Hyundai Recall: 300,000 Vehicles' Seatbelts Could Cause Injuries

Hyundai is recalling 294,128 Hyundai and Genesis vehicles in the U.S. over a front seatbelt problem that could become dangerous in a crash, even if the belt appears to work normally in day-to-day driving. The recall is listed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as 26V218, and Hyundai's internal campaign numbers are 298-032G. This is yet another major Hyundai seatbelt-related recall in less than a year, which involved over half a million Palisade SUVs. This time, the problem seems to be with the snap-on clip at the base of the front seatbelts, which prevents the seatbelts from being fully secured to the seat frame.

Hyundai estimates that only 1% of the recalled population may actually have the defect. However, the concerning part is that this is not necessarily a problem a driver would notice before a crash. The seatbelt may still buckle, retract, and feel normal, but if the lower anchor is not secured correctly, it may not restrain the driver or front passenger as intended during impact.

So far, the Korean automaker claims it is aware of six U.S. reports connected to the condition, with no known crashes, injuries, or fatalities. That last part is good news, but not assuring enough to ignore the recall; a seatbelt only has to fail once for the consequences to become severe.

The largest population affected by this recall involves Hyundai's latest Santa Fe lineup. Hyundai says 158,001 gas-powered Santa Fe SUVs from the 2024-2026 model years are included, along with 95,268 Santa Fe Hybrid SUVs from 2024-2026 model years. The recall also includes 35,149 Hyundai Ioniq 6 sedans from 2023-2025 and 5,710 Genesis G90 sedans from 2023-2026.

Owners will need to bring their vehicles to a Hyundai dealer or a Genesis retailer for inspection, where technicians will inspect the front seat belt anchors and add a reinforcement insert on the snap-on lower anchor. If the anchor or seatbelt assembly cannot be repaired with the new insert, the dealers will replace the entire seatbelt assembly itself.

The work will be performed free of charge, even if the vehicle is no longer covered by Hyundai's new vehicle limited warranty, and Hyundai says it will reimburse owners who already paid out of pocket for repairs related to this recall condition. The official filing does not include a "do not drive" or "park outside" warning, but owners should still check their VINs as soon as possible. To find out if your particular Hyundai is a part of this recall, look up your vehicle's VIN against Hyundai's official recall lookup page, or use NHTSA's VIN search.