Ioniq 9 Recalled Over Power Seats That Won’t Stop for a Child

Hyundai Motor America is recalling 5,360 of its 2026 Ioniq 9 electric SUVs because the second-row power seats may keep moving after they press against a person or an object. It is the same kind of failure that led Hyundai to stop selling two Palisade trims in March after a young child died.

The recall covers Limited, Calligraphy and Calligraphy Design models built at Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America in Georgia between March 17, 2025 and May 4, 2026. Hyundai knows of five consumer complaints, including two alleged minor injuries, and of no crashes. Its North America Safety Office began benchmarking its power-folding seats across several models in March, brought in an outside engineering firm to build a fixture that measures pinch force, and found in August that the Ioniq 9’s second-row fold-and-stow seats pushed harder than the limit the engineers had set, while the third-row seats passed. The recall decision came on September 2, and revised seat software went into production the next day.

Hyundai stopped sales of the 2026 Palisade Limited and Calligraphy on March 13 after what it called a tragic incident in which a young child lost her life, and it recalled about 69,060 Palisades in the US and Canada whose second- and third-row seats did not detect contact. Carscoops reported that Hyundai says the Ioniq 9 uses different seat architecture, software, motors and suppliers from the Palisade, which is why it evaluated the SUV separately. The owner letters are scheduled for November 9, later than the October 1 date shown on NHTSA’s recall page, according to the recall report.

The defect: the second-row power seat logic may not detect contact with an occupant or object during powered functions such as automatic fold-and-stow, so the seat keeps moving.

The hazards: a person, especially a child, could be caught by a moving rear seat, increasing the risk of injury.

Components: second-row power seat units, left and right, part numbers 891P8-TD000 and 892P8-TD000, made by TSA

Affected vehicles: 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 9 Limited, Calligraphy and Calligraphy Design

Number of vehicles affected: 5,360

The fix: dealers will check the seat controller software and update the rear power seat logic with revised anti-pinch protection, free of charge, and owners who opted in to Bluelink updates can get the software over the air. Until then, Hyundai asks owners to make sure nobody, especially a child, is in the seat or the folding path before using the power functions.

Source: Hyundai Motor America’s filing with NHTSA

Owners should: watch for a letter from Hyundai Motor America, expected to go out November 9, 2026, or check their VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, where the affected numbers have been searchable since September 12. Hyundai’s number for this recall is 307.

Contacts:

• Hyundai Motor America customer service: 1-855-371-9460
• Hyundai Motor America recall number: 307
• NHTSA campaign number: 26V588000
• NHTSA vehicle safety hotline: 1-888-327-4236
• Check a VIN: nhtsa.gov/recalls