Hyundai Recalls Elantra and Tucson Again as Airbags May Not Deploy Properly

Hyundai has recalled two popular models in the United States for a potential airbag issue. Due to misassembled airbag sensors, the airbags in certain Elantra sedan and Tucson crossover models may not deploy correctly, increasing the risk of injury in a crash. This isn't the first airbag-related recall to hit Hyundai, as over 500,000 Palisades were recalled for a separate airbag fault earlier this year. The new Elantra/Tucson recall involves far fewer models but is still a significant safety risk, so here's everything you need to know.

Hyundai Airbag Recall

This Hyundai recall affects the following models:

• 2026 Hyundai Tucson, Tucson Hybrid, and Tucson Plug-in Hybrid
• 2026 Hyundai Elantra
• 2025 Hyundai Elantra N

In total, 2,931 of these Hyundais are implicated in this recall. Most of those are Tucson Hybrids, with 2,299 of these models specifically impacted.

According to the recall notice on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's website, these vehicles may have misassembled side impact sensors in the B-pillars. Specifically, these sensors were assembled with incorrect printed circuit boards. In certain crash scenarios, this issue can affect the timing of airbag deployment. If an airbag doesn't deploy at precisely the right time, it can result in an increased injury risk. Given that these sensors are located in the B-pillar, it likely affects deployment of the side airbags only, although the automaker didn't state this explicitly in the recall report.

Hyundai says it is unaware of any incidents, crashes, or injuries related to the fault.

What Owners Should Do Now

Hyundai will send out notification letters to affected vehicle owners by June 19, 2026. Before then, owners of one of these vehicles can visit the NHTSA website to find out if their model is affected. This can be done by adding the Vehicle Identification Number on the site. The Hyundai customer care service can also be contacted on 855-371-9460 for more information, using recall number 299. Affected models will undergo an inspection and have the impact sensors replaced if necessary, at no charge to the customer.

Airbag recalls continue to be fairly frequent, affecting multiple auto brands. Earlier in April, Ford had to issue a recall for faulty airbag sensors on the Bronco Sport and Maverick. Another airbag sensor issue hit Lexus in March, affecting the full-size LX SUV. These devices are potentially life-saving, but as they've become more effective, they've also become more complex. Sensors have become more advanced, allowing airbags to deploy only when necessary. They can also deploy at different forces, based on the size of an occupant in a certain seat, thereby limiting injuries to smaller or younger passengers.

Unfortunately, these safety devices are double-edged swords. They can save lives when operating correctly, but there's more that can go wrong, even on relatively new vehicles. It's the price to pay for vehicles that are far safer than previous generations.

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This story was originally published April 29, 2026 at 4:53 AM.