NHTSA has received 129 owner complaints about the 2026 Hyundai Palisade, or 129.0 per year on the road — far more complaints than typical (complaint index 3.20, where 1.00 is the average of all tracked vehicles). Among the 73 model-year 2026 vehicles we track, it ranks #72 of 73 by complaints per year (#1 = fewest). Against other Hyundai models its rate is 139% higher; against other Midsize SUVs it is 146% higher.
Counts are normalized by time on the road, not by sales volume: a popular model generates more reports than a rare one, and complaints are not verified individually. How we count
Complaints filed between 2025-10-01 and 2026-10-13. Median delay from incident to filing: 15 days.
129Complaints
129.0Complaints per year on the road
3.2Complaint index vs. all tracked vehicles
3Recalls
2.3%Share involving a crash or fire
126Last 12 months
Analysis
The previous model year (2025) drew 139.3 complaints per year, more than this one.
The most common problem area is Other (29.5% of complaints), followed by Electrical (20.2%) and Engine (12.4%). Other complaints are 16.0 times as common here as across all tracked vehicles. 3 reports (2.3%) describe a crash or fire; owners mention 11 injuries and 0 deaths.
Half of the reported incidents happened within 3 months of the model year's start; the busiest period was the first year (100% of incidents). In the last 12 months 126 new complaints were filed, versus 3 in the 12 months before — up 4,100%.
On September 21, 2026, at approximately 9:20 AM, while attempting to turn off the engine of the parked vehicle, the engine failed to shut down as commanded.
Engine · 2026-10-11 · ODI 11770447 · Crash
On August 30, 2026, I was driving my 2026 Hyundai Palisade Hybrid Calligraphy and was stopped in a fast-food drive-through line for approximately 15 minutes. Auto Hold was engaged, and for most of that time I also had my foot on the brake.
Other · 2026-08-31 · ODI 11760841 · Crash
"The vehicle is exhibiting a refueling safety defect due to EVAP venting failure. This is a known issue on Hyundai hybrid platforms. The dealership only tries to duplicate the issue and as it is intermittent has not been able to duplicate.
Fuel system · 2026-10-13 · ODI 11770912
The engine misfires and runs very rough when stopped in drive after highway driving, and the vehicle hesitates and struggles to accelerate from a stop.
Engine · 2026-10-12 · ODI 11770631
The 1 year old vehicle experienced a serious transmission/drivetrain malfunction that ultimately made it unable to drive. On September 3, 2026, while I was on the road, the vehicle stopped operating properly and had to be towed to the Hyundai dealership.
Transmission / powertrain · 2026-10-07 · ODI 11769694
Excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length. The ODI number is NHTSA's record identifier.
Summary: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2026 Hyundai Palisade and 2026 Hyundai Palisade Hybrid vehicles equipped with "Limited" and "Calligraphy" trim packages. The internal wiring within the third-row driver-side seat belt buckle may become damaged and result in a permanent display of a belted third-row driver-side seat on the instrument panel.
Risk: A faulty seat belt status indicator may fail to alert occupants to an unfastened seat belt, increasing the risk of injury.
Remedy: Dealers will install a wiring harness extension and replace the seat belt assembly, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed beginning May 8, 2026. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 297. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov March 21, 2026.
Summary: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2026 Palisade and 2026 Palisade Hybrid vehicles equipped with a Limited or Calligraphy trim package. The second and third row power seats may fail to detect a person. The seat may continue to move after contacting a person during powered seat functions, such as one-touch tilt-and-slide or automatic power fold-and-stow.
Risk: A person, especially a child, may become trapped by a rear powered seat, increasing the risk of injury or death.
Remedy: Owners are advised to exercise caution when operating the second and third row power seat functions until the repair is performed. Children are advised to not be in the rear seats or near the rear seating area during power-folding operation. The seat controller and the audio, visual, navigation software will be updated over-the-air (OTA) or by a dealer, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 14, 2026. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 296. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov on March 19, 2026.
Summary: Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2025-2026 Tucson Hybrid, Tucson Plug-In Hybrid Electric (PHEV), 2026 IONIQ 5, Santa Cruz, Kona, Palisade, Palisade Hybrid, Santa Fe, Santa Fe Hybrid, Sonata, Sonata Hybrid, and Tucson vehicles. Due to a software error, the instrument panel display may fail. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 101, "Controls and Displays."
Risk: An instrument panel display that fails to show critical safety information, such as the speedometer or warning lights, increases the risk of a crash.
Remedy: The instrument panel display software will be updated over-the-air (OTA) or by a dealer, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 24, 2026. Owners may contact Hyundai's customer service at 855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 293. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on January 28, 2026.
