Hyundai Says Fix Now Available for Palisade Odor

Hyundai just announced it has found a way to fix the funky odor in some 2020 Palisade SUVs.

Back in August, some owners of the crossover issued complaints about a stench emanating from the vehicle, which they could not identify or get rid of. At the time, the automaker said it came from the headrests, although the cause was not immediately ascertained. Hence, a proper fix could not be developed.

Online publication Cars.com was the first to report on the issue, having the Palisade as part of its long-term fleet.

Now Hyundai is saying it has pinpointed the cause of the odor that appears to be limited to the Palisade’s Calligraphy and Limited trims. Even better, the manufacturer says it has come up with a solution to the problem.

According to Hyundai spokesperson Miles Johnson, the horrid smell is coming from the headrests wrapped in Nappa leather. And to fix the issue, the company is offering a treatment process at dealerships.

Palisade owners having issues with the bad-smelling headrests are advised to bring their vehicles to a dealer to get the leather treated. However, as is the case with Cars.com’s Palisade units, the treatment does not work on all of the headrests.

For the publication’s SUVs, all of the headrests had to be replaced, although Johnson said it’s not likely in most cases.

Based on earlier reports, Palisade owners complained of a “hot garbage” smell or a “weird greasy electrical odor of sorts.”

Hyundai said the problem was in the leather supplier’s manufacturing process and that it has since switched suppliers. Newly built Calligraphy and Limited variants of the Palisade should no longer have issues with the headrests.