2025 Hyundai Palisade: What to check before buying

Brakes lose stopping power at low speed when a wheel hits a bump, pothole, rumble strip or uneven pavement. Drivers describe the ABS activating with no warning light, violent shaking, a pedal that feels disconnected, and the SUV sliding past stop signs or into intersections. Three reports involve crashes, including hitting a fence and rear-ending another car, and two describe injuries. Most cases occur on nearly new vehicles, often under 5,000 miles, and dealers often cannot reproduce the problem. A smaller group reports the car creeping forward while stopped or braking hard on its own.

Belts unlatch on their own while driving. The front passenger belt comes up most often, though second- and third-row belts also release, and some buckles never click shut. Federal recall 25V607 covers the defect, but owners report months of waiting for parts after the notice, with dealers unable to repair cars in the meantime. Other complaints describe second-row buckles sitting too deep to reach with a booster seat installed. One crash report says the shoulder belts failed to lock in a rear-end collision.

Braking over bumps or gravel sets off violent front-end and steering wheel shaking, and the car fails to slow. These reports read like the ABS complaints filed under brakes, and dealers often find nothing wrong. Separate reports describe rear shock failures. In one, a loud rattle was traced to bad rear shocks, and the replacements were back-ordered. In another, a rear strut assembly came loose at about 30 mph and the rear of the car dropped. One owner reports bouncing and lost traction while towing a trailer.

ABS engages during ordinary low-speed stops or over railroad tracks and entry gates, and the SUV slides forward several feet before it stops. One owner had to shift into park to stop rolling into traffic. Other reports describe every dashboard warning light coming on at once while the power steering stiffens, and a car that starts only with the key fob, not the push button or the phone app. One complaint cites recall 25V-291 without further detail.

Most of these complaints are about how the transmission behaves: hesitation when accelerating, failure to upshift when merging or passing, and one car that upshifted and pulled forward while coming to a stop at about 816 miles. Dealers often cannot replicate it. One owner reports engine knock and hesitation that progressed to misfires and internal mechanical failure. Another found rear seal and transmission leaks plus a 4x4 coupler that needed replacing. Several of these owners also report the low-speed ABS braking problem.

Windshields crack or chip easily. Cracks appear suddenly with no visible impact, sometimes at highway speed, and spread across the driver's line of sight. Other owners report an unusual number of rock chips and scratches within months, with chips turning into spiderweb cracks. One report describes a side window cracking at the same moment as the windshield. Most of these cars are under a year old, and owners describe the cracks as a distraction while driving.

Violent shaking hits the wheel when the car brakes over a bump or pothole at walking speed, and stopping distance grows. Drivers compare it to a blowout, and some say they lost control of the car entirely for a few seconds. No warning lights or codes appear, and several suspect the ABS. One car had 1200 miles when the problem started. Dealers usually cannot reproduce it, and one that confirmed it had no fix. These reports match the low-speed braking problem filed under brakes.

Lane keeping assist pushes the car toward one edge of the lane instead of the center and fights the driver's steering. One owner reports that the feature turns itself on with cruise control. Another describes the system steering hard toward the next lane at highway speed with heavy force on the wheel, again and again over 8 months. Owners point to the risk when passing wide trucks or when a car is closing from behind.