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The Hyundai Palisade isn’t just the brand’s biggest vehicle (until the Ioniq 9 showed up), it’s one of its biggest sales successes. It arrived at just the right time, not only for Hyundai to enter a hot segment, but for Hyundai to have inventory early in the pandemic when other automakers were struggling.

Now, it’s the subject of a big lawsuit. A class action suit filed in the United States District Court in the Central District of California alleges that there is a problem stopping the Palisade, one the plaintiffs claim Hyundai knew about but has not yet acknowledged or resolved.

Suit Claims Rough Surfaces Can Cause Problems Stopping

The class action suit alleges that “the Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) and/or Traction Control System in the Class Vehicles are defective.” It states that in 2023-2025 Hyundai Palisade SUVs, the vehicle may miscalculate wheel speeds when the brakes are applied on rough or uneven surfaces. That, it alleges, “results in a longer stopping distance than reasonably expected.”

Camille Maldonado is the complainant named in the suit. She said that she experienced the “ABS defect” just a few weeks into owning her 2024 Palisade. The suit alleges that “whenever Mrs Maldonado applied vehicle brakes while driving on a rough or uneven road surface, she felt as if her vehicle was skidding over the road surface and took a longer distance to come to a stop than she reasonably anticipated.”

According to the suit, she continued to experience this phenomenon “about once a week.” Her dealer told her that what she was experiencing was normal ABS behavior.

The lawsuit says that the braking issues are related to the wheel speed sensors. They miscalculate, believing that the wheel is skidding, and release the brake through the ABS module. This, it claims, results in “a delayed braking response.”

Hyundai Allegedly Knew About The Problem

It also alleges that Hyundai learned about the problem in pre-production testing and design analysis, as well as through early consumer complaints. Claims of stopping behavior posted to forums and Reddit are cited in the suit.

A look at NHTSA complaints data shows nearly 200 complaints filed regarding braking issues. There is not currently an investigation by the regulator into the reported issue. The Kia Telluride, which is closely related to the Palisade and built at the same plant, has no reports of similar issues.

The plaintiffs claim that if they had been aware of an issue with the brakes, they wouldn’t have purchased the vehicles. Or they would have paid less, which feels like an odd choice. The plaintiffs are seeking damages as well as other reliefs, as the issue has not been fixed, and so many are forced to continue to drive “cars with faulty brakes.”

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As the suit is still in its initial stages, the claims have not been tested in court. We have reached out to Hyundai for comment, but do not expect the automaker to comment publicly on ongoing litigation.