Hyundai Recalls 95,000 Genesis G80s Because Their Seats Might Catch Fire, And There's No Fix Yet
If you own a 2015-to-2017 Hyundai Genesis or a 2017-to-2020 Genesis G80, Hyundai recommends parking your car outdoors and away from other vehicles or structures because its electric seat motors may light the whole car on fire. While this might not be quite as strange as the time Hyundai recalled silver Genesis G90s because their paint triggered the car's collision-prevention radar sensors, it's still a strange one.
Hyundai says the precursor to the conflagration is "an external impact with sufficient force" which may damage the switch assembly, causing displacement or misalignment of some internal components, which can cause the switch to jam and continuously operate the motor even when the car is off. This may cause the motor to overheat, thereby increasing the risk of a fire while driving or while parked. Simply put, if something has whacked your seat adjustment controls hard enough, the switch may jam leading to an overheated seat motor that catches fire whether the car is on or off.
The Korean automaker believes the issue afflicts 51,644 Hyundai Genesises (Geneses?) and 39,978 Genesis G80s that are equipped with non-memory power seats, and only about 1% of the 94,622 cars are believed to have the defect.
The issue has caused two real-world fires in the U.S., and more in Korea
According to the NHTSA Recall Report, Hyundai is aware of two real-world fires caused by the malfunctioning seat adjustment motor in the United States: One in a 2018 Genesis G80 that occurred in 2021, and a potential second case that occurred in August of 2022. Hyundai wasn't able to recover any parts from the first fire, but it did get the seat assembly from the second fire, which confirmed the switch that caused the fire was damaged by an external impact prior to catching fire. The recall report says "Hyundai received additional information related to power seat switch performance and associated thermal event allegations from the Korean market," so there must've been other fires there, too.
The carmaker recommends that all owners park their cars outdoors and away from other vehicles or structures until repairs have been performed, though the remedy is still in development at the moment. Until a remedy is established, Hyundai says to be on the lookout for a burning odor coming from the seat, and inoperative seat control switches. Dealers and owners are expected to be notified of the issue on December 6, but VINs should already be searchable on NHTSA's website, so check there if you're concerned about your car's involvement in this recall.