Hyundai must recall 122,919 Palisade SUVs made between April 10, 2019, and February 16, 2021, as a result of a windshield wiper motor that could stop working suddenly.
The automaker is still looking into the root causes of the fault, but has found 57 cases of it on American roads. The issue could cause the wipers to only work intermittently or, when impeded by snow or ice, to stop working altogether.
Naturally, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has objections to that, since wiper blades becoming inoperative in inclement weather could prevent drivers from seeing well, and could quickly become a safety concern. Fortunately, Hyundai is aware of no injuries or deaths occurring as a result of this problem.
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Hyundai first took note of this issue in August 2020 as a result of what it describes as an increasing number of warranty claims for windshield wiper-related concerns. It started monitoring the issue at the time and, in November 2021, sent 10 wiper motors out for investigation.
Its investigation was inconclusive, but Hyundai did find that the motor’s internal gear could become damaged when subjected to external forces or obstruction during operation. Indeed, in subsequent investigations, the majority of motors the company looked at had stripped gear teeth that were the cause of the problem.
The company also noted that the wiper motors had a circuit breaker and a snow clutch in order to prevent excessive damage. This may have been at the root of the wipers working intermittently, while the stripped gears may have explained why they were stopping entirely. Hyundai claims, however, that in testing against competitor parts, this issue was not unique to the Palisade.
Regardless, the company has initiated a safety recall. Although the details of the plan are not yet known as the company investigates the root cause of the issue further, Hyundai expects to start contacting owners starting on October 14, 2022. It stopped using the wiper motor behind this recall in December 2020.
