Hyundai is recalling nearly 30,000 Kona Electric vehicles due to an airbag software defect — SkimNews
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- Hyundai notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on November 4 of a recall covering 37,901 vehicles: 29,058 model-year 2019–2023 Kona Electrics and 8,843 model-year 2019–2022 Veloster Ns.
- Airbag control unit software can corrupt data during a system reboot or power interruption while writing to memory, causing the malfunction indicator to illuminate and the airbag system to deactivate under certain driving conditions.
- Hyundai was aware of 331 alleged incidents related to the defect as of October 22, 2026, with no crash, fire or injury resulting from them.
- Affected owners can take their vehicles to the closest dealer for a free airbag control unit software update.
- Hyundai expects to mail owner notification letters on January 1, 2027, while identifying the action under recall number 311.
- NHTSA lists the action under campaign number 26V728 and provides a Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 for more information.
Why it matters: For the 37,901 affected owners, the issue is a safety system that can deactivate after a reboot or power interruption, though Hyundai says the 331 alleged incidents produced no crash, fire or injury. Owners can get a free dealer software update, and Hyundai plans to mail notification letters January 1, 2027.
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