FILE- This combination of file photos shows the logo of Kia Motors during an unveiling ceremony on Dec. 13, 2017, in Seoul, South Korea, top, and Hyundai logo on the side of a showroom on April 15, 2018, in the south Denver suburb of Littleton, Colo., bottom. Hyundai and Kia will spend $137 million on fines and safety improvements because they moved too slowly to recall over 1 million U.S. vehicles with engines that can fail. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced the penalties Friday, Nov. 27, 2020. (AP Photo, File)

By TOM KRISHER

AP Auto Writer

DETROIT — Hyundai and Kia must pay $137 million in fines and safety improvements because they moved too slowly to recall over 1 million vehicles with engines that can fail.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced the penalties on Friday. They resolve a three-year government probe into the companies’ behavior involving recalls of multiple models dating to the 2011 model year.

“It’s critical that manufacturers appropriately recognize the urgency of their safety recall responsibilities and provide timely and candid information to the agency about all safety issues,” NHTSA Deputy Administrator James Owens said in a statement.

Hyundai will pay $54 million and invest $40 million to improve safety operations under an agreement reached with the agency. The company must build a field test and inspection laboratory in the U.S. and put new computer systems in place to analyze data to identify safety issues. Another $46 million in penalties will be deferred as long as the Korean automaker meets safety conditions, NHTSA said in a prepared statement.

Kia, which is affiliated with Hyundai, must pay $27 million and invest $16 million on safety performance measures. Another $27 million payment will be deferred as long as Kia behaves.

Kia will set up a U.S. safety office headed by a chief safety officer. Both companies will have to hire an independent third-party auditor to review their safety practices, and they committed to organizational improvements to identify and investigate potential U.S. safety issues.

“We value a collaborative and cooperative relationship with the U.S. Department of Transportation and NHTSA, and will continue to work closely with the agency to proactively identify and address potential safety issues,” Brian Latouf, Hyundai’s chief safety officer, said in a prepared statement.

A message was left Friday seeking comment from Kia.

The U.S. safety agency opened its probe in 2017 after Hyundai recalled about 470,000 vehicles in September of 2015 because debris from manufacturing could restrict oil flow to connecting rod bearings. That could make the bearings wear out and fail, potentially causing the four-cylinder engines to stall or catch fire. The repair was an expensive engine block replacement.