Hyundai is pulling over 200,000 of its Elantra sedans out of the market due to defect in steering wheel.

In its report filed with the United States auto safety regulators, Hyundai said it ordered the recall after it found defects on Elantra's steering wheels.

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Hyundai fears this defect may cause the cars to suddenly revert to manual steering.

The move affects four-door Elantra sedans produced from June 1, 2008 up to April 30, 2010, as well as Elantra Touring hatchback 2009 to 2010 models.

Hyundai submitted this report to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The car manufacturer estimates that the defect might affect about three percent of the cars involved.

"Steering control can be maintained. However, the vehicle will revert to a manual steering mode, requiring greater driver effort, particularly at low speeds," Hyundai said.

As a result, Hyundai states "this could result in an increased risk of a crash."

Nevertheless, the carmaker says loss of power steering assist has not been considered a safety defect in the United States, when manual steering was maintained.

The company says, it has decided to launch this campaign as a safety recall.

It did not say if there had been any incidents that occurred as a result of the car's defect.

Prior to this issue, Hyundai had also expressed its desire to develop sporty version of cars.

However, it is brushing off suggestions that it should also develop sports cars. Hyundai said a sports car will be too much of a risk.

It added that it will cause some issues if the sister brand, Kia, ever decides to put the sleek GT4 Stinger concept into production.

At present, Hyundai is involved in World Rally Championships and it wants to imbue some of its road cars with the character of rally cars.

TagsHyundai, Car safety