What: An EPA engineering audit found inflated fuel economy ratings on eight Hyundai nameplates and five Kia nameplates in three model years: 2011, 2012 and 2013.
Number of mislabeled vehicles: 900,000, or 35 percent of Hyundai's and Kia's combined sales of 2011-13 models through Oct. 31
Black eye: Hyundai and Kia lost all their 40-mpg highway ratings, which they had touted in national advertising and at press events. For instance, the 2011 Hyundai Elantra's highway rating fell from 40 mpg to 38 mpg.
List of vehicles with revised mpg ratings: autonews.com/hyundaikiampg
Hyundai-Kia's explanation: Human error by test engineers caused the automaker to submit bad miles per gallon estimates to the EPA.
The remedy: Owners will take mislabeled vehicles to Hyundai and Kia dealerships, which will check odometers for miles traveled. The readings will be forwarded to the automaker, which will reimburse owners, via debit cards, for the extra gasoline they purchased to travel those miles with the lower fuel economy. The automaker will add an extra 15 percent to the reimbursement amount.
Typical example provided by Hyundai-Kia: An owner who drove 15,000 miles in Florida in a car with an overstated fuel economy of 1 mpg would receive an $88 refund on a debit card.
Dealership headache: Thousands of unsold vehicles at dealerships must get new stickers.
Consumer info: hyundaimpginfo.com and kiampginfo.com
Hyundai and Kia built their reputations with high-mpg vehicles in the past few years. But much of that marketing sparkle went poof last week.
