Possible settlement in overstated Hyundai gas mileage claims

Hyundai Motor Co. agreed to settle a group of lawsuits by U.S. customers who said they were misled into buying the South Korean carmaker’s vehicles because it overstated their fuel economy.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs said in a filing Wednesday in federal court in Los Angeles that Hyundai agreed in principle on terms of a settlement. The actual amount Hyundai would pay wasn’t disclosed. Kia Motors Corp., which was also sued for misstating its cars’ miles-per-gallon, is evaluating whether to join the settlement, according to the filing.

Hyundai and Kia, South Korea’s largest and second-largest automakers respectively, said in November they would issue debit cards to buyers of about 900,000 vehicles sold in the U.S. in the past two years to reimburse them for higher-than-expected fuel expenses.

“Procedural errors” at a joint testing facility in South Korea led to the inaccurate fuel-economy ratings, the Seoul- based affiliates said last year.