Documents published by America’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show authorities were aware of a fault in the new Hyundai Palisade’s power-folding seats in August last year.
The car’s automatic folding seats should stop moving when an obstruction is detected, but sometimes fail to do so.
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As a result, the popular family SUV has been suspended from sale in Australia and the US ahead of a recall to address the problem.
Hyundai and US regulators were working on a solution to the problem when a two-year-old girl died in the third row of a Hyundai Palisade in Ohio on March 7.
The Summit County Medical Examiner ruled that her death was an accident, as she was “compressed by power folding seat in a parked SUV”.
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Ohio Police Lieutenant Michael Murphy told WEWS, a local ABC television news affiliate, that two children were inside the car with their mother when tragedy struck.
“The dad was doing some shopping, and they wanted to allow the children the room to just roam and play around in the car, but at some point — we’re not certain of how this happened — that button that releases the seat went down, and the child was trapped,” he told the TV station.
“It’s just a terrible tragedy all the way around. I can’t imagine what this family is going through, and I know that they’re looking for answers, as are we.”
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Police said they needed several minutes to free the trapped child.
A report lodged with the NHTSA in December said a passenger riding in the third row of a 2026 Hyundai Palisade “was squished between the second row seat and door frame of vehicle while trying to exit, and it was very painful”.
Tests at a Hyundai dealership in Washington later found that “if excessive force is applied to the seat back while it’s folding or sliding, it will not stop folding or sliding, which could cause physical injury”.
According to the report, the dealership “stated that there is no sensor to stop the seats from folding, even if there is an obstruction in the way, and that you must press the button again to stop it”.
“This is a safety concern for any passengers on the second and third rows, especially children.”
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Another report following an incident in Oregon in December a button that controls the automatic seats was “accidentally bumped while the person was trying to get situated and buckled”.
“The seat began moving and folding forward, pinning the passenger between the seat they were in and the back of the front seat,” the report said.
“This incident hurt the passenger who had the force of the seat against her and it frightened her very badly.
“If the door had been locked, the passenger would not have been able to be helped out and could have sustained worse injuries.”
Hyundai is rolling out a digital “over-the-air” update for the car that includes a warning to vehicle occupants on its main touchscreen.
A statement released by the manufacturer said: “Hyundai urges owners to use caution when operating the second and third-row power seat functions and to ensure that no person or object, including children, is in the seat or seat-folding area before operating the power seat”.
The car is expected to be the subject of a recall campaign that has not been finalised.
Hyundai will contact owners to arrange free repairs.
