Newer Kia Telluride, Hyundai Palisade Models Equipped with Defective Headlights, Lawsuit Alleges

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges 2020-present model year Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade SUVs are equipped with defective headlights prone to damage from moisture and condensation. 

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The 74-page Telluride and Palisade headlight lawsuit claims in particular that the headlights were manufactured such that they cannot sufficiently seal out moisture and humidity and become fogged and/or unfocused. Per the complaint, the headlights were made with defective seals that allow moisture and condensation to intrude into the headlight assembly, which can cause high beams, low beams, daytime running lights and fog lamps to become progressively dimmer over time before the headlight ultimately fails to illuminate entirely. 

At the same time, moisture intrusion into the headlight can cause its internal wiring and wiring connections to quickly degrade, the case adds. 

The proposed class action lawsuit describes the alleged Telluride and Palisade headlight defect as a significant safety hazard given the issue can cause drivers to be unable to see at a distance in front of them, particularly during inclement weather and while driving at night. 

“The Headlight Defect endangers drivers, pedestrians, and other vehicles because it makes accidents wherein the vehicle strikes a person, animal, or object in the roadway more likely, and sometimes entirely unavoidable, depending on the degradation of light output or level of headlight failure,” the suit reads. “For this reason, Class members have reported fear of driving their Class Vehicles at night or in inclement weather.”

According to the complaint, defendants Hyundai and Kia have known of the alleged headlight defect since at least 2019, if not earlier, given the frequency with which affected Telluride and Palisade models have required headlight repairs and the rate at which the vehicles’ headlights prematurely fail. Although the automakers’ new vehicle limited warranties purportedly cover headlight repairs, Telluride and Palisade drivers have complained that their headlights have failed both within and just outside the warranty period and that they’ve had to pay for repairs even when within the warranty period, the filing says. 

As the lawsuit tells it, when drivers get their vehicles repaired, the replacement headlights installed by Hyundai and Kia are “equally as defective as the originals.”  

The suit claims the automakers “undertook affirmative measures to conceal” the headlight problems from consumers, including by instructing dealers to tell drivers that their headlights were operating normally. 

“By denying the existence of a defect, manufacturers can play on the consumers’ lack of technical expertise and avoid implementing potentially costly fixes for years, or at least until the vehicles are out of warranty,” the case relays. 

The lawsuit looks to cover all persons and entities in the United States who have bought or leased a 2020-present Kia Telluride or Hyundai Palisade. 

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