Hyundai Kona recalled in Australia over rear centre seat belt buckle defect

The Australian recall

The Hyundai Kona has come in for a nationwide product safety recall in Australia over potentially defective centre rear seat belt buckles, with 14,551 examples of the small SUV affected. The vehicles were produced between 2025 and 2026, and CarExpert notes that no remedy parts are yet available to fix the issue. ¹

According to Hyundai's recall notice, quoted by CarExpert: "Certain rear centre seat belt buckle anchors did not meet specifications during internal testing. As a result, the seatbelts may not operate as intended." The notice adds that in the event of an accident, a seat belt not operating as intended could increase the risk of injury or death to vehicle occupants. ¹

What owners should do now

Hyundai is advising that, until replacement parts are available and the repair is completed, owners should avoid using the rear centre seat of affected vehicles. Once parts become available, Hyundai says it will contact owners in writing, asking them to schedule an appointment with an authorised Hyundai dealer to have the repair carried out free of charge. ¹

In the meantime, customers with concerns can contact Hyundai Customer Care on 1800 186 306. A vehicle identification number (VIN) list for affected vehicles has been published alongside the original recall notice, per CarExpert. ¹

The same fault in the United States

The buckle issue has also triggered a significantly larger recall in the United States. Hyundai Motor America recalled 47,749 Kona SUVs — 47,733 model-year 2026 petrol-powered Konas and just 16 model-year 2025 Kona Electric vehicles — over rear centre seat belt buckles that may fail, according to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and reported by WardsAuto, USA TODAY and FOX Business. ³⁴⁵

The recalled US vehicles were produced at various times between July 2025 and February 2026, though WardsAuto reports only around 1% of that recall population is estimated to have the defect. NHTSA's recall number is 26V452 and Hyundai's internal recall number is 306, per USA TODAY and FOX Business. ³⁴⁵

How the defect was found

Hyundai first became aware of the problem on February 3, 2026, when its seat belt buckle supplier informed the automaker of a test failure involving a rear centre seat buckle produced for the Kona, WardsAuto reports. Hyundai escalated the issue to its North America Safety Office, and met with NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation on June 24 before its North American Safety Decision Authority approved the recall on July 6 "out of an abundance of caution". ³

The supplier, South Korea-based Joyson Safety Systems, told Hyundai the issue may have resulted from inadequate inspection controls that allowed metal stamping dies used to make the buckles to remain in service beyond their intended lifespan, causing excessive wear. Hyundai has said it is not aware of any crashes, fires or confirmed field incidents related to the condition. ³⁴⁵

WardsAuto reports the replacement buckles will be manufactured to proper specification with properly maintained tooling, and that Joyson implemented improvements to die maintenance inspection standards in January. Hyundai first became aware of the issue in February after the supplier reported the test failure. ³

US remedy and timing

In the United States, dealers will replace the rear centre seat belt buckle assembly free of charge, and Hyundai will reimburse owners who paid out of pocket to have the buckle fixed, according to recall documents cited by USA TODAY and FOX Business. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed on September 11, and vehicle identification numbers became searchable on NHTSA.gov from July 15. US owners with questions can contact Hyundai customer service on 1-855-371-9460, referencing recall number 306. ⁴⁵³

As in Australia, US owners are advised to avoid using the rear centre seating position until the recall remedy is complete. Unlike the Australian campaign, no shortage of remedy parts has been reported in the US coverage. ⁴⁵¹

Related Hyundai recalls in Australia

Separately, CarExpert reported in April 2026 that Hyundai was recalling 3445 vehicles across six model lines — including the Kona, as well as the Tucson, Santa Fe, Palisade, Ioniq 9 and Sonata — over a software issue in which the instrument panel cluster may fail to illuminate vehicle speed, fuel level and other critical safety information. That recall, which covers 2025-produced vehicles, is unrelated to the seat belt buckle campaign; affected vehicles with Bluelink receive an over-the-air software update, while others require a free dealer appointment. ²