Hyundai has identified a safety issue with its large sport utility vehicle (SUV), ‘The All-New Palisade’, and has halted sales of certain trims.

On the 14th, Hyundai stated, “When folding the power seats in the second and third rows of the All-New Palisade, under certain conditions contact with occupants or objects may not be detected,” and added, “Sales of the affected trims will be temporarily suspended.” According to Reuters, on the 7th a two-year-old girl reportedly died in an incident in Ohio in the United States related to the Palisade's power seat. It has been suggested that the vehicle's power seat may not have properly detected contact with a person or object, leading to the accident.

Hyundai intends to resume sales after enhancing the Palisade's anti-entrapment function. For vehicles already sold, the company plans a voluntary corrective action (recall) and will report it next week to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The aim, it explained, is to strengthen overall system safety by increasing the sensitivity for detecting occupants and objects and by limiting the power-seat folding function to situations in which the tailgate (rear door) is open.

The specific scope of the recall is being tallied, covering units produced through the 11th. It is expected to apply to 57,474 units in Korea and 74,965 units in North America. The All-New Palisade shipped roughly 100,000 units worldwide last year. In Korea, 59,506 units were sold.

Hyundai said, “We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience to our customers,” and added, “We will continue to make customer safety our top priority, thoroughly review all matters, and do our utmost to enhance trust and satisfaction.”