Hyundai recalls 47,000 Kona, Kona Electric SUVs over rear center seatbelt issue

• Hyundai issued a recall for 47,749 Kona and Kona Electric SUVs, which may have been manufactured with faulty seatbelt buckles in the rear center seat.
• Documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that the seatbelts in question may fail to restrain passengers in a crash.
• The recall covers the 2026 Kona as well as a handful of 2025 Kona Electric SUVs.

Hyundai issued a recall for 47,749 Kona and Kona Electric SUVs because they may have been produced with seatbelts that fail to restrain passengers in a crash. According to recall documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the recall covers a subset of 2026 Kona SUVs as well as a handful of 2025 Kona Electric SUVs. The former's recall population spans 47,733 vehicles, while the latter covers only 16 cars.

According to the recall paperwork, the issue stems from a manufacturing defect. The documents filed with NHTSA detail that the rear center seatbelts may have been produced outside of normal production specifications due to an improperly maintained stamping die used by a supplier. The lack of inspection resulted in wear from overuse and allowed for deviations from the normal production standards. According to Hyundai, die maintenance inspection standards improvements were implemented in January 2026 to combat the issue.

There's no prior warning that the seatbelt buckle may have the production issue, so owners are urged to avoid using the rear center seat until they have the fix installed.

Hyundai plans to notify both owners and dealers of the issue by September 11, with instructions for owners to bring their vehicle to a dealership for the remedy. Dealer technicians will replace the potentially faulty seatbelt buckle with an updated version. Any owners concerned that their vehicle may be included in the recall can check on the NHTSA website.