NHTSA Owner Complaint Log
This page lists owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2020 Hyundai Palisade. Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA and do not by themselves prove a defect or defect rate.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026
Rear shocks stiff and making noise
Engine is sucking the life out of this vehicle meaning it is consuming more than normal oil. Oil consumption, I had the testing done. and Hyundai has done nothing about fixing the issues Well I am the second owner of this vehicle and it should be laws in place for the second owners of a vehicle. The first owner was keeping up on the maintenance of the vehicle so have I. I also have white smoke coming from the tailpipe. as well as stalling and stopping. I am still making payments on this vehicle and it is not far that I have to constantly get oil changes every month or sometimes twice a month seems like it. That is a lot of spending for something that should not be. It is so many people out there going through the same issues. It is a few Facebook group pages made behind this. It's truly sad that Hyundai will not fix this problem. What are we to do? Please Help.
Purchased a 2020 Palisade in March of 2024 with 76k miles on it. Asked the dealership we bought it from to look at the transmission after a week of owning the car, they said it was fine. I took it to Hallmark Hyundai dealership on 9/26/24 and they would not look at it until i had the transmission fluid flushed this was at 88430 miles. It was barely making it up a hill, we had the gas pedal to the floor and it was pulling back like it was going to stall. I scheduled to have the transmission fluid flushed at a local certified mechanic and he found tons of metal shaving and chunks throughout the fluid this was done at 89368 miles. I took it to Wilson County Hyundai after this was done and they said I needed a full transmission replacement this was done at 89643. They replaced the transmission, and on my way home from picking the car up there was metal grinding sounds coming from the transmission. I called Wilson County back and they asked me to bring it back, it was back on their lot less than 24 hours later. The transmission that was sent from the manufacture was a faulty transmission. The replaced the new transmission, and the sound stopped this was done at 89730 miles. After a couple thousand miles the metal grinding came back, along with the hard shifting, gear skipping, excessive vibration between gears, going up in RPMs but not shifting. I took it Jim Johnson Hyundai and they reset the Transmission adaptive, this is not fix the problem this was done at 96497. It back in the dealership now at Wilson county with the mileage of 99000 and their service manager told me they have 5 of them on their lot right now needing new transmissions. The car has less than 100k miles on it.
The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Palisade. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The contact also noticed smoke coming from the engine. There was no warning light illuminated. Additionally, the rear passenger’s seat belts failed to function properly and would inadvertently release while driving the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the engine, and the seat belt assemblies for all the rear passenger’s seats needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was contacted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 95,000.
The rear shocks on my vehicle were checked and the left rear is requiring replacement at approximately 33K miles. The leakage was gradual and after the ride became noticeably rough, I took it for diagnosis at Safford Brown in Fairfax, VA. A failed left rear shock was confirmed. I am replacing to make the ride bearable, and in researching the issue, learned of a TSB for my model year issued by Hyundai for rear shock problems. I will request that the dealer keep the bad components if needed for further action to be pursued with Hyundai. The service advisor also noted very uneven wear on three tires which I believe to be directly caused by the gradual failure of the shock. An alignment was recommended. I have been advised by the service advisor and technician that the right rear shock is intact and does not require replacement at this time.
Rear suspension with auto level function is not working properly. Rear is super stiff and bouncy ride over small imperfections on the road. Even with brand new tires it’s still an unpleasant ride. Rear passengers are not comfortable anymore.
On rainy days, the vehicle will start malfunctioning putting at risk my family's life and others. It appears to be an electrical problem according to dealer. It had 15 codes activated, all dashboard lights were lit and safety messages showed up, while driving. No power steering, emergency brakes were activated, transmission wouldn't change, a/c stopped working, temperature and tachometer were erratic. It is very scary because it happens while driving and an accident is imminent.
The rear shocks have failed multiple times on my vehicle. The original shocks failed under 50k miles. I had them replaced on February 14 with OEM shocks at the dealership. The replacement rear driver side shock began leaking last week, approximately 6.5 months after install. It is currently available for inspection upon request. Without properly working shocks, the car is more difficult to control over rough roads, and creates a safety hazard for myself and others. The original shock issue that was corrected in February was reproduced by the dealer and an independent service center. The new problem is self diagnosed, but is very evident when looking at part and surrounding area (fluid leaking from the shock and dirtying the surrounding parts). The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or other parties. There were no symptoms of the problem prior to failure.
The contact owns a 2020 Hyundai Palisade. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the sunroof glass fell off the track. The message that the sunroof was open was displayed. The local dealer was contacted, but the vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 95,390.
Rear shocks failing due premature wear and tear. There were/are no warning lamps and there was no singular incident (eg. accident) that caused this problem that I am aware. The passenger-side rear shock started exhibiting knocking noises in August 2024 when the car was 5 yo and had approx. 85000 miles. Since, the knocking is more frequent but not louder. Also, the ride has slowly become worse over bumps. Dealer confirmed problem.
While sitting at a stoplight with no moving passing traffic around my vehicle. There was a loud pop/crash sound that came from the roof. I pulled my car into a parking lot and found my sunroof had a large hole in the middle and was shattered. The glass is pushed upwards. My internal shade was closed, which kept glass from falling inside and on me. I was not hit by a foreign object, by all indications the glass spontaneously exploded.
My 2020 Hyundai Palisade has been a lemon from the beginning with numerous issues including a whistling sound when driving, a recalled trailer hitch known to cause fires, paint issues, rim paint issues etc… But the worst offender is the oil consumption issues. A few months ago I thought something was wrong with my transmission so I took my car to the dealership. I also had an oil change scheduled-which I get on time every time. It turns out that, in 7,000 miles (Hyundai recommends 7,500-10,000 miles between oil changes in their manual) I was down 5 quarts of oil-there were no leaks, my engine was using up the oil. My car only holds 6.9 quarts so I was almost out of oil which was causing driving issues including lack of power when starting up at lights, surging and bucking when stopping etc. The dealer refilled my car and told me to come back in 1000 miles. If my car used up more than 1qt of oil they would submit the problem to Hyundai. When I came back in 1000 miles I hadn’t lost much oil so I was sent on my way. In the next 1200 miles I was watching my oil levels closely. I took it into the dealership when it looked low and they put in 3/4qt of oil. In the next 1100 miles I took it in and they added almost 1qt of oil. Now I am starting the oil consumption process again. But honestly the requirement of being down 1 full qt in 1000miles in crazy. I would have to top off my car every 1000 miles just to be safe. And if I let it go for 2,000 or 3,000 miles my engine could seize on the freeway with my family in the car causing a terrible accident. Once I am down the 1qt/1000 miles Hyundai does an engine clean out. According to my dealership that may or may not work. Then I have to come in after 1000 more miles to check oil consumption. If the clean out didn’t work I am finally allowed to get an engine replacement. I have 2 warranties on this car and nothing applies until I get to 1qt/1000miles. This is unsafe, time consuming and a known EDI engine issue
I had just pulled into a (handicapped) parking space at my bank in Marana Az. as I prepared to stop with the brake still depressed, the car suddenly surged, with the tach going to 5000rpm. The vehicle jumped the sidewalk (with rear wheels making drag marks on the sidewalk. Vehicle shot up the slight rise , hit and demolished a concrete bench and some plants and was heading toward the main entrance when I shut the engine off with the ignition key. The car stopped less than 10 feet from the bank entrance. the car came close to going through the entrance shattering the glass doors and possibly injuring bank customers and employees. There was no warning, but this car has had 3 or 4 sudden engine surges before - about one every 1 1/2 years. Hyundai service has checked and denied any problems. On line queries indicate the surging problems are not uncommon. They happen without warning and result in serious injury and damage to people and property. Hyundai is stonewalling. Other drivers have similar events occur for sudden unintended acceleration (SUA) and suggest problems with the Electronic Throttle Control (ETC) including throttle position sensors. Our Palisade has less than 40,000 miles on it and has been well maintained, but Hyundai people refuse to acknowledge any problems - my wife and I consider that this car is a potential death machine.
In August of 2023, Stivers Hyundai located in Columbia, SC replaced the rear shock absorbers on my 2020 Hyundai Palisade Limited due to a rattling and knocking noise in the rear of the vehicle. The noise never completely went away, but was somewhat better. In July of 2024 the noise was back to the same noise as we were hearing in 2023. We took the vehicle to the dealership in August of 2024 complaining of the same noise previously heard. The dealership stated that we needed new shock absorbers (same as which they replaced a year ago) and which only had approx. 20,000 on them. When we explained that they had just replaced them a year ago, they completely dismissed our concern and noted that they needed to be replaced and offered no explanation as to why they would wear out in a years time. At the point we visited the dealership in 2024, the vehicle was no longer under warranty and we were quoted over $3,000 to fix the issue. In looking through other online forums, this appears to be a common issue with this vehicle. My thought is that there is an underlying issues that is causing this to happen that may not be addressed through simply replacing the rear shock absorbers. Maybe there is an issue causing the shock absorbers to wear out so quickly and that issue has not been identified. Nonetheless, shock absorbers should not wear out in 20,000 miles under normal (mostly interstate) diving conditions.
The car is approximately 3.5 years old (2020) and the engine failed. The symptoms of the engine failure are the exact failures of all of the other Hyundai engines that failed over the last 10 years which were recalled. There needs to be further investigation in all of the engines Hyundai is putting out to protect people. Hyundai offered to pay 50% of this because they know they are wrong, but they need to pay 100% of customer issues.
The analog display on the vehicle does not coincide with the actual speed of the vehicle, which appears correct on the digital / numerical display. This issue happens regularly (i.e. daily) after first appearing on or about July 25, 2024, and does not appear to be accompanied by the use of any other specific component of the vehicle. There are numerous reports online where other owners are experiencing the same issue.
While merging onto a highway, my 2020 Hyundai Palisade abruptly lost all engine power and stalled. This immediate and complete failure occurred at a critical moment, posing an extreme safety risk. All dashboard warning lights illuminated, but provided no specific diagnosis. The vehicle was towed to a dealership, where technicians determined the engine was consuming oil at an abnormal rate, despite a lack of visible leaks. I was instructed to participate in an "oil consumption test," a three-part process that required multiple oil changes and inspections over several months. Each time, the vehicle had burned over a quart of oil—a clear indication of a defect. Despite this evidence, Hyundai denied my warranty claim, accusing me of negligence for being unable to produce oil change records between 29,600 and 46,900 miles. This is a common and unacceptable tactic used to avoid accountability for a widespread issue. My experience is not isolated. Hundreds, if not thousands, of owners of 2020-2023 Hyundai models, including the Palisade, report identical engine oil over-consumption issues and subsequent power loss. This issue is a **severe safety hazard** that can lead to sudden, catastrophic engine failure and potential accidents. Hyundai's refusal to acknowledge this defect and issue a recall is **gross negligence**. They are knowingly allowing thousands of unsafe vehicles to remain on the road. There are currently federal lawsuits against Hyundai for this very issue. The transportation authority must force Hyundai to issue an immediate recall and remedy this critical defect before a tragedy occurs.
The seatbelts in the second passenger captains chairs will appear to be latched/locked in, and then when driving will unlatch. We have our daughters tug on them to assure proper locking and they will appear locked and still come unlatched frequently while we are driving. This problem has been going on and off since we owned the vehicle. It definitely puts the safety of our children at risk as they seatbelts clearly have a defect and I'm scared to think what would happen if this occurred during a car wreck. It often cannot be reproduced, which is why we haven't taken it to a dealer. There's no rhyme or reason as to when/why it occurs. It probably happens 3-4 times per month. In reading on-line forums with other owners of this vehicle, dealers are not willing to fix it due to its inconsistency. The seatbelts warning light does not always come on when this happens.
UNKNOWN The sunroof shattered as we were driving down the interstate. To our knowledge nothing hit the sunroof to make it shatter. We did not see any rocks or debris. This is a safety issue as if we wouldn’t have had the inside shade closed we would have been showered with glass while driving at highway speeds and could have been injured.
On Friday 6/28/24 I turned my vehicle on to drive to lunch. I put the vehicle in drive and started to move forward out of my parking spot when the following errors flashed on my dashboard in succession: "Check Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist System", "Check Lane Departure Warning (LDW) System", and "Check High Beam Assist System" and then the steering wheel locked while the vehicle was still moving forward. I put the vehicle in park, turned it off, turned it back on and there were no problems. On Saturday 6/29/24, the same series of events happened in the evening when turning the vehicle on from park. On Sunday 6/30/24 I turned the vehicle on in the morning and backed out of my driveway. When I put it in drive and started going down the road the same series of events happened again. This time, it did not resolved when I turned the vehicle off then back on, but happened 7-8 times in succession. The vehicle was not driven all day and when I turned it back on Sunday evening it seemed fine. I drove across town to meet a friend, put the vehicle in park to wait, then in drive (so it had been running for approx 30 minutes) and the issue happened again. On Monday 7/1/24 I had the vehicle towed to the dealership and the issue happened to the tow truck driver as he was getting the vehicle off of the truck. On Friday 7/5/24 I called the dealership and they have "verified my concern" but are not sure why it is happening. I am now waiting to hear back from them on this issue. I have read on an online forum that multiple people have had this same issue with the Palisade.
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? -The engine failed. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? -The vehicle stalled in the middle of a two lane road at the top of a hill, as well as in the middle of the highway. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? -Yes, the vehicle is currently waiting for a replacement engine because the original engine failed due to oil consumption issues. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? -No, the low oil light was never on. A warning code or light did not appear until the vehicle was stalled.
Driving along I94 then suddenly heared a popping sound when I checked the sunroof exploded/ shattered to pieces.
The rubber covering on the rear passenger side strut top insulator disintegrated twice. It was replaced in 2022 at 20,000 miles and now again in 2024 at 57,000. It was confirmed by the dealer and acknowledge that this is a known problem. The issue caused a loud knocking sound when I drove and vehicle instability. I was afraid to drive my vehicle until it was fixed. There were no messages, warnings or lamps that indicated what the issue was.
My driver seat belt has randomly popped off while driving it has happened 4 times since I bought this used 2020 palisade at the end of February it’s very scary and i don’t feel safe in this car. I don’t think it has happened with my kids seatbelts but I don’t trust them , I do not have the exact dates
My 2020 Hyundai Palisade slipped into neutral while slowing down in traffic. Was able to quickly pull over, brake and put back into drive. Happened 3 more times while slowing down for turns on my way home. All happened under 15 mph and had a slight grinding sound when placed back into park, drive then accelerating. Plan to take it to the Hyundai dealership tomorrow, but scared to drive it!
Noise and rough going over bumps in the rear
On 4 occasions the vehicle completely turned off while I was driving down the avenue. It turned on all the lights on the front panel before turning off completely.
UNKNOWN. Rough idling. Throwing itself into park & turning the engine off but dash stays on like engine is running. Engine, oil, battery, theft light does come on when this happens but go away after starting car. Has been to mechanic multiple times but showing no codes & unable to figure out the cause of it. The car can not just idle either. Has been going on for over 6 months.
The engine started running rough and when I checked the oil it was 4 quarts low. Despite the oil being more than half empty, the oil light on the dash never came on. This is dangerous and will end up hurting future owners or those who don’t get enough mileage on the vehicle within their warranty timeframe.
The shocks have failed and are noticably loud and will drop out hard whenever there is any bump which while turning could cause serious safety issues. This has been a common issue from what I have seen.
Current mileage is 51,130. When slowing down to come to a stop;the engine shakes, vehicle stalls out, cuts off, and goes into park. No service or warnings lights where on the dash. I am able to re-start the engine after it stalls out. This has happened several times and now the engine is shaking and trying to idle down under normal driving conditions. There is also a tapping sound coming from the engine. Thankfully there was not much traffic the times the engine stalled, but this could have been a dangerous situation. If this would have happened during high traffic, a crash would have been inevitable. I went to my Hyundai dealership and service rep Chance (unsure of his last name), took vehicle for a test drive and he experienced above mentioned issues. The dealership was unable to give me a service appointment due to being very busy. No available appointments until May 13, 2024. I have viewed several Hyundai Palisade forums online where several people have had the same issue with the 2020-2021 Palisade from the engine having excessive oil consumption issues. If this is a known problem, Hyundai needs to make an effort to rectify it.
Seatbelts will unbuckle on their own and have done that since we purchased vehicle.
The vehicle has an engine flaw, which caused the vehicle engine to stop running while I was driving down a busy highway to take my children to their activities. The traffic behind me nearly slammed into the back of my Hyundai Palisade because the engine cut off without warning. There was no indication of engine trouble, no dashboard lights, no warnings at all. All the preventive maintenance was performed at the dealership, including an oil change only one month prior to this incident. Turns out the engine cut off because of lack of oil. Now I am finding out from the dealership and the manufacturer that the engine does have a known Oil Consumption issue causing the combustion chamber to need cleaning before and beyond a preventive maintenance schedule. But there still needs to be a warning light or something to inform the driver about the potential engine cut off. It is unsafe to drive, and unfair for the owner to pay for this manufacturer flaw.
2020 Palisade with Automatic leveling shocks has failed with 37000 miles. As per Hyundai forum it appears that this is a regular occurrence and should be recalled due to premature seals leaking!
The rear suspension makes a clunking noise. This is a known issue for the palisade and because I’m at 80,000 miles on the vehicle they want me to pay $6,000 for the replacement! This is insane.
My 2020 Palisade engine burns oil at an alarming rate. I have to add about 4 quarts of oil every couple of thousand miles. This is a known issue with Hyundai engines. The problem started about a year ago. At that time my car had 98,000 miles on it. I reported the problem to Hyundai. They said they were too busy to see me at that time and the earliest they could look at my car was over a month out. By the time they got me in and looked at my car they said I was over the 100k mile warranty and there was nothing they could do. This is a known issue with thousands of Hyundai motors. Hyundai has failed to recall their faulty engines and do right by their customers.
There is a whining noise in the steering system when turning the wheel at slow speeds
Self-leveling shocks leaking on both sides.
The engine of my 2020 Palisade has burned about 1.5 quarts of engine oil every 1k miles. I found this when checked the dipstick after 3k miles and barely see any oil on the dipstick. Even with the oil level far below the LOW level, the car doesn't have any light to warn me about it is being low on oil. This problem can lead me to blown the engine by not having any oil, also stranded on the highway.
My 2020 Hyundai Palisade was serviced 10/23/23 with Daytona Hyundai (mileage around 31000). It has been serviced regularly--sometimes before schedule since it is hard to get the car into the dealership for servicing because they are always booked out months in advance. Today, 2/23/23, my car (35, 873 miles) is at the same dealer service center to fix a rattle in the dashboard which started as I drove off the lot on 10/23/23 after the dealership said everything was fixed and they have informed me that there is no oil in the car. There were no warning lights, no indication that there was no oil in the car. The dealership is doing an oil change.
Engine is burning Oil at a rate that requires me to put 2 quarts of full synthetic oil every 2-3 weeks in my car. Hyundai is ignoring this problem and dealership says my engine is burning in a normal range. This is a known issue with these engines at hyundai over the past few years and if it is burning that much oil without any leaks there is no way that is safe.
I am bringing my Palisade in to the Hyundai dealership after waiting 1.5 months for an appointment. During that time my 2020, with less than 24,000 miles on it, has consumed at least a quart of oil every 300 miles and continues to spike rev at 2500 rpms. There has been NO warning lights, low oil lights, NOTHING. My OTHER Hyundai (2017 Santa Fe Sport) which was purchased just 3 weeks after the Palisade...With NO warning, lost complete power while driving 75mph on a Hwy 80 miles from home. When towed to the Auto shop (with a $675 price to tow) we were told it was completely out of oil! No lights, no warning. They found a gasket leaking and replaced it and sent it home the next day after filling the oil. Two days later, driving down the Hwy, we feel a quick metal screech, engine starts knocking and car loses complete power. Unable to accelerate or drive, but we were able to pull over right before entering a bridge. It would have been tragic if this happened 2 minutes later when we were on the bridge. Mechanic proceeds to inform us of all the complaints and issues with Hyundai's engine and oil consumption. After further research we have come across hundreds of complaints and forums talking about this EXACT issue. At what point will Hyundai make this a priority...do people have to go sailing off of bridges?? This is NOT something that can be fixed through user participation NOR is it fixed by replacing the engine...which is now what they have to do with the Santa Fe. All the comments from people who had the engine under warranty said replacing it DID NOT fix the problem. How in the world do these cars earn 5-star ratings from you with so many complaints about this VERY SPECIFIC issue. We were very excited to become a Hyundai family 4 months ago, but now we feel completely unsafe. Even if we can find a way to sell it, that just means some other uninformed buyer's family will be at risk of a major accident. You should NOT be ok with that!
Car stored in garage. Upon starting the vehicle instrument gauges (speedometer, tachometer, fuel, etc...) remained in off position. Needles would slightly flutter. Car is drivable, but gauges all read essentially zero with needles fluttering. digital speed reporting was also registering 0MPH when driving. Digital fuel range reports correctly while fuel gauge needle registered E. Turned car off an on several times with no effect. Left car for ~20 minutes and tried again and at this point the gauges worked as intended. This happened once before ~3 months ago, but resolved quickly after 5 minutes.
Engine oil filter housing started leaking copious amounts of oil in cold weather. Dealership advised that it is a known issue but not covered by warranty. I had to source the part myself and pay an independent mechanic to replace the housing. Creates both an environmental hazard as well as risk of engine oil starvation.
Due to a recall that Hyundai has not fully resolved, I am unable to use the OEM tow hitch that I paid for when I purchased my car because there is not an updated fuse for the trailer hitch. Hence, trailers won't have lights, making them illegal and unsafe. The Hyundai dealership "resolved" the recall by removing the fuse several months ago, but never replaced it. Furthermore, the dealership never told me that I was unable to use the tow hitch. I was only told that the recall was resolved.
Transmission issues. Many people are experiencing this and have had to replace transmissions on these!!! Help!
Passenger from seatbelt has always been hard to get to engage and clip and would sometimes come undone while driving. Now the drivers side front is coming undone while driving even after assuring it’s secure before driving. Rear ones are now having same issue. I took it to the dealer and they said they needed replacement but not under warranty even though it has always been an issue. I didn’t report it before the warranty expired but it has gotten much much worse and is totally unsafe to drive if it comes undone while driving. How is it supposed to work in an accident?
Self leveling shocks in the rear of the vehicle are failing (leaking, locking up) very early in their life span. Significant adverse effects to ride and handling.
hyundai palisade sel 2020 frequently stops the speedometer ,rpm meter,fuel gauge ,lane departure. This may be due to defection instrument cluster,a recall should be immediately made as it might cause accident as speed of a vehicle cannot be knowing and also the lane departure is never turned on when this happen ,also driver won’t know how much is the fuel remaining . Attaching a photo
both digital and analog speedometer also the tachometer shows 0mph even through the car is being driven , also the fuel gauge shows Empty even though fuel is full.