Korean car recalls topped 2 million vehicles in 2025, though the total fell from the previous year, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) statistics.
NHTSA data showed that a combined 2,060,558 Hyundai Motor and Kia vehicles were recalled nationwide during the year. That was about 12% lower than 2,344,589 vehicles recalled in 2024. The number of recall actions also fell to 34 cases, down from 45 a year earlier.
Hyundai Motor recalled 1,078,212 vehicles, ranking fifth among brands by recall volume. About half of that total involved 2020–2025 Palisade models over an issue in which the seat belt buckle may not properly latch. Hyundai Motor carried out 21 recall actions in 2025, compared with 25 actions and 1,109,978 vehicles recalled a year earlier.
Kia announced 13 recall actions and ranked seventh, with 982,346 vehicles recalled, close to one million units. About 250,000 2021–2024 K5 sedans were recalled due to a fuel tank fire risk. In 2024, Kia carried out 20 recalls affecting 1,234,611 vehicles, meaning both recall actions and vehicles fell sharply in 2025.
Among major Japanese brands, Toyota had 15 recall actions in 2025, but the number of recalled vehicles reached 3,223,256, ranking second overall. That was a sharp increase from 1,221,666 vehicles recalled in 2024 across 16 actions. The largest single recall last year involved more than 1 million vehicles due to a rearview camera-related defect.
Honda ranked fourth with 1,560,813 recalled vehicles and carried out 23 recall actions in 2025. That was down from 3,794,113 vehicles recalled across 18 actions in 2024. A recent issue involved 2016–2021 Civic models, where optional 18-inch aluminum wheel accessories sold for the vehicles could detach while driving.
The brand with the most recalled vehicles nationwide in 2025 was Ford, at 12,930,696 vehicles—about twice the combined total of Hyundai Motor, Kia, Toyota, and Honda. Ford and Lincoln recorded 153 recall actions during the year, an all-time annual record. That was more than double the 67 actions in 2024, while recall volume surged from 4,777,161 vehicles to nearly three times that level.
Other major automakers included Stellantis, which owns Chrysler and Jeep, ranking third with 2,776,952 vehicles recalled across 53 actions. General Motors (GM), which owns Chevrolet and Cadillac, ranked sixth with 998,260 vehicles recalled across 28 actions.
Nissan ranked eighth with 874,265 vehicles recalled across 10 actions. Tesla ranked ninth with 745,075 vehicles (11 actions), and Volkswagen ranked tenth with 663,663 vehicles across 26 actions.
In 2024, Tesla ranked first with 15 recall actions affecting 5,135,991 vehicles, followed by Stellantis with 72 recall actions involving 4,804,285 vehicles.
Experts cautioned that it is difficult to judge a brand’s reliability based only on recall figures. They said, “Recalls can also be an indicator of how actively problems are identified, reported, and fixed,” and added, “To judge long-term quality and durability, it is desirable to also refer to survey results evaluated based on actual experience.”
BY HOONSIK WOO [woo.hoonsik@koreadaily.com]
