Recalls

Hyundai's flagship family electric SUV is under investigation for a safety concern in Australia, following similar reports overseas. The South Korean brand is looking into an issue on its Ioniq 9 in Australia over a potentially dangerous problem with the second-row power-folding seats.It relates to the seat assemblies failing to detect passengers or objects on the seats and continuing to close even when using excessive force.This can lead to the seats squashing occupants and cause serious injury or worse.The Ioniq 9 is Hyundai’s most expensive car on sale, and is its biggest electric SUV offering Down Under.Virtually every Ioniq 9 sold in Australia could be affected by the issue, with more than 100 vehicles being looked into.The issue is expected to be able to be fixed with an over-the-air software update like in other markets, or owners can option to have it resolved at a Hyundai dealer.Owners should take extra care during the folding of seats in the meantime, according to the brand. In the United States, 5360 Ioniq 9 examples have been recalled, according to reports.The brand said all vehicles recalled have the fault. It’s not just the Ioniq 9 impacted in the United States, with it also linked to power-folding seats in the Palisade and the Telluride SUVs. At this stage, only the Ioniq 9 is under investigation in Australia.

Ford has put out a recall notice and stop-sale order for some of its Mustang sports car examples in Australia. The recall impacts 7724 units built between 2023 and 2026, across both its 2.3-litre four-cylinder and 5.0-litre V8 engine options. The Mustang is one of the most popular choices for sports car buyers on the market.Nearly 500 vehicles in dealer stock will not be sold until the issue is rectified.Any stock built since the start of June is not affected by the issue as well as upcoming Mustang Dark Horse and Dark Horse T8 Spec Pack examples.The issue concerns potential vibrations causing the engine wiring harness to break loose.“Due to a manufacturing defect, the engine bay wiring harness ground terminal may become damaged due to vibrations,” the notice reads. “This may cause the wiring harness to break, resulting in a loss of engine power. Additional safety functions such as the headlamps and windshield wipers may fail to operate as intended. “A loss of motive power and safety functions whilst driving increases the risk of an accident, resulting in serious injury or death to vehicle occupants and other road users.” A spokesperson for Ford Australia said there have been no reported instances of the issue occurring in Australia.   Ford will contact affected vehicle owners in writing to request they contact an authorised dealer to arrange inspection and repair, free of charge. Owners can also contact Ford Australia for additional information. 

BYD is recalling 32,009 examples of its Shark 6 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) dual-cab ute in Australia due to the potential abnormal wear of the spare wheel assembly.This recall affects BYD Shark 6 examples produced between August 29, 2024 and June 15, 2026.BYD has clarified that this recall doesn’t relate to all Shark 6 examples and only certain examples.“For involved vehicles, BYD has identified that in certain circumstances incorrect installation of the spare wheel, incorrect positioning of the spare wheel tray or insufficient fastening torque may cause abnormal wear of the spare wheel support cable,” said BYD Australia in its recall notice.“Continued movement and friction during vehicle operation may cause the cable to fail, resulting in spare wheel detachment.“This may create a hazard to other road users and potentially cause serious injury or death.”If you own an affected vehicle, BYD will replace the spare wheel lifter assembly with an updated design, free of charge.BYD estimates that this fix will take around 30 minutes, but this depends on the dealer’s work schedule.BYD Australia is urging Shark 6 owners that are affected by this recall to remove the spare wheel from their vehicle if they wish to continue driving it.The company will contact affected Shark 6 owners and provide details regarding the recall. It urges owners to keep their contact information up to date.This notification will come via an email, but customers with the BYD app may also receive a notification there.From here you will be prompted to contact your BYD dealer as soon as possible.If you have further questions, you can contact BYD Customer Care on 1800 888 298 from Monday to Friday 9:30am-5:30pm AEST.

Tesla has recalled nearly three million cars in China in the country's biggest recall ever.This recall impacts flush door handles on more than four million cars from not just Tesla but Geely, Xiaomi and XPeng, too.Flush door handles became popular in part thanks to Tesla. Some only pop out when required, as opposed to conventional handles, which can always be used.The trend took off in China, and features on many cars built in the country now.They have now been found to be a serious safety concern following several incidents globally, with this recall the latest step to curb risk.This recall has been brought about by two fatal Xiaomi crashes in China, among many other incidents.The two Xiaomi incidents are suspected to have been caused by power failures preventing car doors from being able to be opened.Tesla accepted in a statement that interior door handles are “difficult to identify and operate because their colour is similar to the interior trim.”“In extreme situations such as a severe collision causing the vehicle's low-voltage system to fail, this could hinder occupants from quickly opening the doors to escape and impede rescue efforts by those outside the vehicle, posing a safety hazard,” the statement continued.Recalled vehicles will be fitted with a physical warning label on the interior door and receive a software update to automatically lower the windows in a crash.The Chinese government passed legislation to ban flush door handles earlier this year that will kick in from 1 January 2027. Cars will only be allowed to be sold in China if they have a mechanical release inside and outside. It’s not just China where flush door handles are of concern. The BBC reports the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the United States have anecdotes of the door handles not working and leaving children trapped in cars. The Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) is Australia's vehicle safety watchdog.ANCAP’s Chief Executive Officer Carla Hoorweg told CarsGuide earlier this year the body would stick with its current review cycle, but still monitor design developments across all markets. ANCAP recently introduced its 2026 protocols with a bigger focus on preventing crashes rather than just impact testing.The banning of flush door handles will be felt around the world, including Australia, where many cars built in China are sold, both from Chinese and international brands.New cars imported from China to Australia will no longer feature flush door handles from 2027.

A software error has seen thousands of Toyota Camry examples urgently recalled in Australia. The recall concerns 16,238 Camry units built from the 2024 to 2026 model years, according to a notice from the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications Sports and the Arts.“Due to a software error, the combination meter may fail to illuminate visual and audible warnings including dashboard indicators, the speedometer, turn signals, hazard lamps, seatbelt reminders and key in ignition,” the notice read.“Failure of the combination meter to display critical safety information or warning indicators may increase the risk of an accident, causing injury or death to vehicle occupants and/or other road users.”A spokesperson for Toyota Australia said this issue is part of a global recall, with a small number of reported occurrences in Australia. Toyota Australia will contact owners of affected cars to make an appointment and have the issue rectified free of charge at a dealer. Owners can contact Toyota's recall assist support line for more information.The hybrid-powered Camry is the best-selling sedan in Australia, but it is now facing fresh competition from Chinese rivals the BYD Seal EV and BYD Seal 6 plug-in hybrid.  The Camry has experienced a sales surge in 2026, up nearly 40 per cent compared to July 2025. 

Close to 60,000 Mercedes-Benz cars sold new in Australia between 2018 and 2026 are the subject of a safety recall relating to a potential door lock failure that may result in unintended vehicle movement. The Federal Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communication and the Arts has issued a safety recall notice impacting 58,822 Mercedes-Benz vehicles across a wide range of Mercedes-Benz and Mercedes-AMG models.It confirms examples of the A-Class, CLA, B-Class, C-Class, EQA, GLA, GLB and GLC  have been impacted and said, “Due to a manufacturing defect, the door-lock microswitch may be susceptible to water damage and could fail.“If this occurs, the door may not be detected as open, preventing the auto park feature from operating as intended,” the notice said. The department added, “A loss of (the) auto park feature may result in unintended vehicle movement. “This increases the risk of an accident, causing injury or death to vehicle occupants and other road users.”Multiple grades of the nominated models are included, and the department says drivers should always engage the Park position on the gear selector and apply the parking brake, as described in the Owner’s Manual, prior to leaving the vehicle.Owners of affected vehicles will be contacted by Mercedes-Benz in writing asking them to schedule an appointment with their preferred authorised dealer for the free of charge repair when parts become available.Alternatively, the Mercedes-Benz Customer Assistance Centre can be contacted on 1300 762 718 or via cs.aus@cac.mercedes-benz.com.

Australia’s best-selling car for the past three years has been recalled for a potentially faulty airbag.Ford has recalled almost 14,000 Ranger utes built between November 2025 and July 2026.Only about 8000 of the vehicles have been delivered to customers with the remaining circa-6000 still to be handed over to buyers and will be fixed before being delivered.The company announced the voluntary recall because in the event of a crash, “it may be possible that the side curtain airbags interact with the B-pillar trim during inflation and not deploy as intended”.“If there is interaction during deployment, the B-pillar ramp may detach, increasing the risk of injury to occupants,” a spokesperson said.Ford Australia said it wasn’t aware of any incidents in Australia and said it found out about the issue during routine testing.Ford said customers can continue to use their vehicles in the meantime, and all other airbags will deploy as intended.Affected customers will be contacted by Ford Australia with further instructions.Ford said a fix won’t be ready until mid-September when customers will be urged to organise a repair with their local dealership free of charge.Customers can check if their vehicle is affected by entering their VIN on the Ford Australia Recall and Service Action page at www.ford.com.au/support/recalls/.  Customers can also contact an authorised Ford Dealer or Ford Australia’s Customer Relationship Centre on 13 36 73.This is the 17th recall by Ford this year already and the sixth affecting the Ford Ranger.The Blue Oval has routinely been one of the most recalled brands in Australia, despite a smaller model line-up than most brands.Ford globally has been dealing with quality issues with the brand’s boss Jim Farley quite vocal on the issue.The company set a recall record in the US in 2025. In 2023 Ford reportedly spent US$4.8 billion ($6.8b) on fixing customer vehicles.

Nissan has issued an urgent recall notice affecting its most popular model.A total of 13,795 Nissan X-Trail e-Power mid-size SUVs could have a potentially dangerous software issue, according to the official notice from the Federal Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts.The affected X-Trails covered model years from 2022 to 2026, and used the Japanese brand’s e-Power hybrid technology.A software issue with the lithium-ion battery controller could cause the vehicle to enter a fail safe mode, which means the vehicles could lose power while driving and wouldn’t be able to charge the battery.Unlike other hybrids, Nissan’s e-Power technology only uses the petrol engine to charge the battery and the electric motors drive the wheels, rather than a combination of both. This means if the battery can not charge, the vehicle can not be driven.The recall notice said if this occurs it could “increase the risk of an accident, causing injury or death to the vehicle occupants and other road users”.Nissan will be contacting affected owners and urging them to attend their local dealership to have the software reprogrammed at no cost.Nissan also recalled 237 Qashqai e-Power compact SUVs for the same issue.The affected models cover the 2025 to 2026 model years and again will be reprogrammed free of charge.

Toyota has issued an urgent recall for its Tundra ute in Australia.It concerns a specific issue with 1199 local examples of the full-size pick-up manufactured between 1 May 2023 and 19 December 2024.These vehicles are equipped with a potentially faulty towing converter relay responsible for controlling vehicle and trailer rear lamps.Toyota said a wire within this relay may not be sufficiently insulated, which exposes the terminal pin, leading to the cabin back panel, which is a vital electrical component, shorting in some instances. This causes the brake lights to become inoperative and for the brake override warning message to be displayed."Inoperative stop lights may cause other drivers to be unaware when an involved vehicle is braking, increasing the risk of a collision which may result in injury or death," the brand's notice read.The car will also not turn on again once it has been turned off as part of the smart start system that prevents the car from being driven if the brake lights are not functioning. There is an emergency start procedure that can be used. Toyota said this issue does not affect other models within its lineup. A spokesperson for Toyota Australia said there have been three reported incidents of the issue occurring.The brand will contact affected owners to book a dealer appointment and rectify the issue for free.The procedure of reworking the terminal pin and re-insulating the wire to the main wire harness will take roughly an hour, according to Toyota. The hybrid Tundra competes with other full-size pick-ups like the Ford F-150 and the Ram 1500 for sales in Australia. It has experienced a solid sales increase in 2026, but remains a comparatively low-volume model for Toyota. 

More than 30,000 Jaguar Land Rover SUVs have been subject to urgent recalls in Australia, according to notices from the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sports and the Arts. The largest of these recalls concerns 23,313 Land Rover Defender, Discovery and Range Rover SUVs for the model years 2019 to 2026.“Due to a manufacturing defect, the connection to the driver’s airbag clock spring may corrode over time and lead to an increased resistance in the airbag circuit,” the notice stated.“As a result, the airbag may fail to deploy in the event of an accident.“In the event of an accident, the airbag not deploying as intended could increase the risk of injury or death to vehicle occupants.”The second issue relates to the Jaguar F-Pace SUV, Land Rover Defender and Discovery, as well as Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Velar models.It impacts 7152 units from the 2024 to 2026 model years.“Due to a manufacturing defect, the front-end auxiliary drive belt idler pulley may over rotate and cause damage to the oil pressure and temperature sensor,” the notice stated."This may lead to an oil leak and engine stalling resulting in a loss of motive power whilst driving.“An engine stall or sudden loss of motive power could increase the risk of serious injury or death to vehicle occupants and other road users.”The brand will contact the affected owners of all affected vehicles asking them to contact a dealer and have the work to fix the issue carried out, free of charge. A spokesperson Jaguar Land Rover said these are recalls are a part of a global recall and there have not been any reported incidents of the issue occurring in Australia.