Two recalls announced in October 2026 involve about 200,000 vehicles with defects that can start a fire. Neither repair is finished yet, so owners are being told what to watch for in the meantime.
The Hyundai and Genesis Recall
Hyundai Motor America is recalling 94,622 vehicles: 2015 and 2016 Hyundai Genesis models and 2017 through 2020 Genesis G80 models, according to the NHTSA recall record for campaign 26V664000. A front power seat control switch can stick, and the seat motor can overheat and start a fire while the vehicle is parked or being driven.
The repair is still being developed. Until it is done, NHTSA’s record advises owners to park outdoors and away from other vehicles and structures. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed December 7, 2026.
The Toyota Land Cruiser Recall
On October 14, 2026, Toyota announced a recall of about 106,000 Land Cruisers from model years 2024 through 2027, according to the Toyota USA Newsroom. A fuel tube connection near the fuel tank can come loose and leak fuel until the engine in the hybrid system shuts off. Leaking fuel near an ignition source raises the risk of a fire.
Dealers will inspect the connection and install a supplemental clamp, or replace the resin fuel tube and install the clamp if needed, at no cost. Toyota expects to notify owners by mid-December 2026.
Owners of either vehicle can check a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Toyota owners can also use Toyota.com/recall.
What a Recall Means
A recall is a manufacturer’s notice that a vehicle has a safety defect. Federal law requires a manufacturer to notify NHTSA and the vehicle’s owners when it learns a vehicle has a defect and decides in good faith that the defect is related to motor vehicle safety (49 U.S.C. § 30118). The manufacturer generally must fix the defect without charge (49 U.S.C. § 30120).
A recall is not a lawsuit, and owning a recalled vehicle does not by itself create an injury claim. A product-liability claim begins when a defect causes damage: an injury, a death or a fire that destroys property. When that happens, state law decides who is responsible, and Louisiana and Texas answer that question differently.
Louisiana: The Louisiana Products Liability Act
In Louisiana, the Louisiana Products Liability Act (LPLA) sets the only theories of liability for manufacturers for damage caused by their products (La. R.S. 9:2800.52). Under La. R.S. 9:2800.54, a manufacturer is liable for damage proximately caused by a characteristic of the product that renders it unreasonably dangerous, when the damage arose from a reasonably anticipated use of the product. A product can be unreasonably dangerous in four ways: in construction or composition, in design, because an adequate warning was not provided, or because it does not conform to the manufacturer’s express warranty.
Two of these come up often with vehicle defects:
- Design. A design claim requires that an alternative design existed when the product left the manufacturer’s control that could have prevented the damage. The likelihood and seriousness of the harm from the design used must also outweigh the burden of adopting the alternative and any loss of usefulness it would cause (La. R.S. 9:2800.56).
- Warnings after sale. A manufacturer that learns of a dangerous characteristic after a product leaves its control, or would have learned of it by acting as a reasonably prudent manufacturer, is liable for damage caused by its later failure to use reasonable care to give users an adequate warning of that danger. No warning is required when the danger goes no further than an ordinary user would expect, or when the user already knows or reasonably should know of it (La. R.S. 9:2800.57). This rule matters when a defect comes to light years after a vehicle was sold.
Product-liability claims follow the same two-year deadline as other injury claims (La. C.C. art. 3493.1). Prescription does not run against a minor or interdict in a product-liability claim involving permanent disability.
Fault can be shared between a manufacturer, a driver and others. For accidents on or after January 1, 2026, a person found 51% or more at fault recovers nothing, and anyone less than 51% at fault has damages reduced by their share (La. C.C. art. 2323). For earlier accidents, fault reduces damages but does not bar recovery.
Texas: Chapter 82 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code
In Texas, a products liability action is any action against a manufacturer or seller for damages from personal injury, death or property damage allegedly caused by a defective product, whatever legal theory the claim rests on (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 82.001).
- Design defects. A person claiming a design defect must prove that a safer alternative design existed and that the defect was a producing cause of the injury. A safer alternative design is one that would have prevented or significantly reduced the risk of the injury without substantially impairing the product’s usefulness, and that was economically and technologically feasible when the product left the manufacturer’s or seller’s control (§ 82.005).
- Federal safety standards. If a manufacturer shows that the design complied with mandatory federal safety standards that applied to the product and governed the risk at issue, the law presumes the manufacturer is not liable. The injured person can overcome that presumption by showing the federal standards were inadequate to protect the public, or that the manufacturer withheld or misrepresented information relevant to the government’s decision about those standards (§ 82.008).
- Sellers. A seller that did not manufacture the product, such as a dealership, is generally not liable unless the injured person proves an exception, such as the seller actually knowing of the defect when it supplied the product (§ 82.003).
A personal injury suit must be filed within two years after the claim accrues (§ 16.003). A products liability action against a manufacturer or seller also generally must be filed within 15 years after the defendant sold the product, with limited exceptions (§ 16.012). That outer limit matters more as recalled vehicles age.
A person more than 50 percent responsible for the injury recovers nothing, and a smaller share reduces the damages by that percentage (§ 33.001, § 33.012).
What Owners Can Do Now
- Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, and check again later, because recall lists can change after they are first filed.
- Follow the interim advice in the recall. For the Hyundai and Genesis vehicles, that means parking outdoors and away from other vehicles and structures until the repair is done.
- Keep the recall letter, dealer repair orders and any record of the problem, such as photos of a leak or a seat switch that will not release.
- If a fire, leak or injury happens, keep the vehicle as it is. It should not be repaired, scrapped or sold until it has been inspected, because the vehicle is often the most important evidence.
The Louisiana product liability and Texas product liability practice pages cover these claims in each state, and the resource on vehicle defects in car crashes covers the kinds of defects behind them.
Sources
- NHTSA, Recall 26V664000
- Toyota USA Newsroom, Toyota Recalls Certain MY2024-2027 Land Cruiser Vehicles
- U.S. Code, 49 U.S.C. § 30118 and § 30120
- Louisiana Legislature, La. R.S. 9:2800.52, 9:2800.54, 9:2800.56, 9:2800.57, Civil Code art. 3493.1 and art. 2323
- Texas Legislature, Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 82, Chapter 16 and Chapter 33
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does a recall mean the owner has a legal claim?
- No. A recall obligates the manufacturer to notify owners and fix the defect, generally free of charge. A product-liability claim requires damage caused by the defect, such as an injury, a death or a fire that destroys property.
- What is the deadline for a defective vehicle injury claim?
- In Louisiana, two years from the injury (La. C.C. art. 3493.1). In Texas, two years after the claim accrues for a personal injury (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003), and a products liability action generally must also be filed within 15 years after the defendant sold the product (§ 16.012).
- What should the owner of a recalled vehicle do now?
- Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, follow any interim safety advice in the recall, and keep the recall letter and repair records. If the defect causes a fire or an injury, the vehicle should be kept as it is until it has been inspected.
