(Adds details on the settlement)
WASHINGTON, Nov 24 (Reuters) - South Korean parts makers Continental Automotive Electronics LLC and Continental Automotive Korea Ltd have agreed to plead guilty to rigging bids for parts sold to car makers, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Monday.
The companies agreed to pay a $4 million fine, the department said.
They were accused of rigging bids for instrument panel clusters, which are dashboard instruments such as the speedometer, fuel gauge and the seat belt light.
The devices were sold to Hyundai Motor Co and Kia Motors Corp, and the conspiracy ran from about 2004 to 2012, the department said.
The plea agreement brings to 32 the number auto parts makers that have either pleaded guilty or agreed to plead guilty to price fixing or other violations of U.S. antitrust law as part of the department's long-running probe of the sector.
A total of 46 people have either agreed to plead guilty or did plead guilty as part of the probe, and of those, 26 have been sentenced to prison in the United States.
The Justice Department and antitrust enforcers worldwide have been probing price fixing involving more than 30 car parts, including seat belts, radiators, windshield wipers, air-conditioning systems, power window motors and power steering components. (Reporting by Diane Bartz.; Editing by Ros Krasny, Chizu Nomiyama and Andre Grenon)