2026 Hyundai Kona rear center seat belt buckle failure risk
Hyundai is recalling certain 2025 Kona Electric and 2026 Kona vehicles because the rear center seat belt buckle may fail to properly restrain an occupant during a crash. Dealers will replace the buckle assembly for free.
What this means for you
Our assessment, not the agency’s: severity 3/5 (High).
Real risk of harm even if no illness or injury has been reported yet. Stop using the product and follow the agency's guidance.
Our severity reasoning: This is a structural vehicle defect affecting crash safety restraints with no reported injuries to date. Per the rubric, defects involving occupant safety during crashes qualify as High severity even without confirmed injury reports.
Plain-English summary
Hyundai Motor America is recalling certain 2025 Kona Electric and 2026 Kona vehicles. The seat belt buckle in the rear center seat may fail to properly restrain an occupant during a crash, increasing the risk of injury in a collision.
Passengers should not use the rear center seat until the recall remedy has been performed. Hyundai dealers will replace the seat belt buckle assembly at no cost. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed on September 11, 2026.
Affected owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460 for more information. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on July 15, 2026.
The recalled product
- Product
- HYUNDAI KONA, KONA ELECTRIC
- Brand
- HYUNDAI
- Manufacturer
- Hyundai Motor America
- Affected units
- 47,787
Is your product affected?
Check your packaging against the codes below. If any of them match, the product is part of this recall.
Model numbers (2)
- KONA
- KONA ELECTRIC
Distribution
Distributed nationwide across the United States.
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