CONSUMER NEWS
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Hyundais to Be Scrutinized: Federal investigators will take a closer look at 1986-89 Hyundai Excels to seek the cause of engine fires that have prompted dozens of complaints. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received reports of 49 fires in the Korean-made cars, spokesman Tim Hurd said. An estimated 837,000 are on the road in the United States. Agency engineers believe that the problem is linked to a pipe linking the air cleaner to the catalytic converter, Hurd said. When valves in the pipe malfunction, exhaust gases can ignite flammable materials around the air cleaner.
