Hyundai, Subaru recall cars to fix driveshafts that could fall off

This doesn’t happen very often: two unrelated automakers have recalled two very different cars to address nearly identical safety flaws. Hyundai and Subaru are instructing their dealers’ service departments to inspect more than 3,000 Genesis Coupe and Legacy/Outback models whose driveshafts could separate from the rear differential.

Hyundai’s is the bigger of the two (it covers 2,848 of the company’s rear-drive sports car, while Subaru’s looks after 185 of its Legacy sedan and Outback crossover cars) but the potential problem is the same: the bolts connecting the driveshaft to the rear differential may not have been properly tightened during assembly, and could separate while the car is being driven.

In most cases, this would simply render the car undriveable, but in the Subarus’ case, the loose driveshaft could damage the gas tank and cause a fuel leak. Put that together with sparks from the driveshaft dragging on the road, and you have a recipe for a car-be-que.

Technicians will check driveshaft bolts and nuts, and tighten (or, if necessary replace) them on cars where they’ve come loose.