Hyundai Recalls 58,000 Palisade SUVs in Korea Over Seat Safety Defect

Hyundai Motor is recalling 58,000 Palisade hybrid SUVs in South Korea due to a safety risk associated with the seats. On March 24, South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport stated that the software controlling the second- and third-row power seats in these vehicles contains a defect that prevents it from detecting occupants or obstacles, potentially causing the seats to fold unexpectedly. This follows a fatal incident on March 7 in Ohio, U.S., where a two-year-old girl died after being pinned by a reclining third-row seat. Hyundai has halted sales of certain high-end trims and issued a recall for 68,500 vehicles in the U.S. and Canada. South Korea also reported two suspected injury cases linked to this issue last year. As an interim measure, Hyundai began offering a software update on March 20 to improve seat control logic—specifically disabling the automatic folding function with a single button press and restricting its activation to only when the tailgate is open. If hardware replacements become necessary later, the company could face costs of up to KRW 1 trillion (approximately USD 740 million) and potential class-action lawsuits.