Owners have filed 23 complaints with NHTSA about this car, most about the electrical, acceleration and cruise control, and seats. The 9 checks below target those problems, in the order you would do them at the car.
2026Tick items off on your phone at the car, or print it. Ticks stay on this device.
0/9 checked
2026 Hyundai Palisade: inspection sheet
Before you go, or before you touch the car0/3
Engine off, key in hand0/1
Ask the seller not to warm the car up first0/1
At least 20 minutes, with some highway0/4
These checks are specific to this model year. For tires, body panels, fluids, and the other basics every used car needs, use the general inspection guide.
Nearby years usually share most parts, so their problems are worth checking on this car too.
Worth adding to your 2026 checks
Worth adding to your 2026 checks
EPA figures for each version of the 2026 Hyundai Palisade. Use them to confirm you are looking at the version that was advertised, and as a yardstick on the test drive.
| Version | Drive | EPA rating |
|---|---|---|
| 3.5L 6-cylGas | AWD, FWD | 20–21 mpg |
| 2.5L 4-cylHybrid | AWD, FWD | 29–34 mpg |
Owners report these failures starting around the mileages below. A car inside one of these ranges deserves a closer look at that part, or records showing it was already fixed.
Dead battery on new vehicle
225–500 miles
NHTSA complaints for the 2026 Hyundai Palisade, grouped by the part owners named. Open a row to read what goes wrong.
The digital instrument cluster goes black or restarts while driving. It takes the speedometer, tachometer, turn signal indicators and sometimes the head-up display with it. Some reports describe wrong speed and RPM readings, and the center screen can also black out and reset. Separately, the battery dies without warning on new vehicles under 500 miles, and some owners blame the digital key. Dealers often test the battery and find nothing, or say they can't fix the cluster unless it fails in the shop. One report describes the sunroof glass shattering while driving.
After startup, the speedometer can lag 7-10 seconds and read zero while the car is moving at highway speed. Driver attention alerts fire every few seconds to minutes while cruise control is on. After repeated warnings, cruise control shuts off and the car slows sharply at highway speed. One crash report describes unintended acceleration while parking at about 6,100 miles, with no warning light, ending in a collision with a parked car. One filing in this group actually describes a 2025 Tucson Hybrid.
Power-folding second-row seats keep moving when they hit a person. Both injury reports describe passengers getting pinned, one against the back of the front seat and one against the door frame while climbing out of the third row. A dealer confirmed there is no sensor to stop the seat. The only way to halt it is to press the button again, and a bumped fold button can start the motion. Owners flag children as especially at risk.
Hesitation, bucking and jolting at different speeds start almost as soon as the car is delivered and get worse over the first month. Dealers have blamed this on the car still learning the driver's habits. Hybrid fuel economy can fall to about 15 mpg against an expected 29 to 30 after a dead-battery episode. A strange noise and a failed dash cam were also reported. These problems show up at very low mileage, including 225 miles. One filing gives no details.
Excerpts from complaints Palisade owners filed with NHTSA, as written. Listen for the same symptoms on your test drive.
Batteries in the brand new 2026 Hyundai Palisade are failing by dying unexpectedly with under 500 miles on the vehicle. I have documented over 20 instances with new owners online. This is a safety concern because it can leave people stranded in cold weather. It appears to be an issue with the digital key. I contacted Hyundai and they are not concerned. They just test the battery and say they can't find anything wrong.
Filed with NHTSA, December 2025
Entire instrument cluster goes black while driving. Speedometer, odometer, tachometer, turn signal indicators, everything stops working and just a blank screen. Have a video of it happening. Took it to hyundai and they would not approve tear down to find what is causing and said that it is not a safety concern, yet this would cause the vehicle to fail safety inspection in our state.
Filed with NHTSA, December 2025
Complaints for this year next to the average for the other model years, area by area.
The 2026 has the fewest owner complaints of the 7 Palisade years we cover, well under the average of the others. Newer years have had less time to collect complaints, so compare like with like.
Recall repairs are free at any Hyundai dealer, but the seller may never have had them done. Check each campaign number against the VIN.
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2025-2026 Tucson Hybrid, Tucson Plug-In Hybrid Electric (PHEV), 2026 IONIQ 5, Santa Cruz, Kona, Palisade, Palisade Hybrid, Santa Fe, Santa Fe Hybrid, Sonata, Sonata Hybrid, and Tucson vehicles. Due to a software error, the instrument panel display may fail. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 101, "Controls and Displays.".
Risk: An instrument panel display that fails to show critical safety information, such as the speedometer or warning lights, increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: The instrument panel display software will be updated over-the-air (OTA) or by a dealer, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed March 27, 2026. Owners may contact Hyundai's customer service at 855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 293. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on January 28, 2026.
Cars shoppers compare with the Hyundai Palisade, with their own 2026 checklists.
2026 owner complaints, side by side
