Recall · 23V181000
Hyundai Motor America recalled 4 models over trailer hitches
Park outside and away from buildings until repaired. NHTSA issues this where it considers the risk immediate, and it stands until the repair is done.
584,784
Vehicles covered
4
Models
12
Model years
March 17, 2023
Filed with NHTSA
TRAILER HITCHES
- The defect
- Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2019-2023 Santa Fe, 2021-2023 Santa Fe HEV, 2022-2023 Santa Fe Plug-in HEV and Santa Cruz vehicles potentially equipped with a tow hitch harness installed as original equipment, or purchased as an accessory through a Hyundai dealership. Water accumulation on the tow hitch harness module printed circuit board (PCB) may cause an electrical short, which can result in a fire.
- What it can cause
- A fire while parked or driving can increase the risk of injury.
- What the dealer does
- Owners are advised to park their vehicles outside and away from structures until the remedy is completed. Dealers will install a new fuse and wire extension kit as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed starting May 16, 2023. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 244. This recall is an expansion of previous recall number 22V-633.
- NHTSA's note
- Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.
The repair is free, whatever the age or mileage of the vehicle, and whether or not you are the original owner.
Which vehicles
A recall reaches a range of VINs inside these model years, not every car built in them. Yours may not be covered even if it is listed here, and the only way to find out is NHTSA's own VIN lookup .
How this campaign compares
At 584,784 vehicles this is a bigger campaign than 98% of the 19,818 vehicle recalls filed since 1995 whose size NHTSA published. The middle campaign on file covers 472. It covers model years 2019 to 2023, so the oldest vehicles on it were 4 model years old when the defect was reported to NHTSA.
Hyundai vehicles have been recalled over the trailer hitches once before this, most recently in August 2022 as 22V633000. That is not evidence the earlier repair failed.
This site holds the complaint record for all 12 model years the campaign names. Their owners have filed 1,381 complaints with NHTSA, 350 of them before this campaign was filed. 13 of those name the trailer hitches, the system this recall is about — a count of complaints, not of this defect. The earliest of them reached NHTSA in October 2018, 4 years before this filing.
The vehicles on this campaign carry 9 other recalls published here, the newest being: 24V879000 (back over prevention), 23V038000 (structure), 23V028000 (fuel system, gasoline), 22V816000 (seat belts).
Check your own car
A VIN check is the only answer for a specific vehicle, and it also shows every other open recall on it, which is usually the reason it is worth doing rather than reading one campaign.
Filed by Hyundai Motor America with NHTSA on March 17, 2023 as campaign 23V181000. Every word of the defect, consequence and remedy above is NHTSA's published record of that filing, not a summary of it.
Compiled and maintained by guarledes . Data last checked 2023-03-17.
Independent developer and analyst