The Seat Problem Isn’t Limited to the Third Row Anymore
If you recall, Hyundai’s rear-seat safety saga started with the third-row seats. That mess led to a stop-sale on the 2026 Palisade after a tragic incident, and the headache spread to the Kia Telluride since both SUVs share the same power-folding seat setup.
Now, the same kind of trouble is back, but this time it’s haunting Hyundai’s flagship electric SUV. The 2026 Ioniq 9 is under recall because its second-row power-folding seats might not notice if someone or something is in the way while folding or stowing. That means the seats could continue moving even if something – or someone – is in the way.
The mechanism may differ from the Palisade’s third-row setup, but the problem is all too familiar: powered seats that don’t know when to stop. This recall hits the fancier Ioniq 9 trims with powered second-row seats, such as the Limited, Calligraphy, and Calligraphy Design models.
More Than 5,000 SUVs Are Included in the Recall
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)’s recall document, 5,360 units of the 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 9 are part of the recall. The SUVs were built between March 17, 2025, and May 4, 2026 at Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America in Georgia.
Hyundai says the culprit is the software running the second-row power seats. Sometimes, the system just doesn’t get the memo when it bumps into a person or object while folding or stowing itself.
Hyundai said it began its investigation in March 2026 after its North American Safety Office spotted eyebrow-raising results when comparing power-folding seat performance across different models. Over the next few months, Hyundai teamed up with an independent engineering firm to run biomechanical tests and build gear that could measure how much force these seats were exerting.
The verdict? Testing revealed the second-row power seats were flexing more muscle than Hyundai’s own safety limits allow, which pushed the automaker to green-light a recall.
Hyundai
Owner Complaints
By the time Hyundai made its decision, it had five complaints on the books, including two alleged reports of minor injuries. No crashes or fires, thankfully. But if you’ve been lurking in owner forums, you’d know people have been swapping stories about these seats for months.
“I have the Ioniq 9 Calligraphy and have had two near misses where the seat almost crushed my kids. I notified Hyundai and they immediately escalated the situation and they have the car at the dealership and is sending an investigator. So scary,” one owner wrote on an Ioniq 9 owners’ forum.
These kinds of posts popped up long before Hyundai went public with the recall. More than a few owners say their powered seats just kept on closing, even after bumping into passengers or stuff in the way, while some said theirs had no issue at all.
Here’s What Hyundai Will Do Next
Hyundai’s advice for now is to be extra careful with those second-row power seats until the fix is done, especially if kids are anywhere near the folding zone.
The fix isn’t rocket science. Dealers will check the seat controller software and load in an update that tweaks the anti-pinch logic for the rear power seats. If your Ioniq 9 is hooked up to Hyundai Bluelink, you might even get the update over the air. Hyundai’s already rolling out the updated software in new builds, so if your Ioniq 9 is fresh off the line, you should be in the clear.
Hyundai will start alerting dealers and owners in November, and the repair won’t cost you a dime. If you already shelled out for a fix, you might be able to get your money back through Hyundai’s recall reimbursement program.
