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Hyundai Seat Belt Recalls Cover Pretensioners, Buckles, and Anchors
Exploding front seat belt pretensioners dominate the earlier Hyundai notices, repeatedly involving 2020-2022 Accent and 2021-2022 Elantra vehicles, including Elantra HEV models. The same deployment hazard appears in 2020-2022 Venue vehicles, 2021-2022 Santa Fe Hybrid vehicles, and 2022-2023 Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid vehicles. Later notices describe different restraint failures: buckles that may not latch in 2020-2025 Palisades, unsecured front retractors in certain 2025 IONIQ 5 vehicles, and anchors that may detach in specified Ioniq 6, Santa Fe, and Genesis vehicles. Separate notices address a misleading third-row belt display in certain 2026 Palisade trims and rear-center buckle restraint failures in specified Kona models.
Warning signs to watch for
- September 2025 Palisade buckle recall: the driver, passenger, and second-row window-seat buckles may fail to latch.
- March 2026 Palisade and Palisade Hybrid display recall: the instrument panel may permanently show the third-row driver-side seat as belted.
Can you keep driving? What the notices say
The listed notices contain no stop-driving or park-outside instruction. They do not tell owners to stop driving. The September 2025 Palisade buckle notice advises passengers to insert the belt firmly with a quick, direct motion and pull on it to confirm it is fully secured until repair. The July 2026 Kona and Kona Electric buckle notice advises passengers not to use the rear center seat until repair. Those instructions apply to their respective recalls; the other listed notices do not tell owners to stop driving.
What the free repair involves
The earlier pretensioner notices specify free replacement; the May, June, and October 2022 notices specify free caps. Other free dealer remedies include Palisade buckle replacement, IONIQ 5 retractor inspection and securing as necessary, and anchor inspection with reinforcement or replacement as necessary. The 2026 Palisade display remedy installs a harness extension and replaces the belt assembly as necessary; Kona receives buckle replacement.
Severity at a glance
| Severity | Recalls |
|---|---|
| high | 12 |
| medium | 1 |
Models affected most
Where owners report seat belts problems most
NHTSA owner complaints filed under seat belts for the Hyundai models and years in this guide. Complaints are unverified reports and are not limited to the recalled defects.
| Vehicle | Seat belts complaints |
|---|---|
| 2021 Hyundai Palisade | 108 |
| 2023 Hyundai Palisade | 78 |
| 2022 Hyundai Palisade | 70 |
| 2025 Hyundai Palisade | 61 |
| 2024 Hyundai Palisade | 54 |
| 2020 Hyundai Palisade | 50 |
| 2021 Hyundai Elantra | 27 |
| 2022 Hyundai Elantra | 23 |
Every recall in this group
| Date | Recall | Severity |
|---|---|---|
| Jul 14, 2026 | Hyundai Kona Rear Center Seat Belt Buckle May Fail | high |
| Apr 6, 2026 | Genesis and Hyundai Seat Belt Anchors May Detach | high |
| Mar 20, 2026 | Hyundai Palisade and Palisade Hybrid Seat Belt Display May Mislead | high |
| Nov 18, 2025 | Hyundai Ioniq 5 Seat Belt Retractors Not Secured | high |
| Sep 12, 2025 | Hyundai Palisade seat belt buckles may not latch | high |
| Sep 22, 2023 | Hyundai Kona Rear Seat Belts May Fail | medium |
| Oct 31, 2022 | Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid Seat Belt Pretensioner Explosion | high |
| Jun 27, 2022 | Hyundai Venue Seat Belt Pretensioners May Explode | high |
| May 19, 2022 | Hyundai Accent and Elantra Seat Belt Pretensioner Risk | high |
| Apr 1, 2022 | Hyundai Accent, Elantra Seat Belt Pretensioners May Explode | high |
| Mar 3, 2022 | Hyundai Elantra seat belt pretensioner may explode | high |
| Feb 9, 2022 | Hyundai Accent Seat Belt Pretensioners May Explode | high |
| Oct 13, 2021 | Genesis and Hyundai Models Seat Belt Pretensioner Risk | high |
Common questions
Which Hyundai models appear repeatedly in the pretensioner recalls?
Accent and Elantra recur in the pretensioner notices. The May 2022 notice covers certain 2020-2022 Accent, 2021-2022 Elantra, and 2021-2022 Elantra HEV vehicles whose front driver-side and/or passenger-side pretensioners may explode during crash deployment.
What does the Palisade buckle recall tell passengers to do before repair?
The September 2025 notice for certain 2020-2025 Palisades advises inserting the belt firmly with a quick, direct motion, then pulling on it to confirm it is fully secured. Dealers will replace the buckle assemblies free of charge.
Which Kona seat should passengers avoid until the buckle repair?
The July 2026 notice advises passengers not to use the rear center seat until repair. It covers certain 2024-2025 Kona Electric and 2024-2026 Kona vehicles. Dealers will replace the seat belt buckle assembly free of charge.
A recall applies only to specific vehicles. Check your 17-character VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.