Check a VIN for Hyundai Recalls — Free NHTSA Lookup, Any Hyundai or Genesis.
Hyundai's recall history is unusual: instead of one enormous campaign, it is a long run of separate actions spread across the Elantra, Sonata, Tucson, Santa Fe, Palisade, Kona, Venue, and the IONIQ electric line — engine damage, an ABS module that can start a fire in a parked car, wiper arms, trailer-hitch harnesses, seat belts, and the integrated charging unit on the EVs. Several of those campaigns tell owners to park outside and away from buildings until the repair is done. This free tool checks a VIN for Hyundai recalls against the live NHTSA feed and returns what is still open on that specific car. Paste a VIN below — no sign-up, no card.
Free Hyundai Recall Check — Search Any 17-Character Hyundai VIN
Enter a Hyundai or Genesis VIN and we'll surface open NHTSA campaigns, decoded trim and engine, plant of manufacture, title brands, and salvage records — instantly.
Free · No sign-up · Instant result
Quick Answer
- How do I check a VIN for Hyundai recalls?
- Copy the 17-character VIN from the lower driver-side windshield, the door jamb label, or the title, and enter it in CarCheckerVIN's free Hyundai recall check. It queries the live NHTSA campaign feed for open Hyundai and Genesis actions attached to that exact VIN — no account, no card.
- Which Hyundai recalls are the ones to watch for?
- The costly ones are the engine campaign 21V301000 (engine damage plus oil leaking onto hot exhaust), the ABS control-module fire campaign 20V543000, and the electric-vehicle ICCU campaign 24V868000 that can cause a loss of drive power. All three carry free dealer remedies.
- Does Hyundai charge for recall work on a used car?
- No. Every Hyundai safety recall is repaired free at any Hyundai dealer no matter how many owners the car has had. If a dealer tries to bill you, report it to NHTSA on 1-888-327-4236 or call Hyundai customer service on 1-855-371-9460.
What a Hyundai Recall Check Reveals
Checking a VIN for Hyundai recalls pulls the live NHTSA feed and returns the open campaigns tied to that one car. Because the lookup runs a full VIN decode and a title-brand query at the same time, you also get the assembly plant, the powertrain, and the title history in the same result. Six things a single Hyundai VIN gives you.
Open NHTSA campaigns on that VIN
The live feed returns every open Hyundai and Genesis action attached to the VIN — the engine campaign 21V301000, the ABS module fire campaign 20V543000, the IONIQ charging-unit campaign 24V868000, seat belt and side curtain air bag actions, wiper arm replacements, and any newer campaign filed since. If it is open, it shows up.
Korean-built or Alabama-built
Hyundai VINs separate the two very cleanly. KMH and KM8 are Hyundai Motor Company builds in Korea; 5NP and 5NM come out of Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama in Montgomery. Several campaigns are scoped by production plant and date range, so the origin the VIN reports is part of the reason a recall does or does not apply.
Exact trim and package
SE, SEL, Limited, N Line, Blue, Calligraphy, and the N performance cars all decode from the VIN. That is how you tell an Elantra N Line apart from an Elantra SE on paper, and it matters for recall scoping — several actions cover the hybrid variant but not the gas car, or the reverse.
Engine, hybrid, or electric drivetrain
The 2.0L Nu, the 1.6L turbo, the 2.5L in the Santa Fe and Sonata, the 3.8L V6 in the Palisade, Hyundai's hybrid system, and the E-GMP electric platform under the IONIQ 5 all decode from the VIN. That split decides which recall families are even possible: 21V301000 is a 2.0L Nu engine action, while 24V868000 only touches the electric cars.
Title brands and salvage flags
Flood, salvage, junk, rebuilt, and lemon-law buyback records live in NMVTIS across all 50 states. Tucsons and Elantras are rebuilt after collisions often enough that a washed title is a real risk, and the lookup surfaces the brand alongside whatever recall work is still outstanding.
Odometer snapshots across owners
Every state title transfer captures the odometer reading. Seeing those snapshots next to the recall list tells you both whether the mileage story holds together and whether the previous owner ever booked the free campaign work.
Decoding a Hyundai VIN Code
Hyundai follows the same 17-character ISO 3779 standard as every other manufacturer, and its WMI block is one of the more readable ones — the first three characters alone tell you whether you are looking at a Korean-built car, an Alabama-built SUV, or a Genesis. That context is worth having when you read a recall result, because campaign scope is usually written in terms of plant and production dates.
The first three characters — the World Manufacturer Identifier, or WMI — carry the country, the manufacturer, and the vehicle class. KMH is a Hyundai Motor Company passenger car built in Korea, and NHTSA's own manufacturer register lists it under both Hyundai and Genesis. KM8 is the Korean-built multipurpose passenger vehicle block, which is where the Tucson, Santa Fe, Palisade, and Kona sit. 5NP and 5NM are the North American equivalents, registered to Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama and its technical centre.
Characters four through eight describe the model line, body style, restraint system, and engine. The ninth character is a check digit computed from the rest of the VIN, which is what catches a transposed character on a listing. The tenth encodes the model year. The eleventh is the plant code — the character that separates Ulsan and Asan in Korea from Montgomery, Alabama, and the one that most often decides whether a plant-scoped campaign lands on your car.
Characters twelve through seventeen are the sequential production number, unique to that vehicle. The recall check stitches all of it together — year, model, trim, engine, plant — and runs the VIN against every open NHTSA campaign so you see exactly which ones apply rather than which ones might.
Hyundai WMI prefixes (NHTSA vPIC register)
KMHKorea-built passenger car (Elantra, Sonata)KM8Korea-built MPV/SUV (Tucson, Palisade, Kona)5NPNorth American passenger car (Elantra, Sonata)5NMAlabama-built MPV/SUV (Santa Fe, Tucson)KMTGenesis passenger car, Korea-builtKMFHyundai Motor Company truck class
Source: NHTSA vPIC DecodeWMI register. 5NP and 5NM resolve to Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama (Montgomery); KMH, KM8, KMT and KMF resolve to Hyundai Motor Company in Korea.
Where to Find Your Hyundai VIN
Every modern Hyundai carries the VIN in at least five places, and any one of them is enough to run the recall check. If two of them disagree, stop — mismatched VINs are one of the clearest signs a car's identity has been altered.
The quickest read is the lower driver-side corner of the windshield, visible from outside the car. The driver-side door jamb label is the next easiest and is often the cleaner copy: it is printed rather than stamped, and it also carries the manufacture date and the placard tire pressures. The VIN is printed on the Hyundai title, the insurance card, and the state registration too.
If you are shopping remotely, ask the seller for a photo of the door jamb label rather than a typed VIN. A photo removes the transcription errors that make a recall check return nothing, and it lets you compare the build date against the production window a campaign is scoped to.
Five places the Hyundai VIN lives
- Lower driver-side windshield (read from outside)
- Driver-side door jamb label (also shows the build date)
- Hyundai title document
- Insurance ID card
- State registration document
Got it? Paste the 17-character Hyundai VIN into the form above and check it against the live NHTSA recall feed in seconds.
Named Hyundai NHTSA Campaigns and Their Remedies
The campaigns below are real, published NHTSA actions with their campaign numbers, taken from the agency's own recall records. They are the ones used-Hyundai buyers run into most. Treat the table as a reference — a campaign applies to an exact VIN range and production window, so the only way to know whether a specific car is affected is to run its VIN against the live feed.
| NHTSA campaign | Affected models named in the record | Published dealer remedy |
|---|---|---|
| 21V301000 — Engine | 2019–20 Elantra, 2019–21 Kona and Veloster (2.0L Nu) | Inspect and, if necessary, replace the engine, free of charge, plus Piston Ring Noise Sensing System software |
| 20V543000 — ABS/traction control module | 2019–2021 Tucson | Replace the HECU fuse and update Electronic Stability Control software; owners advised to park outside |
| 24V868000 — 12V battery / ICCU | 2022–24 IONIQ 5, 2023–25 IONIQ 6, GV60, Electrified GV70 | Inspect and replace the ICCU and its fuse as necessary, and update the ICCU software |
| 22V324000 — Shifter control unit software | 2022 IONIQ 5 | Update the Shifter Control Unit software; use the electronic parking brake until repaired |
| 21V840000 — Brake fluid | 2021 Palisade | Replace the brake master cylinder and flush the brake fluid |
| 23V180000 — Windshield wiper motor | 2021–23 Palisade | Replace the driver-side windshield wiper arm |
| 23V181000 / 22V633000 — Trailer hitches | 2019–23 Santa Fe and hybrids, 2020–22 Palisade | Install a new fuse and wire extension kit as necessary; park outside until repaired |
| 25V607000 — Rear seat belt buckles | 2020–25 Palisade | Replace the seat belt buckle assemblies |
| 26V034000 — Side curtain air bags | 2020–25 Palisade | Install a protective film over the rear window and remove padding as necessary |
Source: NHTSA recall records (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 13 August 2026. Model coverage and dates come from the agency's published campaign text; scope is set by VIN range, so confirm against the live feed with the VIN.
Check a Hyundai VIN for Open Recalls Right Now
Yours, or one you are about to buy? Run the VIN against the live NHTSA feed and our decoder — free, in seconds, no sign-up.
Five Hyundai Recall Families Worth Knowing
Hyundai's open campaigns group into five recognisable families. Knowing which family a car falls into tells you roughly how urgent the repair is and whether NHTSA's published guidance says to change how you park or drive the car in the meantime.
Fire risk while parked
This is the family that changes your behaviour, not just your service appointment. In campaign 20V543000 on the 2019–2021 Tucson, NHTSA's record states that an engine-compartment fire can increase the risk of injury or crash, and owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the fuse is replaced and the stability-control software is updated. The trailer-hitch campaigns 22V633000 and 23V181000 on the Palisade and Santa Fe carry the same park-outside guidance, with the remedy being a new fuse and wire extension kit. If a used Hyundai comes back with one of these open, it is not a repair to defer.
Engine damage and stalling
Campaign 21V301000 covers 2.0L Nu engines in the 2019–20 Elantra and the 2019–21 Kona and Veloster. NHTSA's published consequence is blunt: a damaged engine may stall, raising crash risk, and oil may leak onto hot exhaust components, raising fire risk. The remedy is an inspection and, where needed, a full engine replacement at no charge, together with Hyundai's Piston Ring Noise Sensing System software. An engine replacement is the single most valuable piece of free work on this list, and it is worth confirming on any Elantra, Kona, or Veloster of that vintage before money changes hands.
Electric drivetrain and software
The IONIQ line has its own cluster. Campaign 24V868000 covers the integrated charging control unit on the 2022–24 IONIQ 5, 2023–25 IONIQ 6, GV60, and Electrified GV70, where the consequence recorded is a loss of drive power; dealers inspect and replace the ICCU and its fuse and update the software. It supersedes the earlier 24V204000, and NHTSA notes that vehicles already repaired under the old campaign still need the new remedy — so a car with a completed repair on file may still have work outstanding. Separately, 22V324000 covers Shifter Control Unit software on the 2022 IONIQ 5 for rollaway risk, with interim guidance to use the electronic parking brake.
Restraints — belts and curtain air bags
Hyundai has filed a run of restraint campaigns across the Elantra, Venue, Accent, Santa Fe, and Palisade. Campaign 25V607000 covers rear seat belt buckle assemblies on the 2020–25 Palisade; until the buckles are replaced, the published guidance is to insert the belt firmly and tug it to confirm it has latched. Campaign 26V034000 on the same model years covers side curtain air bags, with dealers installing a protective film over the rear window and removing padding. Further back, 18V715000 on the 2019 Santa Fe covers a side curtain air bag mounting bolt, remedied with a protective cover over the bolts.
Visibility, brakes, and hardware
The last family is the quiet one — cheap parts, real consequences. Campaigns 22V627000 and 23V180000 replace the driver-side windshield wiper arm on the Palisade because wiper failure cuts visibility. Campaign 21V840000 replaces the brake master cylinder and flushes the fluid on the 2021 Palisade, where reduced braking performance lengthens stopping distance. On the 2020 Elantra, 19V720000 covers wheel lug nuts and 19V721000 covers a front lower control arm ball joint, both remedied by inspection and tightening. None of these take long at a dealer, and all of them are free.
Buying a used Hyundai? Run this recall check alongside the all-makes recall check hub and an accident history check so the recall list, the collision record, and the title brand all line up before you commit.
How Hyundai Recall Notifications Actually Reach You
Federal law puts the first-class mail notice at the centre of the process: when Hyundai files a campaign with NHTSA, it must write to the registered owner of every affected vehicle. The weak link is the address. That letter goes to whatever the state DMV holds, so a used Hyundai that changed hands without the registration being updated — or an owner who has moved since — quietly drops out of the notification chain. NHTSA's own campaign records show how long these tails run: the 2021 engine campaign mailed in August 2021, the ICCU letters in December 2024, and the Palisade side curtain air bag interim letters beginning March 2026.
Two backstops close that gap. Subscribe to NHTSA recall alerts at nhtsa.gov/recalls, which will email you when a new campaign is filed against a VIN or a make and model you follow, and register the VIN at owners.hyundaiusa.com for Hyundai's own notifications. Beyond that, dealers are required to check every vehicle that comes in for service against the open campaign list and complete any open work free of charge — even when you booked the visit for an oil change and never mentioned a recall. Hyundai customer service takes recall questions directly on 1-855-371-9460, and some campaigns list an alternative line such as 1-800-251-0871 in their NHTSA record.VIN recall lookup
There is no expiry on a safety recall. A campaign filed in 2018 on a car that has since had four owners is still open and still repairable at no cost until the work is completed and closed against that VIN. That is why the recall check matters most at the point of purchase — the seller may genuinely not know, because the letter went to someone else's address years ago. Two Hyundai families deserve particular attention here: the campaigns whose published guidance is to park outside and away from structures, and campaign 24V868000, which explicitly supersedes an earlier action and requires the new remedy even on cars already repaired under the old one.
Hyundai recall action checklist
- Check the VIN for Hyundai recalls on this page before you buy or drive
- Subscribe to NHTSA alerts at nhtsa.gov/recalls for future campaigns
- Register the VIN at owners.hyundaiusa.com for Hyundai's own notices
- Update the DMV registration address so mailed notices actually arrive
- Book any open campaign at a Hyundai dealer — always free, any owner
- Where the record says park outside, do it until the repair is complete
Start with the recall check — paste the Hyundai VIN here:
Related Checks for Hyundai Owners
The recall check answers one question. These focused lookups cover the rest of the record when something in the result needs following up.
Prüfen Sie die Fahrgestellnummer immer vor dem Kauf
Die kostenlose Vorschau zeigt Title Brands (US-Titel-Kennzeichnungen), Diebstahlstatus und offene Rückrufe in Sekunden und meldet, ob Unfall- und Tachodaten vorliegen. Die vollständige Historie kostet $14.99 — einmalig, ohne Abo.
Hyundai Recall Check — Frequently Asked Questions
What Hyundai owners and used-Hyundai buyers ask most about checking a VIN for open NHTSA campaigns.
How do I check a VIN for Hyundai recalls?+
Find the 17-character VIN — the lower driver-side corner of the windshield, the driver-side door jamb label, the title, or the insurance card are the usual places — and enter it into the free Hyundai recall check form on this page. The tool validates that the VIN is 17 characters and excludes the letters I, O, and Q, which never appear in a VIN, then queries the live NHTSA recall feed for any open Hyundai or Genesis campaign attached to that specific VIN. Within a few seconds you get the open campaign list alongside the decoded model year, trim, engine, and assembly plant, plus title brands and salvage records from NMVTIS. No sign-up and no card. Because NHTSA scopes campaigns to exact VIN ranges rather than to whole model years, a VIN-level check is the only way to know whether a particular car is affected — the model-year lists published in news coverage are approximations.
What is the Hyundai engine recall 21V301000?+
NHTSA campaign 21V301000 covers 2.0L Nu engines in the 2019–2020 Elantra and the 2019–2021 Kona and Veloster. The consequence recorded in NHTSA's own file is that a damaged engine may stall, increasing the risk of a crash, and that oil may leak onto hot exhaust components, increasing the risk of a fire. The remedy is for dealers to inspect and, if necessary, replace the engine free of charge, and to deploy Hyundai's Piston Ring Noise Sensing System software, which listens for the knock that precedes a failure. Owner notification letters were mailed on 24 August 2021. Because a free engine replacement is by far the most valuable remedy on Hyundai's open list, it is worth running the VIN of any Elantra, Kona, or Veloster from those years before you agree a price.
Is Hyundai recall repair free on a used car?+
Yes. Federal law requires the manufacturer to repair an open safety recall at no cost to whoever owns the vehicle now, regardless of mileage, age, or how many times the car has been sold. The published remedies on Hyundai's campaigns say so explicitly — the engine inspection and replacement, the HECU fuse, the ICCU and its software, the wiper arms, the seat belt buckles, and the brake master cylinder are all recorded as free of charge. If a dealer tries to bill you for recall work, that is reportable to NHTSA on 1-888-327-4236, and Hyundai customer service handles it directly on 1-855-371-9460. Some campaigns also reimburse owners who paid out of pocket for the same repair before the recall was announced; the campaign notice sets out how to claim when that applies.
Which Hyundai recalls say to park outside?+
Several Hyundai campaigns carry park-outside guidance in NHTSA's published remedy text because the risk is a fire that can start while the vehicle is parked. Campaign 20V543000 on the 2019–2021 Tucson, an ABS and traction-control module action where an engine-compartment fire can increase the risk of injury or crash, advises owners to park outside and away from structures until the HECU fuse is replaced and the electronic stability control software is updated. The trailer-hitch campaigns 22V633000 on the 2020–2022 Palisade and 23V181000 on the 2019–2023 Santa Fe and its hybrids give the same instruction, with the remedy being a new fuse and wire extension kit. If a VIN check returns one of these as open, follow the guidance until the dealer has completed the work — the risk is not limited to when the car is running.
Does the IONIQ 5 have an open recall?+
The IONIQ line has had several. Campaign 24V868000 covers the integrated charging control unit on the 2022–2024 IONIQ 5, 2023–2025 IONIQ 6, GV60, and Electrified GV70, where the recorded consequence is a loss of drive power; dealers inspect and replace the ICCU and its fuse as necessary and update the ICCU software, and owner letters were mailed on 20 December 2024. Importantly, 24V868000 replaces the earlier campaign 24V204000, and NHTSA's record states that vehicles already repaired under the earlier campaign still need the new remedy completed — so a service history showing the old fix does not close the matter. Separately, 22V324000 covers Shifter Control Unit software on the 2022 IONIQ 5 for a vehicle rollaway risk, with the interim advice being to use the electronic parking brake when parking. Run the VIN to see what is genuinely open on a given car.
Where is the VIN on a Hyundai?+
Hyundai prints or stamps the VIN in at least five places. The lower driver-side corner of the windshield is the fastest, read through the glass from outside the car. The driver-side door jamb label is usually the cleaner copy — it is printed rather than etched, and it also carries the vehicle's build date and the placard tire pressures. The VIN also appears on the Hyundai title, the insurance ID card, and the state registration document. If you are buying remotely, ask for a photo of the door jamb label rather than a typed VIN: transcription errors are the most common reason a recall lookup returns nothing, and the build date on that label lets you sanity-check the car against the production window a campaign is scoped to. If the windshield VIN and the title VIN disagree, walk away.
How do I get notified about future Hyundai recalls?+
There are two free routes, and using both is sensible. First, subscribe at NHTSA's site (nhtsa.gov/recalls), where you can register a specific VIN or follow a make, model, and year range; NHTSA emails you when a new campaign is filed matching what you follow. Second, register the VIN at owners.hyundaiusa.com so Hyundai notifies you directly. Beyond alerts, keep the DMV registration address current — Hyundai is required to write to the registered owner by first-class mail, so a stale address means the notice never arrives. This matters more for Hyundai than for most makes because the campaigns keep coming: NHTSA's records show owner letters mailed in August 2021 for the engine campaign, December 2024 for the ICCU campaign, and interim letters beginning in March 2026 for the Palisade side curtain air bag action. Re-running a VIN-level check once or twice a year is the reliable backstop.
Do open recalls hurt a Hyundai's resale value?+
They can, in two ways. A buyer who runs the VIN sees the open campaign before you do and prices it in, and the effect is largest on the actions with safety-critical remedies — an unrepaired engine campaign, an open ABS module fire campaign, or an outstanding restraint recall. Some states also require dealers to disclose open recalls when selling a used vehicle, and certified pre-owned programmes generally require all open campaigns to be closed before a car can be certified at all. Since every remedy is free, the sensible move before listing a Hyundai is to run the VIN, book whatever is open at a dealer, and keep the paperwork — it removes the negotiating leverage and, in the case of the engine campaign, may hand you a replacement engine that materially improves the car you are selling.
Ready to Check Your Hyundai VIN for Recalls?
Enter any 17-character Hyundai or Genesis VIN to run a free recall check against the live NHTSA feed and our decoder. No account required.
Passende VIN-Abfragen
Weitere Tools, um die Historie jedes Fahrzeugs zu prüfen