2010–2012 and certain 2013 Forte Koup; 2011–2012 and certain 2013 Optima; 2011 and certain 2012 Optima Hybrid; and 2011–2012 Sedona.
• Unrecalled vehicles are certain 2011–2013 and all 2014–2019 Sonata; certain 2011–2012 and all 2013–2019 Sonata Hybrid; 2018–2023 Kona; 2022–2023 Kona N; 2019–2021 Veloster; certain 2013 Forte; certain 2013 Forte Koup; certain 2013 and all 2014–2020 Optima; certain 2012 and all 2013–2016 Optima Hybrid; and 2014 Sedona.
• Notice how often the word certain appears. Several model years sit on both lists depending on the individual car, which is why eligibility is settled by VIN and not by model year. The settlement site has a VIN lookup. Use it rather than trusting any list, this one included.
• One thing can move a car between lists. If Hyundai or Kia issue a ZF-TRW recall for an unrecalled model before the claims period ends, owners of that model become able to claim out-of-pocket expenses too.

How Much Can You Get?

The fund is $62,100,100 in payments and credits. Four things come out of it, and three of them are closed to unrecalled vehicles.

Out-of-pocket reimbursement is for recalled vehicles only. It covers what completing the recall actually cost you: a rental car comparable to your own or other transport while the work was done, towing to the dealer, childcare during the appointment, unreimbursed costs of repairing the control unit itself, and wages lost dropping the car off or picking it up. Own two recalled vehicles and you file two claims, as long as you are not claiming the same expense twice.

The residual payment is the part everyone can claim. It is capped at $350 for a recalled vehicle and $150 for an unrecalled one, paid per capita out of whatever is left once the out-of-pocket claims and settlement costs are met. You do not need to have spent a penny to claim it. Those caps can only rise if both sides agree and the Settlement Special Administrator approves, and anything left that cannot sensibly be distributed goes to charitable causes rather than back to Hyundai and Kia.

The new parts warranty runs ten years from 14 April 2025 and covers parts fitted during the recall, so a faulty replacement part is Hyundai and Kia's problem until 2035. It follows the car when you sell it. Scrapped, rebuilt, flood-titled, odometer-altered and track-modified vehicles are shut out. Unrecalled vehicles get nothing here unless their model is recalled later, at which point the warranty extends to those parts too.

There is also an inspection program, a loaner and rental program, and an outreach effort to get more owners through the recall.

How to File Your Claim

File with the administrator:

• Start with the VIN lookup at acusettlement.com. It is the court-authorized site, run by JND Legal Administration, and it tells you which of the two lists your car sits on. Everything else follows from that answer.
• File online from the same site. The claim form asks for your VIN and takes far less time than the postal route.
• What you need depends on which benefit you are claiming. A residual payment needs nothing but a completed claim form. An out-of-pocket claim needs supporting documentation for the expense: a receipt or invoice, or a signed affidavit if the paperwork is long gone. That affidavit route matters, because these recalls date back to 2018 and few people still hold a towing receipt from then.
• Prefer paper? Download the forms from the Important Documents page, or call 1-866-287-0740 and ask for a hard copy in the post. Mail goes to Hyundai-Kia Airbag Control Unit Settlement, c/o JND Legal Administration, PO Box 91478, Seattle, WA 98111. Questions go to HKinfo@ACUSettlement.com.
• Claims must be submitted electronically or postmarked by 8 April 2027.
• On timing, be realistic. Out-of-pocket payments go out after the Effective Date, which turns on whether final approval is appealed. Residual payments are calculated only once every out-of-pocket claim has been settled, so that money arrives after the claims period closes in 2027. A decision by the Settlement Special Administrator on an out-of-pocket claim is final and cannot be appealed.

Frequently Asked Questions