Hyundai Tucson seat belt problems

Filed Oct 6, 2026 · Seat belts · IL

Summary of Safety Defect: The rear center seat belt female buckle assembly is severely crushed due to a design or clearance defect. This damage occurs during normal use when folding down the rear seats. The vehicle is nearly brand new, and the rear seats have only been folded down twice. When the male end is inserted, it will latch into the crushed female housing but immediately becomes permanently stuck. Safety Risk: In the event of an accident or emergency evacuation, an occupant restrained in the rear center seat could become trapped in the vehicle due to the jammed buckle mechanism. Alternatively, the compromised plastic and metal casing could fail entirely under the stress of a crash, leading to structural breakdown of the restraint and potential occupant ejection. Additionally, this defect completely removes the vehicle's utility for a family of five. Because the middle seat cannot be safely utilized, I am unable to transport my family of five safely. Dealer / Manufacturer Actions: The vehicle was presented to D'Arcy Hyundai for diagnosis and repair. The service department denied warranty coverage, claiming the component suffered "external damage" rather than a manufacturing defect. This decision was escalated directly to Hyundai Corporate, who reviewed the dealer’s findings and formally backed the denial of coverage. A review of online consumer forums reveals that this is a widespread design flaw reported by many other Hyundai owners facing similar buckle damage from normal seat operation. The manufacturer refuses to acknowledge that standard operation of the folding seats directly damages their own critical safety components.

Filed Aug 26, 2026 · Seat belts · MO

Rear, middle seat belt will not latch. Upon the first need, June 2026, of having to have five people in the 2024 Tucson we discovered that the rear, middle seat belt would not latch. This created an unsafe situation of driving in downtown Houston with an occupant being unable to be safely restrained in the rear, middle seat. Dealer has confirmed a defective rear, middle seat belt, but will not repair under warranty. Dealer claims the seat belt was damaged by the folding down rear seat.

Filed May 23, 2026 · Seat belts · TX

The rear seat belt is stuck. The vehicle was only 3 months old when it was noticed. Originally, I thought the constant beeping about the rear seat belts was due to this error, but it is 2 separate issues.

Filed May 4, 2026 · Airbags, Seat belts · 15,960 miles · NJ · crash · 1 injury

The contact leased a 2025 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH, another driver cut her off while in an intersection which activated the emergency brake system. As a result, the contact was hit from behind by another vehicle. The air bags did not deploy and the seat belt failed to secure the contact and thrusted her forward. The contact did not seek medical attention but days after the accident, the right side of her neck, right lower shoulder blade, right inner thigh, right side of her chest, left side sciatica, lower right abdomen, and lower back. The authorities arrived at the scene and a police report was filed. Despite the failure and the damage to the vehicle, the contact managed to drive the vehicle home. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 15,900.

Filed Apr 26, 2026 · Electrical, Seat belts · FL

(the federal safety agency Tracking Number 11726105) I am updating my existing complaint regarding my 2024 Hyundai Tucson (the federal safety agency Tracking Number 11726105) for an ongoing safety concern involving an intermittent warning chime while driving. This issue began shortly after I purchased the vehicle in Nov 2025 and has been reported to the dealership multiple times over several months. The warning chime occurs randomly while driving without any visible warning message or dashboard alert. This creates uncertainty because I do not know what the vehicle is trying to warn me about, which is distracting and creates a safety concern while driving. The dealership previously replaced both front seatbelt buckle assemblies after identifying intermittent high resistance as a possible cause. However, after that repair was completed, the warning chime occurred again while I was driving to the dealership for a follow-up visit. This confirmed that the issue was not fully resolved. I immediately returned the vehicle to the dealership, and they are now performing further diagnosis. I was advised that if the issue reoccurred, the next possible areas for diagnosis could involve the instrument cluster or the control module, both of which are safety-related systems connected to warning alerts and seatbelt functions. In addition, during this same visit, the dealership confirmed there is an actual oil leak requiring repair. This is significant because when I first raised this concern after an outside inspection in December 2025, I was told it was likely leftover residue from a prior oil change. The dealership has now confirmed it is a real leak and kept the vehicle for repair while providing a loaner vehicle. Because this vehicle was sold as Certified Pre-Owned and these safety and mechanical concerns continue shortly after purchase, I remain concerned about the reliability and safety of the vehicle.

Filed Mar 27, 2026 · Seat belts · 78,361 miles · TX

The contact owns a 2016 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that while attempting to buckle the driver's side seat belt, the seat belt failed to buckle securely, and the seat belt failed to retract as designed. The contact had not attempted to pull on the seat belt and the seat belt was unable to buckle securely. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The local dealer was contacted dealer and referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline for assistance. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 78,361.

Filed Mar 12, 2026 · Seat belts · FL

Yesterday used front passenger side seatbelt and it worked fine. Today it did not work at all, seatbelt does not latch.

Filed Feb 4, 2026 · Seat belts, Seats · MD

the federal safety agency Vehicle Safety Complaint Report I am submitting this complaint regarding a serious safety defect involving the rear seatbelt in my 2025 Hyundai Tucson Limited. The vehicle currently has approximately 6,000 miles, and this issue has created an extremely dangerous situation for passengers. While traveling out of town, the rear passenger seatbelt suddenly jammed and would not retract or release properly. The belt became completely stuck and unusable. Three adults attempted to safely unjam the seatbelt, but it would not retract or function as designed. Because the restraint system failed, the rear seating position became unsafe and unusable. We were forced to arrange alternate transportation for our passenger because it was not safe or legal for them to ride without a functioning seatbelt. This failure represents a major safety concern. A seatbelt is a critical safety component that should never lock up or become permanently jammed under normal use, especially on a nearly new vehicle with very low mileage. The inability to secure a passenger created a hazardous situation and could have resulted in serious injury if an accident had occurred. I am contacting Hyundai Customer Affairs today to formally report this safety issue. I will also be taking the vehicle to the dealership for inspection and repair, as I do not feel it is safe to drive the vehicle until the defective seatbelt is properly repaired and confirmed safe. Given that seatbelt failures directly impact occupant safety, I believe this issue requires immediate investigation. A restraint system that becomes stuck and cannot be used is unacceptable and poses a significant risk to drivers and passengers. I am requesting that the federal safety agency review this defect, investigate potential manufacturing or design problems, and determine whether other vehicles may be affected.

Filed Nov 13, 2025 · Electrical, Seat belts · 102,000 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the Brake Auto Hold was engaged unintendedly and failed to disengage upon pressing the button, which required the contact to turn off, restart, and drive the vehicle for some time for the Brake Auto Hold to disengage. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring. The contact stated that the infotainment system was inoperable. Additionally, the passenger's side rear seat belt failed to buckle as intended, and the passenger's side rear door handle fractured while the contact was opening the door. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 102,000.

Filed Nov 5, 2025 · Driver assistance · OH

I was driving on the road this morning approx. 25 mph (clear road, no rain, snow etc.) The car came to a full abrupt stop. Collusion/warning notification never came on (there was nothing in front of me) seatbelt locked. Car would not move. I put the car in park and had to turn the car off and back on to get the car to move. This honestly scared the life out of me. I had several cars behind me that could of rear ended my car and caused serious harm to myself or other drivers. I called the dealership (will be dropping off this evening) but they made it very clear that if they can not duplicate the problem there is nothing that they can do. The car has 8,000 miles on it and was purchased in April 2025.