Hyundai · Recall 25V659000
Hyundai Recall 25V659000: Other safety defect
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2024-2025 Santa Fe vehicles. The B+ positive terminal cover on the starter motor assembly may be improperly installed, which can cause an electrical short during a crash.
Recall 25V659000 at a glance
| NHTSA campaign number | 25V659000 |
| Manufacturer | Hyundai Motor America |
| Component | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:STARTER ASSEMBLY |
| Vehicles affected | SANTA FE |
| Model years | 2024–2025 |
| Vehicles potentially affected | 135,386 |
| Reported to NHTSA | October 2, 2025 |
What can go wrong
An electrical short increases the risk of a fire.
The fix — and whether it has actually arrived
Dealers will inspect and reinstall the starter motor terminal cover, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed beginning October 22, 2025. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 285. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on October 4, 2025.
If the remedy is not available yet, or your dealer cannot tell you when the parts will arrive, ask for that in writing. A manufacturer that cannot repair your vehicle within a reasonable time is a manufacturer with a lemon law problem.
Your rights
Could this recall support a California lemon law claim?
It depends less on the recall than on what happened afterwards.
California's Lemon Law asks whether a substantial defect — one that impairs the vehicle's use, value or safety — survived a reasonable number of repair attempts, or kept the vehicle out of service for 30 or more cumulative days. A recall is the manufacturer's admission that a defect exists. What matters next is whether the remedy actually worked, and how long you waited for it.
It is also worth looking at the whole vehicle rather than this one campaign. Owners often come to us about a single recall and discover that the real claim is the repair history sitting behind it.
A recall is not automatically a lemon. It is the manufacturer admitting a defect and offering to fix it free — that is the system working. A lemon law claim arises when the fix fails, the fix never comes, or the defect has already taken the use of your vehicle away from you.
What to do now
Check whether your Hyundai needs this recall
Not every Hyundai is affected by 25V659000. Enter your 17-digit VIN in NHTSA's free federal database to see whether this recall — and any others — are open on your exact vehicle.
Look up your VIN at NHTSA.govRecall 25V659000 — common questions
What is 25V659000?
25V659000 is a safety recall issued by Hyundai Motor America and reported to NHTSA on October 2, 2025. Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2024-2025 Santa Fe vehicles. The B+ positive terminal cover on the starter motor assembly may be improperly installed, which can cause an electrical short during a crash.
Is my Hyundai included in recall 25V659000?
Not every Hyundai is affected. The recall covers 2024–2025 SANTA FE, but inclusion depends on the specific VIN. Enter your 17-digit VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to confirm whether your exact vehicle is covered.
Does recall 25V659000 make my Hyundai a lemon?
Depends. The recall itself is rarely the claim — the failed repair, the delay, or the rest of the repair history usually is.
What does it cost to have a lemon law attorney look at this?
Nothing. Case reviews are free, and under California's Song-Beverly Act the manufacturer pays your attorney's fees on a successful claim. You keep your recovery.
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Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome. Every case is different and depends on its own facts.
Is your Hyundai a lemon?
A recall is one data point. If your Hyundai has been back to the dealer for the same problem, or has sat waiting on parts, the recall may be the least of it. Speak to a Hyundai lemon lawyer before you agree to another repair attempt — our Hyundai lemon law attorneys will tell you straight whether you have a case.
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