Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing to file a safety complaint regarding the second-row seat controls in a Genesis GV80. Specifically, I have experienced a potentially dangerous issue involving the automatic seat-folding mechanism being activated unintentionally. In our vehicle, the button used to move or fold the second-row seat can be easily pressed accidentally—for example, by a child’s knee while entering the vehicle. When this occurs, the seat begins moving automatically without adequately detecting whether the seat is occupied. There have been two recent close calls in which one child was already seated in the second row, and another child entering the vehicle inadvertently pressed the button. The seat then began closing/moving toward the occupied position without stopping, creating a risk of injury to the seated child. In these instances, intervention was required to stop the seat movement. This raises serious concerns about the lack of sufficient occupant detection or obstruction detection in the seat mechanism. A system that allows powered seat movement without reliably sensing an occupant or obstruction poses a clear safety hazard, particularly for families with children. I respectfully request that this issue be investigated. It may warrant a recall, software update, or design modification to ensure: Improved occupant detection in the second-row seats Automatic stop or reversal when resistance or obstruction is detected Reduced likelihood of accidental activation of seat controls Thank you for your attention to this matter. I am available to provide additional details if needed.
NHTSA ODI 11726060