Hyundai Recalls 37,901 Kona Electric and Veloster N Cars Over Airbag Software Bug

Hyundai is recalling 37,901 vehicles after a software defect that can knock the airbag system offline. The haul includes 29,058 Kona Electric models from 2019 through 2023 and 8,843 Veloster N models from 2019 through 2022. Hyundai laid it all out in a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration dated November 4.

The culprit is the airbag control unit. According to documents filed with NHTSA, the ACU's memory can get corrupted if the system reboots or loses power while it's mid-write. When that happens, the airbag malfunction indicator light pops on and the airbag system deactivates — meaning it may not fire in a crash.

Hyundai says it knows of 331 alleged incidents tied to the problem as of October 22, 2026. The good news: none of them ended in a crash, a fire or an injury. So far this is a warning-light problem, not a body-count problem.

The fix is a software update to the ACU, done at any Hyundai dealer, free of charge. Hyundai plans to mail owner notification letters on January 1, 2027. Until then, owners with questions can ring Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460 and reference recall number 311.

Drivers can also reach the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 or hit NHTSA.gov. The federal campaign number for this one is 26V728.