Hyundai Motor America has told owners of 94,622 Genesis sedans to park outdoors, away from other vehicles and structures, until a repair is ready for front power seat motors that can overheat. The recall covers 2015-2016 Genesis and 2017-2020 Genesis G80 cars and carries federal campaign number 26V664000.
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No repair exists yet. The filing lists the remedy as under development, and owner letters are not expected until December 7, 2026.
A stuck seat switch and the motors behind it
The defect sits in the front power seats. According to the recall record in the federal recall dataset, a stuck seat control switch can overheat the front power seat motors, and the resulting fire can start whether the car is parked or being driven. The filing carries the blunt subject line “Park Outside: Fire from Overheated Power Seat Motors” and states the consequence in one sentence: a fire increases the risk of injury. The component is classified simply as seats, which means the problem lies in the seat hardware rather than in the engine bay.
The population is large for a luxury nameplate. Hyundai reported 94,622 potentially affected vehicles, and the recall report was received by regulators on October 9, 2026. The affected cars span two naming eras: the 2015-2016 sedans sold as the Hyundai Genesis and the 2017-2020 models sold as the Genesis G80 after the brand became its own division. Owners can look up a specific car by VIN, and the record notes that VIN searches opened on October 13, 2026. Hyundai’s internal campaign number for the action is 308/035G in the federal record, a reference that owners can quote alongside the federal number when they call.
Park outside, but keep the car in service
Hyundai’s interim instruction is to park outdoors, away from structures and other vehicles, until the repair is performed. The filing marks the fire risk as present while parked, which is the reason for the outdoor instruction, and it does not carry a do-not-drive order. Owners are therefore being told to change where the car sleeps at night rather than to stop using it. That distinction matters for a family that depends on a single sedan for commuting, because the instruction can be followed immediately without arranging a tow or a loaner, but it also means the cars remain on the road with the defect unrepaired.
Questions go to Hyundai at 1-855-371-9460 or to Genesis at 844-340-1200, according to the filing. Anyone unsure whether a sedan is included can enter its VIN on NHTSA’s recall lookup, which covers open campaigns from every manufacturer.
Not the first fire recall on these cars
This is the second time in recent years that Genesis sedans of the same vintage have been told to stay away from garages. In March 2021, Hyundai filed recall 21V-160 for 2015-2016 Hyundai Genesis and 2017-2020 Genesis G80 sedans, a population of about 94,646 vehicles. That report described an anti-lock brake module that could develop an internal electrical short and start an engine compartment fire, and the fix was a lower-amperage fuse. Until the repair, owners could keep driving but were advised to park outdoors and away from structures.
A second, separate campaign followed in early 2024. As reported by the Press Trust of India in February 2024, Hyundai recalled more than 90,000 Genesis vehicles, including 2015-2016 Genesis and 2017-2019 G80 cars, because water could enter the starter solenoid and cause an electrical short. The same park-outside advice applied, and dealers were to install a relay kit at no cost. Each of the three campaigns involves a different component, so the 2026 seat-motor recall is not a repeat of an earlier defect, yet the overlap in model years means some owners may now be dealing with a third notice. A completed fuse or relay repair from an earlier campaign does not address the seat motors, because those parts are separate, so owners who finished one recall should still expect to schedule another visit once this remedy is released.
Genesis owners face a December letter and an outdoor-parking order
The timeline is the unsettled part. Under federal rules summarized on NHTSA’s recall page, manufacturers must remedy a defect by repairing it, replacing it or offering a refund, at no cost to the owner, and must notify registered owners by first-class mail within 60 days of telling the agency about the recall decision. For this campaign the mailing date of December 7, 2026 falls inside that window, but the repair itself has no announced date because the engineering is still under development.
Until a dealer can replace or modify the seat parts, the park-outside instruction is the only protection on offer. Owners who share a garage with living space, or who park beside a home, are the people for whom the advice matters most, since a fire that starts in a closed garage can spread to the structure before anyone is aware of it. The recall filing does not describe how many incidents prompted the action, so the number of reported fires is not known from the record. Owners can watch the federal listing for a posted remedy description, and a call to the Hyundai or Genesis lines above is the quickest way to confirm whether a particular VIN has been assigned to the campaign.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.
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