Fewer complaints than the 2020, the same engine, and a brake recall the first year never had.

Report the loss and the dealer starts a consumption test: back every 1,000 miles, usually four times, level recorded each visit. A Palisade owner documented the whole process. "We were told by the dealership to drive it for A Thousand Miles, bring it back in and they would check the oil consumption. Well, we did that this morning and it's down about a half a quart." By his third visit he is being told he is wasting his time, and he does the arithmetic with the service advisor on camera: "what's the service interval for Hyundai Palisade — 6,000 miles. How much oil does a Hyundai Palisade have — around six quarts. Okay, so if I go by the interval I'm going to be bringing you a car that's almost bone dry." That is the whole problem. A quart per 1,000 miles treated as acceptable, a six-quart sump and a 6,000-mile interval means a car sitting on the acceptable line arrives at its next service empty. He asked for the threshold in writing and was refused: "can you provide some sort of documentation that says that Hyundai allows this 1,000 mile quart of oil level? No, I've only heard it on the phone." A 2021 owner is eight to ten months and six oil changes into the same protocol. Run the test for the paper trail. Do not accept a pass as evidence the engine is healthy — and in the meantime, do what he did: "we keep a quart of oil in the car now just in case there's any oil related issues, don't want to get stranded."

There is exactly one piece of free engine coverage on this car. Hyundai extended the warranty on the oil filter housing seal because Palisades "may exhibit engine oil leakage at the engine oil filter housing assembly due to deterioration of the housing seal", taking it to "15 years / 180,000 miles from the date of original retail delivery or date of first use (whichever occurs first)", and stating that it is "valid for original and subsequent owners". The repair procedure is Hyundai's Technical Service Bulletin 26-EM-012H — a TSB is the fix instructions a manufacturer sends its dealers. Hyundai's own wording names what it overrides, and this is the sentence a used buyer needs: it applies "even if the vehicle is still within the New Vehicle Limited Warranty (NVLW) of 5 years / 60,000 miles or Powertrain Warranty of 10 years / 100,000 miles (for the original owner)". The ten-year powertrain warranty belongs to the first owner. This extension follows the car. The 2021 file shows the failure clearly: "OIL FILTER HOUSING IS LEAKING. PLASTIC PART IS WARPED AND DOES NOT ALLOW FILTER TO SEAL. LEAKING OIL IS A FIRE HAZARD AND COULD CAUSE ENGINE FAILURE." "The oil filter housing cracked and leaked engine oil at mileage 74992." And one owner catches the cold-weather version: "Oil filter housing leak. Does not impact oil levels but more notable during cold weather as the ring tends to shrink." The line to hold: this covers the leak. There is no oil-consumption programme, no ring or piston bulletin and no short-block extension anywhere in Hyundai's Palisade file.

This is the campaign unique to this model year and the one most likely to have been forgotten. Recall 21V840, Hyundai's number 212, covers 2021 Palisades: "The brake fluid may be contaminated, which can cause the brake master cylinder inner-cup seals to swell, and reduce braking performance." The master cylinder is the part your brake pedal actually pushes; its inner seals are what convert that push into pressure at the wheels. NHTSA's stated consequence is that "reduced braking performance can extend the distance required to stop the vehicle". Dealers replace the brake master cylinder and flush the brake fluid free of charge, and owner letters were mailed 24 December 2021. Two owners in the 2021 file describe symptoms in that territory: "Driving my car one morning and the brakes went out. Pedal went all the way to the floor. I had to engage the emergency brake to stop." And, twice from different filers, a pedal that "felt abnormally stiff/stuck and did not provide [normal] breaking response". Because the remedy landed early and quietly, a car that changed hands since may never have been brought in. Confirm it reads complete rather than mailed.

The 2021 Palisade is the only model year that sits inside both wiper campaigns. Recall 22V627, Hyundai's number 233, covers 2020 and 2021 cars: "The windshield wiper motor may become inoperative, causing the wipers to fail." Then recall 23V180, Hyundai's number 243, covers 2021 to 2023 cars where "the windshield wiper motor may operate intermittently or fail to operate due to snow or ice buildup on the windshield" — and Hyundai's own remedy text states it plainly: "This recall is an expansion of recall number 22V-627." It was opened out of a federal Recall Query, NHTSA action number RQ22005, which means regulators pushed for the wider campaign rather than Hyundai volunteering it. The remedy in both is the same: dealers replace the driver-side windshield wiper arm, free. Letters for the expansion went out 15 May 2023. Here is why this matters on a used car. One owner was told his car was not covered: "WELL..... was told there is no recall. They replaced a harness I was told and final bill was $1,126.30. NOt under warranty because my car has 113,000 miles." Another was quoted "$926.75 for the part and $290 additional for labor" on a car "within the 5 year warranty but outside the 60,000 mile warranty". Recall work has no mileage cap; warranty work does. If wipers on a 2021 have ever been paid for out of pocket, that is a reimbursement conversation. This defect has no counterpart on the Kia Telluride.

These two campaigns cover every Palisade from 2020 to 2025 and, on the most recent federal filings, neither has a final fix. Recall 25V607, Hyundai's number 283: "The seat belt buckles in the driver, passenger, and second-row window seats may fail to latch." Until the remedy exists, Hyundai's instruction is 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". Interim letters went out from 23 October 2025; the final remedy was "anticipated June 2026". Recall 26V034, Hyundai's number 292: "The side curtain air bags for third-row occupants may deploy improperly in a crash", making the vehicles non-compliant with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 226, "Ejection Mitigation" — the rule that keeps occupants inside the car in a rollover. Interim letters from 13 March 2026, remedy "anticipated May 2026". There is one entitlement that survives the backlog, and it is separate from the recall: Hyundai extended the seat belt buckle warranty to 15 years and 150,000 miles, for original and subsequent owners, under bulletin 25-BE-010H, covering buckles with abnormal "insertion, ejection feeling, sound, or potential debris that influences operation". A second, distinct extension covers belts "twisted due to excessive space in the D-ring" to 10 years and 100,000 miles.

The gearbox is an eight-speed automatic, designated A8LF1 and also known as the A8A36, rated to 266 pound-feet. It is nearly silent in the 2020 federal file and it is not silent here. "I own a 2021 Hyundai Palisade and have experienced a complete transmission failure that I believe Hyundai had prior knowledge of and failed to address. Before my warranty exp[ired]". "The vehicle experienced premature transmission failure, including torque converter clutch malfunction, hesitation, jerking at speeds between 30-35 mph and 50-60 mph." "I own a 2021 Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy with approximately 114,000 miles. The transmission had to be replaced at around 98,000 miles." Hyundai's own bulletins for this gearbox are diagnostic rather than remedial: one has technicians perform a stall test and, if the engine "revs to redline limit (6,000~6,500 rpm)", "replace the transmission"; another diagnoses an Incorrect Ratio fault code meaning "transmission clutch slip in gear above limit" and ends the same way. There is no warranty extension on this transmission. Two cautions before you accept a diagnosis. An independent review of the A8L family notes it is "highly sensitive to even minor overheating" and drops into limp mode readily under wheelspin or heavy load, which is protective rather than broken. And the same source warns that shudder or chatter when turning at walking pace is routinely blamed on the transmission when it is actually the all-wheel-drive coupler. Get the fault code read before anyone quotes you a gearbox.

The panoramic sunroof fails in two separate ways on this car, and one of them has a fix Hyundai has written down. The mechanism first: "Pressed button to open glass sunroof and glass panel crookedly began opening with one side opening farther than the other until it stopped midway with a loud grinding noise." Another owner got the estimate: a technician "diagnosed the failure as a broken sunroof track/mechanism assembly requiring extensive repair estimated at approximately $4,000". That owner also names a Hyundai bulletin number, and this is worth being careful about — the number he cites does not appear in Hyundai's federal communications file, so treat it as his citation rather than a verified document. What is verified is the bulletin itself, covering 2020 to 2022 Palisades: "the sunroof wind deflector may malfunction and cause damage to the sunroof mechanism. The sunroof may be inoperable and become stuck in the open, partially open, or closed position. This bulletin describes the procedure to replace the sunroof wind deflector and sunroof mechanisms with revised parts." Revised parts, not a new assembly. Ask for that repair by description before you accept a quote with a comma in it. Separately, the glass itself shatters — a 2022 Palisade owner describes "a loud pop and then heard glass falling onto the sunroof sunshade" with nothing above the car — and there is no Hyundai programme covering that at all.

This is the Palisade's own story, it covers the 2020 and 2021 model years, and it has no counterpart on the platform twin. Owners of light-interior Nappa leather cars reported a smell described with unnerving consistency as garlic. Reporting from the time: "the odor was expressed as the smell of garlic or rotten product, and the higher the outside temperature it was more severe"; "replacing the headrest and floor mat did not solve the problem, and it is known that the odor comes up from the hole where the headrest is mounted on the seat. The other upholstery options are not having this problem." A second outlet reported owners saying "the suv seats smell really bad" and one comparing it to "spicy garlic cabbage", and quoted a Hyundai spokesperson: "We are aware of the concern and are currently in the midst of the investigation which includes identifying and validating a fix. Once a repair method is confirmed effective, a technical service bulletin will be released to provide directions to our dealer body on how to resolve the concern." That bulletin exists. Hyundai's federal communications file carries three revisions of a bulletin for 2020 and 2021 Palisades describing "the procedure to service certain Palisade (LX2) vehicles that may have odor emitting from the headrest(s)". The summary does not state the remedy, so take no repair detail from anyone who has not read the bulletin — but a dealer telling you this is normal new-car off-gassing is contradicted by Hyundai's own paperwork. Check it on a hot day, with the car shut, before you buy.

Palisades with self-levelling rear shocks develop, in Hyundai's words, "a clunking or thumping noise from the rear of the vehicle while driving over rough roads", "caused by worn self-leveling rear shock absorbers". Hyundai extended coverage on them to "10 years/120,000 miles from the date of original retail delivery or date of first use", valid for original and subsequent owners, under bulletin 26-SS-001H, with a detail worth quoting at the service counter: "for the first repair, replacement of both rear shock absorbers will be covered by this warranty extension." Both. A separate diagnostic bulletin tells you which cars have them: 2020 and 2021 Palisades "equipped with rear self-leveling shocks (vehicles with factory-equipped 20[-inch] wheels: SEL trim with convenience/premium package; all Limited trim)" that "may exhibit a knocking or rattling noise from the rear of the vehicle when driving on bumpy roads at low speeds". So this is a trim-and-wheel question you can settle before it becomes a repair question. The honest comparison, since these cars are twins: Kia covers the identical failure on the Telluride for 15 years and 180,000 miles. Hyundai covers it for 10 and 120,000 — five years and 60,000 miles less. Later Palisade years show owners replacing these two, three and four times, so the gap is real money on a car this age.

Hyundai extended the paint warranty on white 2020 to 2023 Palisades, and the terms are unusually good. The bulletin says these cars "may exhibit peeling or bubbling on metal body panels: hood, fender(s), roof, door(s), quarter panel(s), and tailgate/trunk", and moves coverage "from 3 years and 36,000 miles, to 10 years and unlimited miles from the date of original retail delivery or date of first use", valid "for original and subsequent owners". Two exclusions: it applies to "factory-applied paint" only and "does not cover collision-related paint repairs", and it is void on any vehicle "declared a total loss or sold for salvage" or carrying a branded title. This is a place the Palisade beats its twin outright — Kia ran no paint campaign for the Telluride at all, despite a white-paint delamination cluster in the Telluride's own federal file. On a white 2021 Palisade with lifting clear coat, this is a claim rather than a negotiation.

Recall 22V633, Hyundai's number 235, covers 2020 to 2022 Palisades "potentially equipped with a tow hitch harness installed as original equipment, or purchased as an accessory through a Hyundai dealership": "Debris and moisture accumulation on the tow hitch harness module printed circuit board (PCB) may cause an electrical short, which can result in a fire." NHTSA flags this one park-outside, and Hyundai's remedy text repeats it: "Owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete." Dealers fit a new fuse and wire extension kit free, and letters were mailed 18 May 2023. The clause that catches people is "or purchased as an accessory" — a hitch added at a dealer long after the sale is inside this campaign, and an owner who does not think of the car as a tow vehicle may never have connected the letter to it. Worth noting for cross-shoppers: Kia issued a near-identical campaign on the Telluride for the same defect, under a different number.

Hyundai has a bulletin covering 2020 to 2025 Palisades that "may experience battery drain due to continuous operation of the cooling fan after ve[hicle shutdown]". It is worth knowing about because of what a flat battery does on this car rather than the inconvenience of the battery itself. A 2021 filer describes the electrical system not failing gracefully: "while driving at a low speed, the power steering failed, several warning lights illuminated, and the engine s[talled]". A 2022 Palisade owner reports the sequence in order — "my SUV failed to start, per Roadside Assistance, I replaced the battery. No diagnostic testing done. On 12/26/25 my SUV STOPPED COLD while driving." If a car you are looking at has been through more than one battery, the question is not how old the last one was; it is what was draining it, and whether anyone checked the fan. There is also one filing in the 2021 file that belongs nowhere else: "While the vehicle was off and in my garage, the vehicle started on its own and was idling at an extremely high RPM. I was the only person home, the keys were out of reach."

The 2020 and 2021 Palisade appear in Hyundai's anti-theft programmes and in the engine-immobilizer class settlement, but the eligibility test is mechanical, not editorial. Hyundai launched "an anti-theft software upgrade and window decal campaign (Campaign 993), combined with an anti-theft steering wheel lock campaign (Campaign P32), and anti-theft ignition cylinder protector campaign (Campaign 9A5) in response to an increase in thefts of certain 2011-2022MY Hyundai vehicles not equipped with engine immobilizers targeted through social media", noting that "in November 2021, engine immobilizers became standard on all Hyundai vehicles produced". An immobilizer is the chip in the key that prevents hot-wiring. The settlement narrows the class further: "Class Vehicles manufactured without an engine immobilizer have traditional turn-key-to-start ignition systems." So a push-button 2021 Palisade is almost certainly outside all of this, and a turn-key one may be inside it. The hardware is opt-in: Hyundai's bulletin states the zinc-reinforced ignition cylinder protector "shall be performed and claimed upon customer request only", and that "vehicles not equipped with an immobilizer during production at the factory are eligible". Check the VIN rather than assuming. The Kia Telluride has no anti-theft campaign of any kind, so this is a Palisade-specific exposure among the twins — and one that a 2021 build, straddling the November 2021 immobilizer cut-in, is more likely than most to sit outside.