Silver Genesis G90s Recalled For Radar That's Scared Of Its Own Paint

We cover a fair amount of obscure and unusual automotive recalls, but this one might be a rare never-before-seen recall: Hyundai is recalling certain G90 sedans painted in Savile Silver because the paint can trick the front corner radar sensors into falsely detecting a vehicle merging and triggering the brakes. Ford might have the award for issuing the most recalls of any automaker, but Genesis might just take the crown for weirdest recall of the year with this one.

The official National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recall report shows that Hyundai submitted the recall on December 1, and it potentially includes 483 2023-2026 G90s, though it estimates that only 1% are actually affected. The recall only includes vehicles that are equipped with Highway Driving Assist hands-off driver assistance feature (HDA) and are painted Savile Silver. The recall says the front corner radar signals may reflect off the aluminum content in the paint, causing the car to apply the brakes without warning, which is not something that a nearly six-figure ultra-luxury car should do.

According to the description of the defect in the recall report, the issue appears when Saville Silver G90s are traveling with HDA active at speeds below approximately 12 mph, or when HDA is enabled along with the Lane Change Assist feature, activated by the driver moving the turn signal lever to the desired direction to change lanes. The issue is not supposed to affect G90s painted any color other than Savile Silver, but if you think your car is affected, look for an object in the instrument panel when HDA is enabled, or if Lane Change Assist is activated, the vehicle will sound an audible chime indicating that it detects an obstacle.

Hyundai advises all owners to refrain from using the HDA feature until the recall has been addressed. In order to correct the issue, dealers will seal the front bumper beam to prevent radar transmission through the structure. The production of Savile Silver-painted G90s was stopped on November 2, and the factory will begin installing sealed front bumper beams on the production line before reintroduction of the paint color. Dealers will be notified on January 30 next year, and owners are also planned to be notified of the issue on that date, too. The issue should appear in the NHTSA's VIN lookup tool, so you can see if your car is affected by the recall here.