Hyundai Motor America is recalling 421,078 vehicles that may have a faulty forward collision avoidance system that could cause brakes to activate unexpectedly, increasing the risk of an accident.
According to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) report, the recall involves certain 2025–2026 Santa Cruz, Tucson, Tucson Hybrid, and Tucson Plug-In Hybrid Electric vehicles. A software glitch in the front cameras may cause the forward collision avoidance system to activate prematurely and suddenly apply the brakes.
Hyundai dealers will update the front camera software free of charge, and owner notification letters are expected to be mailed July 17. In the meantime, owners can contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai’s number for this recall is 302. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall are searchable on the NHTSA.gov website.
From January to May 2025, the Southern California-based automaker launched its own investigation into allegations of unintended braking incidents. The investigation continued through September 2025, with technical teams replicating the issue to determine the exact cause of the malfunction.
In October 2025, Hyundai’s North American Safety Office (NASO) continued its testing and analysis of the camera software. Testing and evaluation for software improvements continued in January and February 2026.
By early May, NASO’s North America Safety Decision Authority reviewed the complete findings and decided to conduct a safety recall of affected vehicles.
As of May 11, Hyundai has received 376 reports related to the issue. So far, four accidents have been reported involving Hyundai vehicles that were rear-ended by closely following vehicles due to the premature braking issue. There have been no confirmed fires or fatalities, but four injuries were allegedly caused by the reported accidents.
A May 20 blog by ClassAction.org, a consumer advocacy website, reported that Subaru is facing litigation over a similar issue involving premature braking. The post indicates Subaru’s EyeSight system can activate the vehicle’s brakes for no reason, and subsequently fail to react in a real emergency.
The lawsuit includes the automaker’s lineup from 2022 to 2026: Forester, WRX, Legacy, Outback, Ascent, Impreza, Crosstrek, and BRZ models. ClassAction.org indicates that plaintiffs in the case claim Subaru hailed EyeSight as a “must have” safety feature, while the automaker was allegedly aware of ongoing problems with it.
According to a May 12 report from the Lawsuit Information Center, published by Baltimore law firm Miller & Zois, Nissan Motors has also been subjected to lawsuits resulting from software problems causing sudden braking.
The “phantom braking” issue typically occurs when an automatic emergency braking system activates even though there is no real emergency in front of the vehicle, the report notes. As a result, the vehicle behaves as if a crash is about to happen and stops suddenly.
The cases alleged that in certain vehicles, the system can misread the road and cause sudden braking when no emergency exists. Plaintiffs in various lawsuits claim this defect can expose drivers, passengers, and other motorists to rear-end crashes, loss of control, whiplash, concussions, fractures, and other serious injuries.
More than two years ago, General Motors recalled nearly 56,000 midsize trucks due to “mystery braking,” according to Kelly Blue Book. The automaker reported to the NHTSA that “miscalibrated software” was causing the trucks’ front cameras to prompt the automatic emergency braking system into action when there was no emergency.
GM received 234 complaints in the United States, as well as reports of four accidents and three minor injuries.