Hyundai Motor confirmed on Friday that it has received reports of four minor injuries associated with rear power seats in its new Palisade sport utility vehicles, even as sales remain on hold following a fatal incident earlier this month.
The company initiated a recall on March 17 covering 68,500 new Palisade SUVs in the United States and Canada after the March 7 death of a two-year-old girl in Ohio. Hyundai said last week that it has suspended sales of its 2026 Palisade Limited and Calligraphy trims indefinitely while it addresses the seat issue.
Hyundai described the problem as involving second- and third-row powered seat assemblies that may not respond to contact with an occupant or an object as intended during activation of certain functions. The automaker said the March 7 fatality occurred in the third row.
Company filings indicate the investigation began in November after three initial reports of seat problems. At that time, Hyundai initially assessed the issue as posing a low safety risk to occupants. The automaker said it is still working to determine the root cause of the malfunction.
In addition to the fatality, Hyundai reported four minor injuries affecting second-row occupants. Across all reports, the company has received claims involving 17 unique vehicles.
As a remedial measure, Hyundai said it has begun deploying an over-the-air software update designed to improve how the system responds to contact with passengers, add additional operating safeguards, and enhance overall system safety. The rollout of the update has begun and will be distributed to affected vehicles.
Hyundai also reiterated safety guidance for owners: exercise caution when using second- and third-row power-seat functions and ensure no person, including children, and no object is in the seat or the seat-folding area before operating the power seat.
Context and next steps
The company continues its technical investigation into the seat assemblies while implementing software mitigations intended to reduce near-term risks. The root cause remains under review and Hyundai has not provided a timeline for concluding the investigation or resuming sales of the impacted 2026 Palisade Limited and Calligraphy trims.