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Active NHTSA advisory: park outside and away from structures until repaired. Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls and see the recall details below.

Hyundai · Large SUV

2025 Hyundai Palisade

Gas

Small Sport Utility Vehicle 2WD
2 EPA-rated configurations
Data refreshed 2026-10-26

Safety Signal

72 / 100 from the NHTSA recall record

Recalls1 critical 3

Complaints8 crash · 1 fire · 7 injured · 1 died reported 254

Crash ratingnot rated by NHTSA —

Fuel economybest combined, EPA 22 mpg

Starting MSRP13 trims · manufacturer $37,200

2027 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020

The 2025 Hyundai Palisade is sold in the U.S. as a gas large SUV with 2 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the Palisade FWD, is EPA-rated at 22 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 3 recall campaigns for this model year, 1 rated critical, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of C. Owners have filed 254 complaints, most often about the service brakes. Manufacturer pricing runs from $37,200 to $54,500 across 13 trims.

Hyundai Palisade — photograph via Wikimedia Commons — Hyundai Palisade · Photo: LuvsMG481 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Trims & pricing

Source: manufacturer press kitWhich trim should I buy? → Compare a trim →

Trim	Powertrain	Drive	MSRP	HP	Torque	MPG comb	Seats	Cargo (2nd row)	Wheels
SE	Gas	FWD	$37,200	291 hp	262 lb-ft	22 mpg	8	45.8 cu-ft	18 in
SE	Gas	AWD	$39,200	291 hp	262 lb-ft	21 mpg	8	45.8 cu-ft	18 in
SEL	Gas	FWD	$39,950	291 hp	262 lb-ft	22 mpg	7	45.8 cu-ft	18 in
SEL	Gas	AWD	$41,950	291 hp	262 lb-ft	21 mpg	7	45.8 cu-ft	18 in
SEL Premium	Gas	FWD	$44,550	291 hp	262 lb-ft	22 mpg	7	45.8 cu-ft	20 in
SEL Premium	Gas	AWD	$46,550	291 hp	262 lb-ft	21 mpg	7	45.8 cu-ft	20 in
XRT	Gas	FWD	$43,050	291 hp	262 lb-ft	22 mpg	7	45.8 cu-ft	20 in
XRT	Gas	AWD	$45,050	291 hp	262 lb-ft	21 mpg	7	45.8 cu-ft	20 in
Limited	Gas	FWD	$48,600	291 hp	262 lb-ft	22 mpg	7	45.8 cu-ft	20 in
Limited	Gas	AWD	$50,600	291 hp	262 lb-ft	21 mpg	7	45.8 cu-ft	20 in
Calligraphy	Gas	FWD	$51,000	291 hp	262 lb-ft	22 mpg	7	45.8 cu-ft	20 in
Calligraphy	Gas	AWD	$53,000	291 hp	262 lb-ft	21 mpg	7	45.8 cu-ft	20 in
Calligraphy Night Edition	Gas	AWD	$54,500	291 hp	262 lb-ft	21 mpg	7	45.8 cu-ft	20 in

MSRP excludes destination. Open a trim for the complete spec sheet and standard/optional equipment. Have the car in front of you? Decode its VIN to see which of these trims it is and what it was priced at.

Specs & fuel economy

Source: EPA fueleconomy.gov

Configuration	Powertrain	Drive	Engine / motor	City	Hwy	Comb	Annual fuel*
Palisade FWD	Gas	FWD	3.8L 6-cyl	19	26	22	$3,050
Palisade AWD	Gas	AWD	3.8L 6-cyl	19	24	21	$3,200

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year at EPA reference fuel and electricity prices. fueleconomy.gov record ids: 47951, 47958.

Emissions & certification

Source: EPA emission certificates

Configuration	Smog rating	Emission standard	Where it can be sold new	SmartWay
Palisade AWD, Palisade FWD	5 / 10	Federal Tier 3 Bin 50 / California LEV-III ULEV50	All 50 states (federal, all altitudes); California and states following California standards	—

Certified for all fifty states, so it can be registered new anywhere in the U.S.

The smog rating scores tailpipe pollutants other than greenhouse gases, 1 (worst) to 10 (best), and is comparable only within a model year. The standard is the federal bin or California tier the configuration was certified to. Both come from the EPA certificate behind the window sticker.

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Recalls (3)

Source: NHTSA recall database

▲high

Air Bags

292

568,576 vehicles 8% reported repaired

Problem Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2020-2025 Palisade vehicles. The side curtain air bags for third-row occupants may deploy improperly in a crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 226, "Ejection Mitigation." Risk Improper side curtain air bag deployment increases the risk of injury during a crash. Fix Dealers will install a protective film over the rear window and remove padding, as necessary free of charge. Interim notification letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed beginning March 13, 2026. Final remedy owner letters will be mailed in phases, beginning in June 2026 and expected to continue through December 2026. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 292. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this rec

Filed with NHTSADefect report PDF Owner letter PDF Remedy instructions PDF

NHTSA campaign 26V034000 reported Jan 22, 2026 Hyundai Motor America the full filing, and every vehicle covered →

▲high

Seat Belts

283

568,580 vehicles 20% reported repaired

Problem Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2020-2025 Palisade vehicles. The seat belt buckles in the driver, passenger, and second-row window seats may fail to latch. Risk Seat belt buckles that fail to latch may not properly restrain occupants in a crash, increasing the risk of injury. Fix Passengers are advised to insert the belt firmly into the buckle with a quick and direct motion, pulling on the belt to confirm the seat belt is fully secured, until the recall remedy is performed. Dealers will replace the seat belt buckle assemblies, free of charge. Interim notification letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed beginning October 23, 2025. Final remedy owner letters will be mailed in phases, beginning in June 2026 and expected to continue through December 2026. O

Filed with NHTSADefect report PDF Owner letter PDF Remedy instructions PDF

NHTSA campaign 25V607000 reported Sep 11, 2025 Hyundai Motor America the full filing, and every vehicle covered →

!critical

Power Train

278

Park outside 620 vehicles 96% reported repaired built Feb 3, 2025 – Feb 24, 2025

Problem Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2025 Hyundai Palisade vehicles. An insufficient seal on the controller for the electric oil pump may allow moisture to accumulate in the printed circuit board, which can cause an electrical short and result in a fire. Risk A fire while parked or driving can increase the risk of injury. Fix Owners are advised to park their vehicles outside and away from structures until the recall remedy is completed. Dealers will replace the electric oil pump controller, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 11, 2025. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 278.

Filed with NHTSADefect report PDF Owner letter PDF Remedy instructions PDF Chronology PDF

NHTSA campaign 25V291000 reported May 6, 2025 Hyundai Motor America the full filing, and every vehicle covered →

These are vehicle campaigns — the ones the automaker filed against this model. NHTSA also records equipment recalls, filed by a parts maker against a component (a tyre, a child seat, an aftermarket part), and those are not listed here or counted above. nhtsa.gov/recalls shows both for a VIN.

NHTSA defect investigations

None — NU Car rental of vehicles with open recalls open

NHTSA is opening this Audit Query (AQ) to investigate NU Car Rentals (NU Car) for compliance with the requirements of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act. The Safety Act requires that a rental company shall not rent a vehicle subject to a safety recall unless the recall remedy has been performed. 49 U.S.C. § 30120(i). NHTSA is in receipt of information that indicates NU Car rented at least two vehicles to consumers without having performed required recall repairs. The Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQ) related to this investigation can be found on nhtsa.gov by searching for ID number 11730449 and 11504655. Accordingly, we are opening this audit query to seek additional informat

Opened Jun 9, 2026 · action AQ26001 · the investigation’s page →

Whether any of this applies to one specific Palisade

A campaign covers a build range, not a model year, so two identical-looking cars from 2025 can differ. Both of these check a VIN against the manufacturer’s own list, free, in about ten seconds. Hyundai publishes its own lookup because federal rule 49 CFR 573.15 requires it to, and to keep it current to within seven days.

NHTSA VIN check →Hyundai’s own VIN lookup →

Hear about a recall before the letter does

The manufacturer’s letter is the last step of a recall: it has up to 60 days after filing to mail owners, at the address on the registration. We email you the day NHTSA posts a recall on the 2025 Hyundai Palisade, with what to do next. Nothing else, ever — no newsletter, no marketing, one-click unsubscribe in every message.

Owner complaints

Source: NHTSA complaint database

254complaints filed

8 involved a crash · 1 a fire · 7 injuries · 1 deaths reported

21 per 10,000 built · Hyundai reported 118,828 Palisade built (its Early Warning production report to NHTSA)

Filed per year: 2024: 1 · 2025: 134 · 2026: 119

Most-cited components

Service Brakes → 96

Seat Belts → 61

Unspecified 45

Forward Collision Avoidance 31

Air Bags 31

Suspension 14

In depth: brake problems → · seat belt problems →

In owners' own words

Filed with NHTSA by the people who own these cars, one per problem area. Quoted as written, with anything identifying removed.

When driving at a low rate of speed to stop, when you hit a bump or uneven road, the brakes lock up, the vehicle will lurch, and will not stop. This has happened several times on pavement, gravel roads, and dirt roads. I have had to steer off the road to keep from going into oncoming traffic.

Service Brakes Jun 18, 2025 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11667613

When exiting a paking lot, the Vechile did not Warn/Detect or di not Stop, while there was a 2 feet rock in the front of the bumper, whcih is 2 feet by 2 feet. The big rock hit exactly between the 2 sesonrs and no waring or didnt stop the vechile from colliding which damged the whole front bumper.

Back Over Prevention May 29, 2025 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11663641

I have a 2025 Hyundai Palisade with ABS issue that has occurred at least 3 times since first occurrence at 1700 miles while on an incline turning right rode on rumble strip at about 15 to 20mph. The abs activated no abs light on dash, ride became extremely bumping and car will not stop at the light before the stop light.

Forward Collision Avoidance May 23, 2025 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11662877

Car will not turn on with push to start button. Car will not start or turn on with BlueLink App Car will only start with the Key Fob

Electrical System May 17, 2025 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11661617

I was driving down the highway and suddenly heard a crack. One on the windshield and one on the passenger window

Visibility/Wiper Mar 14, 2025 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11648390

After buckling the front passenger seatbelt and proceeding to drive, the front passenger seat belt disconnected without warning. This is the 5th time this has occurred during driving

Seat Belts Feb 20, 2025 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11644021

Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.

Reported by Hyundai itself: 12 death-or-injury claims on this model year in its quarterly Early Warning reports to NHTSA (49 CFR 579.21): 5 killed, 18 injured, as claimed, not verified — about 10 per 100,000 built. Every Palisade model year, by year and system → Dated and by system, they are exhibit F of the defect dossier.

When owners reported it

Reported at 8k

miles, typically

Half the 21 owner reports with an odometer reading on file fall between 6,000 and 19,000 miles. That is when problems get reported, which is not the same as when they start — and not a failure rate, because nobody knows how many of these cars never had a problem at all.

Too few readings for a curve — the 21 on file: 11 under 10k, 5 10k–20k, 3 20k–30k, 1 30k–40k, 1 40k–50k.

Odometer readings as filed by owners with NHTSA. Readings under 100 or over 400,000 miles are dropped as data entry rather than history, and a component needs at least 12 readings before a median is shown for it.

Crash ratings

Source: NHTSA NCAP

Configuration	Overall	Frontal	Side	Rollover	Rollover risk
SUV AWD	not rated	★★★★★	not rated	★★★★☆	14%
SUV FWD	not rated	★★★★★	not rated	★★★★☆	16%

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program. Standard driver-assist: forward collision warning, lane departure warning, automatic emergency braking.

Service bulletins & campaigns

Source: NHTSA manufacturer communications

Extended coverage on file 2 filings by the manufacturer with NHTSA naming this model year

15 years or 180,000 miles, whichever comes first · Hyundai warranty extension Z15Some Palisade (LX2) vehicles may exhibit engine oil leakage at the engine oil filter housing assembly due to deterioration of the housing seal.
15 years or 150,000 miles, whichever comes first · Hyundai warranty extension Z06Certain 2020-2025MY Palisade (LX2) vehicles may experience abnormal seat belt buckle(s) operation.

The term and the vehicles it covers are the manufacturer’s, as NHTSA’s summary of each filing states them; a dealer checks one particular car by its VIN. Every Hyundai warranty extension (62) → · Every warranty extension on file, all makes →

Communicationsfiled with NHTSA 35

Most recentmanufacturer date 2026-10-08

Kindsas classified by NHTSA 15 service campaigns, 10 service bulletins, 8 warranty extensions

Most often about: Engine, Electrical System, Service Brakes, Seat Belts, Unknown Or Other.

26-EM-017H TSB Service bulletin
2026-10-08 · Engine
Certain Palisade (LX2) and Santa Fe (NC) vehicles equipped with Lambda II 6-cylinder engines may exhibit higher-than-expected engine oil consumption. This bulletin outlines the combustion chamber cleaning procedure for vehicles diagnosed with this condition. All internal combustion engines consume some engine oil during normal operation, depending on driving conditions and mileage, and this proced
26-EM-015H TSB Service bulletin
2026-10-07 · Engine
Certain vehicles equipped with internal combustion engines may exhibit higher-than-expected engine oil consumption. This bulletin provides the inspection and repair procedures for vehicles exhibiting this condition. All internal combustion engines consume engine oil as part of normal engine operation. Oil consumption rates may vary based on mileage, operating conditions, driving habits, and mainte
Z15 OL Warranty extension
2026-08-03 · Engine
Certain 2020 – 2025 model year Palisade vehicles may exhibit engine oil leakage at the engine oil filter housing assembly due to deterioration of the housing seal. At Hyundai, we are committed to providing vehicles of outstanding quality and value. In an effort to meet this commitment, the warranty coverage for the Engine Oil Filter Housing Seal under these conditions has been extended to 15 years
26-BE-012H TSB Service bulletin
2026-06-18 · Forward Collision Avoidance — Warnings
Some Palisade (LX2) vehicles may display a “Check forward safety systems” warning message on the cluster along with DTC C272246, due to the front view camera calibration range being exceeded. This bulletin provides instructions to replace the front view camera when this DTC is active.
26-EE-007H TSB Service bulletin
2026-06-17 · Electrical System
Some Palisade (LX2), Tucson (NX4), and Tucson Hybrid (NX4 HEV) vehicles may experience battery drain due to continuous operation of the cooling fan after vehicle ignition has been turned off, potentially resulting in a no-start condition. The continuous cooling fan operation is caused by a stuck relay in the engine room PCB block. This bulletin provides instructions to replace the engine room PCB
26-GI-002H TSB Service bulletin
2026-05-27 · Electrical System
This bulletin provides information related to the navigation and head unit software changes introduced in the 2026 1st Navigation Map and Software Update. The changes may vary depending on vehicle type, model, and navigation system. Refer to the 2026 1st Navigation Map and Software Update Key Improvements and Additional Improvements tables in this TSB for a list of specific changes. The software c
11032523 Other
2026-04-10 · Air Bags
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has identified the presence of substandard and dangerous driver’s-side airbag inflators manufactured by Jilin Province Detiannuo Automobile Safety System Co., Ltd. (DTN). These inflators were not supplied, approved, or authorized by the vehicle manufacturers and have primarily been found in vehicles that previously experienced a crash and
11032522 Other
2026-04-10 · Air Bags
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued an urgent safety advisory regarding dangerous, counterfeit driver‑side airbag inflators manufactured by Jilin Province Detiannuo Automobile Safety System Co., Ltd. (DTN), that have been identified in U.S. vehicles following prior crashes, theft, or non‑certified airbag replacements. These inflators are not approved for use, may

A service bulletin is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a known condition. It is not a recall, not a finding that the vehicle is defective, and the work is not automatically free — though a bulletin is often what a dealer works from when you describe a symptom, so quoting the document number can save a diagnosis. The count is every communication filed; the list shows the most recent, one entry per campaign, because a single campaign is usually filed as several documents on the same day. The summaries are NHTSA's; the full documents come from the manufacturer.

At the New York inspection station

Source: New York State DMV

New York inspections 0.30%

failed the safety inspection

5,011 initial inspections of 4,960 vehicles.

Measure	The 2025 Palisade	Every 2025 vehicle	Behind it
Failed the safety inspection	0.30%	0.36%	5,011
Air-bag warning lamp stayed lit	0.08%	0.16%	5,011
Miles driven a year	9,377	8,354	odometer at inspection
Average odometer	13,740	12,194	odometer at inspection

New York does not emissions-test model years this new, so the safety inspection is the record here. First inspections only, so a car that failed and came back is counted once; private and special plates, not taxis, livery or commercial plates. A rate appears only where at least 200 inspections stand behind it. “Every 2025 vehicle” is every 2025 model-year car, SUV and pickup inspected in the same window, all makes. This is the state’s record of test results, not a reliability score by itself. Source: New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, Vehicle Inspections (data.ny.gov, Open NY terms).

Compare the 2025 Palisade with

Any vehicle, your weights →

Head-to-head	Verdict
2025 Toyota 4Runner · Large SUV · grade A	Toss-up
2025 Toyota Sequoia · Large SUV · grade A	Toss-up
2025 Toyota Grand Highlander · Large SUV · grade B	Grand Highlander +3.8
2025 Kia Telluride · Large SUV · grade C	Telluride +9.2

Palisade by model year

all years, side by side →

Year Safety Recalls Complaints

2027 A 0 5 34 mpg 2026 B 3 132 34 mpg 2025 this page C 3 254 Park outside 2024 F 5 397 Park outside 2023 D 5 408 Park outside 2022 D 5 316 Park outside 2021 D 6 447 Park outside 2020 D 5 541 Park outside

Common questions about the 2025 Palisade

Source: EPA, NHTSA and manufacturer press kits

How much does the 2025 Hyundai Palisade cost?

Manufacturer pricing runs from $37,200 for the SE FWD to $54,500 for the Calligraphy Night Edition AWD, across 13 trims. Those are MSRPs from the manufacturer's own press material; they exclude destination, options, taxes and whatever the dealer adds. Every trim and price is listed above.

Does the 2025 Hyundai Palisade have any recalls?

NHTSA has posted 3 recall campaigns for the 2025 Hyundai Palisade, 1 of them rated critical. The most serious on file is 25V291000, covering Power Train. 2 of them were filed with no repair available at the time — NHTSA's file records what the manufacturer had in hand on the filing date, not what exists today. There is an active park outside advisory — act on it before driving. Check your own VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls; a recall applies to specific build ranges, not every car.

How safe is the 2025 Hyundai Palisade?

NHTSA has not published a crash-test rating for the 2025 Hyundai Palisade yet. On the recall record WhichTrim grades it C (72/100), which measures open and severe recalls rather than crash protection.

What is the fuel economy of the 2025 Hyundai Palisade?

Across the 2 EPA-rated configurations of the 2025 Hyundai Palisade, the best EPA combined figure is 22 mpg. Figures are the EPA's own, per configuration, and every one is listed above.

What do owners complain about on the 2025 Hyundai Palisade?

Owners have filed 254 complaints with NHTSA about the 2025 Hyundai Palisade, most often about service brakes, seat belts, unspecified. Of those, 8 involved a crash, 1 a fire, 7 reported injuries. Complaints are unverified owner reports, so treat the pattern as a signal and the individual report as an anecdote.

How clean is the 2025 Hyundai Palisade?

The EPA smog rating for the 2025 Hyundai Palisade is 5 out of 10. That score covers tailpipe pollutants other than greenhouse gases, and it only compares vehicles within the same model year. It is certified for all fifty states, so it can be registered new anywhere in the U.S. Its configurations were certified to different standards — California LEV-III ULEV50, Federal Tier 3 Bin 50 — which the table above lists per configuration.

Are there service bulletins for the 2025 Hyundai Palisade?

The manufacturer has filed 35 service bulletins and related communications with NHTSA for the 2025 Hyundai Palisade, most often covering engine, electrical system, service brakes. The most recent is dated 2026-10-08. A bulletin is not a recall: it is the repair procedure a manufacturer sends its dealers for a condition it knows about, and the work is not automatically paid for. It is still worth knowing — if the symptom matches, quoting the bulletin number at the service desk can save a diagnosis. The document numbers and summaries are listed above.

How does the 2025 Hyundai Palisade do at state inspection?

In New York’s inspection lanes over the 12 months to Oct 10, 2026, the 2025 Hyundai Palisade failed the safety inspection on 0.30% of first inspections — close to the 0.36% for every 2025 model-year vehicle inspected. The figures are New York State DMV’s own inspection records, first inspections only, and the table above sets each one against every vehicle of the same model year.

Which 2025 Hyundai Palisade trim is the best value?

$17,300 separates the cheapest of the 13 trims from the most expensive, so the answer depends on which of the differences you would actually use. Every trim has its own page here with the manufacturer's full specification and equipment list, plus a short summary of exactly what it adds over the base trim — worth reading before a dealer frames the walk-up for you. The trim-by-trim ladder shows what every step up costs and what it makes standard.

Is the 2025 Hyundai Palisade better than the 2025 Toyota 4Runner?

Too close to call: Hyundai Palisade 85.7 vs Toyota 4Runner 84.7 with these weights. The Toyota 4Runner is ahead on safety and fuel & range. Raise the safety weight from 4 to 4.4 and it flips. We publish a full side-by-side of the 2025 Hyundai Palisade against the 2025 Toyota 4Runner — specifications by family, equipment feature by feature, safety record and ownership costs. You can re-weight what matters to you and the verdict recalculates.

What we hold, and what an empty row means

Paid vehicle-history reports will not tell you the difference between “nothing happened to this car” and “we never received that record” — both of the big two say as much in their own help pages. Most of what is on this page comes from complete federal registers, so we can tell you which is which, row by row.

Data	Held	Source	What it covers — or what empty means
Fuel economy & configurations	2 configurations	EPA certification records	Every configuration the EPA certified for sale, with its own test figures.
Emission certificates	2 configurations	EPA emission certificates	Smog rating, standard and the sales area that decides where the car can be sold new.
Recalls	3	NHTSA recall campaigns	A complete federal register: every campaign covering this model year, with severity and advisory flags.
Owner complaints	254	NHTSA complaint database	Also complete, but unverified: these are reports owners filed, not findings. Counts scale with how many were sold.
Crash ratings	2 tested	NHTSA NCAP	Only the configurations NHTSA chose to crash-test, which is never all of them.
Service bulletins	35	NHTSA manufacturer communications	Everything the manufacturer told its dealers about a defect or malfunction, short of a recall.
Investigations	1	NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation	Open and closed defect investigations, with the agency's own narrative.
Driver-assist crash reports	none	NHTSA Standing General Order 2021-01	No report has been filed. Only entities named in the order report, and only crashes they hear of — so this is also what an unequipped car, or a manufacturer without telematics, looks like.
Specifications filed with NHTSA	none	NHTSA vPIC, decoded from VIN patterns	We had no VIN pattern to decode for this model year, or the manufacturer filed nothing usable.
Trims, pricing & equipment	13 trims	Manufacturer press kit	Transcribed from the manufacturer's own press material, every value carrying the document it came from.

Rebuilt nightly; this page was generated 2026-10-26. Every figure above is traceable to the source named beside it, and the JSON for this page carries the same values with their identifiers.

Sources & method

Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). The most serious recall counts in full and each further one counts 85% of the one before, because a vehicle sold in millions is recalled more often than a rare one without being more dangerous — and because a flat subtraction bottomed the scale out, scoring a vehicle with 22 recalls within a point of one with six. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Read it as what it counts: recall campaigns on the federal record, weighted by severity. The damping reduces the sales bias by roughly 40% but does not remove it: like our complaint counts, this is not normalized by how many were sold, so a best-seller still scores somewhat worse than an obscure model with the same real risk. NHTSA crash ratings, do-not-drive and park-outside advisories, and the crash, fire, injury and death counts in owner complaints are reported separately on every page and never blended into the letter — a vehicle can hold five stars and a poor letter at once, and where that happens we say so rather than leave you to notice. Because the scale subtracts from a clean sheet, a model year too new to have been recalled, complained about or bulletined scores full marks on an empty record; we label those grades provisional rather than present them as earned.

EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records. Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed nightly. Trim-level specifications and pricing are transcribed from the manufacturer's official press kit; every value carries its source in the data file.

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