Click to enlarge.
Hyundai Motor America is recalling ~135,386 model year 2024-2025 Santa Fe SUVs. The B+ terminal cover on the starter motor may be improperly installed, which can cause contact with the cooling fan assembly, potentially causing an electrical short, which can increase the risk of an electrical fire. Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama made the vehicles code-named MX5A.
The National Highway Traffic Safety administration discovered the potential safety problems when conducted a New Car Assessment Program (“NCAP”) front barrier crash test on a 2024 model year Sante Fe during November of 2024.
Dealers will inspect and reinstall the starter motor terminal cover, as necessary, free of charge as required by U.S. safety regulations. Owner notification letters are not expected to be mailed until 1 December 2025. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai’s number for this recall is 285. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall are searchable on NHTSA.gov. (unless the Republican shutdown of the government has caused this vital public health safety site to go dark – AutoCrat.)
Chronology
- November 20, 2024 – NHTSA conducted a New Car Assessment Program (“NCAP”) front barrier crash test involving a model year 2024 Santa Fe vehicle. During post-test inspection, smoke was detected from the engine compartment, indicating potential thermal damage. NHTSA notified Hyundai Automotive Technical Center, Inc. (“HATCI”) of the test results. HATCI and HMC immediately began investigating possible reasons behind the thermal event.
- December 5, 2024 – Hyundai’s North America Safety Office (NASO) received a Speak Up for Safety Report (“SUFS”) regarding the prior NCAP test result and thermal incident and began monitoring HATCI/HMC investigation into potential causality.
- January 21, 2025 – HATCI and HMC performed a joint inspection of the test vehicle at the test site, Calspan.
- February 17, 2025 – HMC performed an examination of parts recovered from the test vehicle.
- March 2025 – HMC and NASO continued to review and discuss the NCAP test findings. During an in- person meeting in Korea, HMC reviewed its investigation findings with NASO and indicated a potential shorting condition created with the starter motor and adjacent componentry within the engine compartment. An in-house testing plan, mirroring the NCAP test conditions, was developed to test various conditions of the starter motor and contact made with components in the engine compartment.
- April 23, 2025 – HMC shared bench test results that replicated a potential shorting mechanism through contact made between the exposed terminal of the starter motor and the cooling fan motor housing.
- April 24, 2025 – NASO issued a Field Investigation Request (“FIR”) to survey post-production vehicles for fitment of the starter motor terminal cover. The survey results revealed a number of vehicles exhibited partial or no coverage of the terminal. Based on this information, Hyundai began reviewing HMMA manufacturing records pertaining to the terminal cover installation process.
- May to June 2025 – NASO reviewed HMMA installation standard for the terminal cover. NASO conducted an on-site review of the assembly process and observed their current production condition noting no issues with the work standard.
- July to August 2025 – NASO coordinated additional surveys of port inventory and followed-up with HMMA on their associated assembly processes after NASOs visit. HMC performed durability tests through various engine operations and road surface conditions to determine if the cover could become unseated over time. The test results revealed that a correctly installed terminal cover will remain in place.
- September 10, 2025 – HMC provided confirmation that when the vehicle’s starter motor terminal cover was installed correctly, a short circuit condition did not occur during testing. September 25, 2025, based on a final review of NASO’s investigation findings to date, NASO convened its North America Safety Decision Authority (“NASDA”) and decided to conduct a safety recall of potentially affected U.S. market vehicles.
- As of the date of this filing, Hyundai is aware of one (1) U.S. NCAP test result with confirmed signs of a thermal event (recall P.R. spin for fire – AutoCrat). There are no field incidents, crashes, injuries, or fatalities attributable to this condition in the U.S.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Possible Fires – Hyundai Recalls 2024-2025 Santa Fe SUVs
Click to enlarge.
Hyundai Motor America is recalling ~135,386 model year 2024-2025 Santa Fe SUVs. The B+ terminal cover on the starter motor may be improperly installed, which can cause contact with the cooling fan assembly, potentially causing an electrical short, which can increase the risk of an electrical fire. Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama made the vehicles code-named MX5A.
The National Highway Traffic Safety administration discovered the potential safety problems when conducted a New Car Assessment Program (“NCAP”) front barrier crash test on a 2024 model year Sante Fe during November of 2024.
Dealers will inspect and reinstall the starter motor terminal cover, as necessary, free of charge as required by U.S. safety regulations. Owner notification letters are not expected to be mailed until 1 December 2025. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai’s number for this recall is 285. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall are searchable on NHTSA.gov. (unless the Republican shutdown of the government has caused this vital public health safety site to go dark – AutoCrat.)
Chronology
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.