Hyundai Motor America has become the first car maker to recall some models because newly engineered “smart” airbags required in some 2004 models didn’t perform as intended, Automotive News reported.

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According to the paper, Hyundai said the problem was minor and fixed easily – it found that sensors in the passenger seats of 2004 Elantras would turn off the passenger airbag improperly when an adult was present if the adult sat with his or her weight off the centre of the seat, the report said.

Hyundai America Technical Centre told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) it believes the defect was in Elantras produced between June 12 and August 11 this year – just 75 cars were delivered and all of them to Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

Hyundai spokesman Mike Anson told Automotive News the supplier, whom he declined to identify, discovered the problem during routine quality checks.

After the reprogramming of the systems, he told the paper, “Everything is fine.”

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