LAKELAND, Fla — A central Florida man stuck with a $12,000 car repair bill after a water bottle spill will no longer have to cover the costs. After an Action 9 investigation made headlines around the world, his insurance company reconsidered and will pay for the costly repairs.
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Michael McCormick believed he would have to shell out the money himself to repair the Hyundai Ioniq 5 that’s just a couple of years old. Now, he’ll just have to pay a deductible of $250.
Action 9 reported last month that McCormick loved almost everything about his 2023 Ioniq 5.
“It’s instant torque, instant torque. And it surprises a lot of people how fast it goes,” he told Action 9 Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal.
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But in October, traffic slowed as he was driving on I-4. He had to hit the brakes. There was a 20-ounce water bottle in his back seat. McCormick said it flew forward and spilled.
“I felt it hit the driver’s seat, probably dropped out at that point, and I felt on my ankles a little bit of the water,” he said.
Within minutes, he said warning lights on his display started flashing. By the time he got home the turn signals didn’t work and the car wouldn’t shut off.
His local Hyundai dealership determined someone sitting in the seat with wet clothes or a water spill was likely to blame for frying wiring harnesses and told him sand on the floorboards could have also played a role.
The floor and the driver seat wiring harnesses have to be replaced. The total cost for the repair is estimated at $11,882.08.
McCormick said, “I was shocked. I was like, what am I… that’s a huge amount of money and not covered. I’m like, that’s not right, because I didn’t do anything wrong.”
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Hyundai wouldn’t cover it under warranty claiming it was caused by outside influence, not a defect. McCormick then filed an insurance claim, but State Farm denied it after determining it was due to corrosion building over time, not sudden accidental damage.
After the story aired on television, it made headlines around the globe, with auto websites and other media outlets picking up the story and many of them linking back to the Action 9 investigation.
McCormick believes it’s a design flaw that parts so critical to the operation of his SUV would be so vulnerable under the seats.
He said, “Kids are always spilling things in the backseat, or, you know, there’s a zillion cup holders everywhere. Things spill.”
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But this week, he got a welcome surprise. A letter from State Farm let him know it did an additional review of the wiring harness and has now adjusted its position and will cover the loss.
McCormick sent messages to the State Farm CEO and all members of the board of directors that included links to the original Action 9 story. He believes that helped lead to this change.
Unfortunately, the wiring harnesses are on back order so, he doesn’t know when it will get repaired, but he will now have some rental car coverage in the meantime.
State Farm said it couldn’t comment on specific customer claims, but wrote in an email:
With any claim our goal is to help our customer by reviewing the facts of their loss, identifying the damages and applicable coverage, and providing any payment available under the policy.
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