A Crash Test Sparked A Recall Of Over 135,000 Hyundai SUVs

Hyundai Recalls 135,386 Santa Fe Crossovers Over Fire Risk

The 2024 and 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe may have an exposed contact, which can cause a short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire, especially after a crash.

Key Points:

• Hyundai is recalling 135,386 Santa Fe crossovers from the 2024 and 2025 model years.
• The vehicles may have a starter harness boot cover that isn’t fully seated over the starter motor’s “B+” terminal.
• This can lead to an electrical short and increase the risk of a fire in certain crash scenarios.
• The issue was discovered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration during a New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) front barrier crash test with a 2024 Santa Fe.

What Happened?

During the crash test, smoke was detected coming from the engine compartment. Hyundai investigated and found that the starter motor terminal cover was not properly installed in some vehicles. Although the issue appears to be rare, with only 1% of recalled vehicles affected, the company is taking steps to address the problem.

Fixing the Issue

Owners will need to take their vehicle to a dealership to have the starter motor terminal cover inspected and reinstalled if necessary. Notification letters are scheduled to go out in December, and the fix should take less than half an hour.

Images:

Image of Hyundai Santa Fe
Image of crash test
Image of Hyundai Santa Fe