A new review campaign once again puts Hyundai under the microscope in the United States. This time, the company detected a possible problem in the seat belt of the rear center seat of thousands of Kona units, a situation that, although it has not caused accidents or injured people, led the brand to act preventively.

Read also: Hyundai's electric SUV that already thinks beyond the city

The measure involves 47,749 vehicles between the Hyundai Kona 2026 and Hyundai Kona EV 2025 versions marketed in that country.

You can read: FIAT 500 electric prepares its great return for 2030

The alert has already been presented to the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which published the details of the recall campaign.

The problem is concentrated in one part of the belt

Hyundai's investigation found that the possible defect is located in the seat belt buckle corresponding to the center seat of the second row.

According to official documents, some of these parts would have left the production line without completely meeting manufacturing specifications. If one of these buckles fails during an accident, the belt may not properly restrain the occupant, increasing the risk of injury.

The company clarified that the problem does not affect the other seat belts of the vehicle and that it only compromises certain components manufactured in a specific period.

The cause was in the manufacturing process

Internal inquiries pointed to a supplier in charge of manufacturing the buckles. Hyundai explained that a stamping tool used in production was not properly maintained, allowing some parts to vary outside of established parameters.

Furthermore, quality controls did not detect the wear of that tool in time. After discovering the situation, the supplier updated its inspection and maintenance processes from January 2026 to prevent the problem from recurring.

The investigation began in February 2026, after a dynamic test revealed the failure of a buckle installed in a Hyundai Kona. Months later, the brand confirmed that the risk was limited to certain production batches and decided to officially initiate the preventive recall.

The repair will be free

Hyundai will replace the rear center belt buckle assembly free of charge on all units included in the campaign. The new parts were manufactured once the supplier's production processes were corrected.

The repair will be free for all owners, even if the vehicle no longer has the original warranty. Until the time for the intervention arrives, the brand's recommendation is not to use the rear center seat until the component replacement is complete.

Notifications to owners will begin to be sent by mail during the second week of September 2026. Hyundai insists that only vehicles included within the identified manufacturing period will need to go to dealers for inspection and corresponding replacement.