2023 Hyundai Palisade1st gen facelift (2023–2025), first year

Updated 2026-08-28NHTSA counts read on this date — 390 complaints. They rise over time.

2023 Hyundai Palisade Rear Windows Turn Hazy in Sunlight

Forty complaints about the 2023 Hyundai Palisade describe the same thing: the second-row door windows look hazy or milky. Eighteen say sunlight is when it shows; two say it is there after dark too. Twenty-four say it obscures visibility. One owner backing out of a driveway did not see a child on a bicycle (ODI 11614096):

“Back seat window glass (both sides) are cloudy/foggy to such a degree that it obscures visibility, especially in direct sunlight. While backing out of driveway, could not see a child on bicycle and nearly hit him. He yelled out loud enough that I slammed on my brakes.”

Hyundai has documented why it happens. Twenty-four of these forty filings were already in NHTSA’s database before the bulletin was dated, the first one in October 2022. In January 2023 Hyundai issued technical service bulletin 23-BD-001H, REAR DOOR WINDOW GLASS WITH HAZY OR FOGGY APPEARANCE. The bulletin explains that the second-row glass is acoustic laminated privacy glass, that the dark PVB film inside it is what hazes in sunlight, and then says this:

“The rear door window glass meets or exceeds all required Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) and does not require replacement if it exhibits this condition.”

That is not a repair procedure. It is a documented no. Two filings describe being handed it. One was refused outright (ODI 11529602):

“Rear door windows are hazy, foggy and are a safety issue in both daytime and evening due to poor visibility. Hyundai issued a TSB #23-BD-001H. I am requesting windows be replaced and Hyundai has rejected my request.”

The other read it closely (ODI 11526663):

“Hyundai provided me with a TSB #23-BD-001H. It states the FMVSS are meet. I strongly disagree with this TSB. The TSB also stated on CERTAIN 2023 MY Palisades. My question is if it meets or exceeds FMVSS then why isn’t that why on all 2023 Palisades not just CERTAIN ones??”

That is the right question, and the same bulletin answers it. The glass is trim-dependent. Only three of the six trims got it, and the table is in the Specs section below.

The bulletin settles the model year too. In its own words: “2020MY – 2022MY Palisade (LX2) vehicles do not exhibit this condition. The acoustic laminated privacy glass for the rear door windows was introduced for 2023MY vehicles only.” Counted the same way across the generation, the complaint record agrees — zero filings on every other model year, forty here.

The basics

The 2023 is the facelift. New nose, new tailgate, redesigned interior, a new XRT trim. Under it, nothing moved: the same Lambda II 3.8-liter V6, the same eight-speed, the same 114.2-inch wheelbase. The car is six-tenths of an inch longer and gains one highway mpg. The basic powertrain and dimensions changed very little.

What did change is glass. Hyundai put acoustic laminated glass into the doors, which is a real improvement — it is quieter — and the second-row version of it is what this page is about.

Owners have filed 390 complaints with NHTSA about the 2023 model year. Hyundai sold 82,688 Palisades in calendar 2022 and 89,509 in 2023, and the 2023 model year sold across both, so the denominator is in the tens of thousands. I am not turning that into a rate. What the number is good for is comparison with the other model years in this series, counted the same way: 526 for the 2020, 423 for the 2021, 302 for the 2022, 390 here.

NHTSA’s database only holds complaints. Nobody files to say their windows are clear.

Specs

From Hyundai’s official 2023 Palisade product guide.

The engine numbers are identical to the 2020 car’s, three model years later.

The glass is trim-dependent, and the bulletin prints the table. What matters is the second row.

Every trim gets tempered privacy glass in the third row, which is why the two rows can look different on the same car.

That mapping is Hyundai’s, not the complaint record’s. Only two of the forty filings name a trim at all, and both are Calligraphys. So use it to know what to look for, then look at the window rather than the badge.

How it was received

IIHS made the 2023 Palisade a Top Safety Pick+ with Good headlights on every trim, and NHTSA gave it five stars overall and four for rollover.

One rating is worth pulling out. The 2020 through 2022 cars score Marginal on the tougher side-impact test IIHS introduced after they were rated. The 2023 scores Good on that same test. That is a real difference between the facelift and the car it replaced, and it is the clearest thing the facelift bought. The updated moderate overlap front test still comes back Poor, as it does on the earlier cars.

Crash tests measure what a structure does in a collision. They do not measure whether you can see a child through the second-row glass on a sunny afternoon, which is the top of this page.

What owners filed

Categories below are sorted by count and each complaint is counted once. They add up to 362; the remaining 28 are one-offs that don’t form a pattern.

Brakes — 75

The largest category, and it is not really this model year’s story — it is the facelift generation’s. Counted the same way: 11 filings on the 2020, 10 on the 2021, 6 on the 2022, then 75 here, 204 on the 2024, and 84 on the 2025. Something changed with the facelift, and the 2024 car is where it peaks so far. Counted here as every filing NHTSA tagged service brakes, including the ones it also tagged forward-collision avoidance; its own grouping separates those, which is why the year-by-year table shows a smaller number.

The description is consistent. You are braking at low speed, the car crosses something uneven — a bump, a pothole, a railroad crossing, a manhole cover — the ABS activates, and the car keeps going. Twenty-eight of the 75 name both the ABS and an uneven surface, and thirty-two say it happens at low speed.

From June 2025 (ODI 11666115):

“ABS kicks on while going slowly over uneven, bumpy roads, or train tracks. The entire car vibrates and I cannot stop the vehicle even when hitting the brake as hard as possible. The car continues forward for a few seconds after causing me to nearly rear-end other vehicles stopped at a red light.”

Twenty-five of the 75 describe a near miss or a collision. Six crashes are reported across all 390 filings and three of them are in this category.

There is a brake recall on this car, and it is not this. 23V415000 covers a brake booster diaphragm that can leak vacuum and cost you power assist — a hard pedal, not a pulsing one. Three of these 75 filings mention it. Whether the two are related is not something the complaint record can answer, and a dealer that has completed the booster recall has not addressed what the other 72 filings describe.

Seat belts — 73

The same count as the 2022 car, and the same two failures inside it: a fastened belt that comes undone, and a buckle that will not latch. Hyundai’s September 2025 recall (25V607000) covers the 2020–2025 Palisade for the second one. The 2022 page works through that mismatch in detail, and nothing here changes it. Same convention as the brakes above — every filing that names the belt, including the ones NHTSA also tagged airbags.

What is worth adding is that the facelift did not touch this category. By model year, 2020 through 2025, the count runs 51 · 107 · 73 · 73 · 50 · 62. Those are category totals, not counts of one symptom, because the filings do not split cleanly into the two.

Hazy rear windows — 40

Thirty-two of the forty name the second row or the rear doors. Eighteen say sunlight is when it shows. Twenty-four say it obscures visibility.

The most useful detail in the whole category is that you can check it against the car itself. The third-row glass is tempered on every trim and does not do this, so on an affected car the second row and the third row look different. Four filings describe exactly that. From December 2022 (ODI 11496358):

“The acoustic laminated windows in the second row are hazy, especially in direct sunlight. IT appears to be an issue with the laminate and factory tint together, as my third row- non laminated windows are clear.”

Replacement does not necessarily help, because the replacement glass is the same glass. The owner who nearly hit the child had the driver’s side replaced: “new glass is just has defective as original glass.”

The filings arrive early and stop — 24 in 2022, 12 in 2023, 4 in 2024, none since. No 2024 or 2025 Palisade filing describes this. Why the complaints stopped, the record does not say.

Sunroof — 31

Glass breaking on its own at speed, the same as every year in this series. Thirty-one filings here against 32 on the 2022 and 35 on the 2021. No recall and no bulletin covers it.

Transmission — 28

Twenty-eight, against 6 on the 2022, 14 on the 2021 and 24 on the 2020. Harsh or delayed shifts, and a shudder at steady speed. One recall touches the driveline — 23V526000, the Idle Stop & Go oil pump controller, which can overheat and cause a fire — but that is a fire risk, not a shift-quality repair, and NHTSA’s advice with it was to park outside until it is done.

Rear shocks — 26

Twenty-six, against 20 on the 2022 and 30 on the 2021. Clunking over bumps at low speed, and a repeat-replacement pattern that runs through every model year of this car. TSB 22-SS-001H, which replaces the upper shock insulators, covers 2020–2021 cars only and does not apply here.

Engine shutdown and engine failure — 23

The loosest category on this page, as it is on every page in this series, and I would rather say so than let the number carry weight it hasn’t earned. It collects filings that use the words stall, shut off, lost power or fire. No fires are reported in the 2023 data at all.

Screens and electrical — 20

Head unit reboots, black screens, backup cameras that don’t come on. Counted the same way, the 2022 drew 10 and the 2021 drew 25. There is no trend here worth naming.

The rest is thin

Wiper motor 9, driver assistance 8, steering 6, wipers blocked by snow 6, windshields 6, seats 3, airbags 3, wind noise 3, radiator and coolant 1, third-row seats 1.

Windshields deserve one line for how far they fell. The 2020 car drew 103 filings about glass cracking on its own; this year drew six.

Recalls

Five, all findable by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

23V180000 — wiper motor, reported March 2023, covering 2021–2023 cars, an expansion of 22V-627. Snow or ice on the windshield can make the motor operate intermittently or stop. Dealers replace the driver-side wiper arm. Letters mailed May 15, 2023. Hyundai’s number 243.

23V415000 — brake booster, reported June 2023, and 2023-only. The booster diaphragm can become misaligned and cause an internal vacuum leak, losing power brake assist and extending stopping distance. Dealers inspect and replace the booster. Letters mailed July 14, 2023. Hyundai’s number 245.

23V526000 — Idle Stop & Go oil pump controller, reported July 2023, covering 2023–2024 Palisades along with several other Hyundai models. Damaged electrical components can make the controller overheat, which is a fire risk. NHTSA’s advice was to park outside and away from structures until the repair is done. Letters mailed starting September 7, 2023. Hyundai’s number 246.

25V607000 — seat belt buckles that may fail to latch, reported September 2025, covering 2020–2025 cars. Interim letters October 23, 2025; final remedy letters began June 2026 and run through December 2026. Hyundai’s number 283.

26V034000 — third-row side curtain airbags that may deploy improperly, reported January 2026, covering 2020–2025 cars. The vehicles do not comply with the federal ejection mitigation standard. Dealers install a protective film over the rear window and remove padding. Interim letters March 13, 2026; final remedy letters June through December 2026. Hyundai’s number 292.

What doesn’t show up in the complaints

The glass has a bulletin that says no. The brakes have a recall for a different failure. Between those two sits the thing 72 filings describe and nobody has written a document about.

No fires are reported in the 390 filings, and no deaths. Six crashes and two injuries.

The third row draws one filing and the seats three. On a car people buy for the third row, that is close to silence — the 2022 was similarly quiet at four and two.

Oil consumption does not appear as a category here at all. On the 2020 car it was 73 filings and the second-largest thing in the data. These cars are three years younger, so this is a category to watch rather than one that has finished arriving.

What the complaint curve says

Filings by year: 39 in 2022, 86 in 2023, 102 in 2024, 91 in 2025, and 72 so far in 2026.

That is the flattest curve in this series. The earlier model years all spike late — the 2020 car ran 119 filings in 2025 against 43 in 2022 — and this one does not. It arrived complaining and has kept a steady rate.

The brake filings and the window filings arrive at different times, which is why. The window filings are front-loaded: 24 of the 40 came in during 2022, and several owners say the car was new — “a few days after purchasing the vehicle new in August of 2022,” “Just purchased this car,” “Brand new 2023 Palisade.” The brake filings are the opposite, arriving mostly in 2024 and 2025 (7, 42, 23 and 3 from 2023 through 2026). One is a thing you notice on the lot. The other is a thing you find on a bumpy road months later.

If you’re looking at one

Ordered by what carries the most risk, not by count.

On the test drive, include some broken pavement rather than only smooth road, and brake normally there — with room ahead of you and nobody behind. Twenty-eight of the 75 brake filings describe the ABS activating over an uneven surface and the car failing to slow, and those are the surfaces owners name. A pulsing pedal that does not shorten the stop is the complaint. Do not go looking for a railroad crossing to test it on. You may not see it in one drive — four filings say the dealer could not reproduce it either — so ask for the service history and look for a brake or ABS visit that came back with no fault found.

Ask whether recall 23V415000 has been completed, and get the answer in writing. That is the brake booster, and it is the only recall on this list that is specific to the 2023. Completing it does not address the ABS complaints above — they are separate, and it is worth knowing which one you are asking about.

Ask whether recall 23V526000 has been completed. That is the Idle Stop & Go oil pump controller, and it is a fire risk that NHTSA answered with advice to park outside. Check the VIN yourself at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Park it in direct sun and look through the second-row windows from outside, then from inside. This is the one item on this list that needs no tools and no test drive. Compare the second-row glass to the third-row glass on the same car — the third row is tempered on every trim and stays clear, so a difference between them is the condition in Hyundai’s bulletin. If the car has it, understand that Hyundai’s written position is that it does not require replacement.

Ask whether recall 25V607000 has been completed, and know the buckles carry a 15-year warranty. These are the seat belt buckles, and the parts have been slow — a dealer telling you it is scheduled is not the same as done. Separately from the recall, Hyundai’s warranty extension Z06 of April 2025 covers these buckles on 2020–2025 Palisades for 15 years or 150,000 miles, whichever comes first, from the original in-service date, valid for subsequent owners. No letter about that reaches a second owner.

Ask whether recall 26V034000 has been completed. Third-row side curtain airbags that may not meet the federal ejection-mitigation standard. Final remedy letters run through December 2026, so on a used car today this is the one most likely to still be open.

Drive it slowly over something rough with the windows down. A clunk from the rear over bumps is the rear shock pattern, and it runs through every model year of this car — 60, 30, 20, 26, 20 and 13 filings from 2020 to 2025. Ask whether the shocks have been replaced, and when.

Look up at the sunroof and accept that you cannot test it. Thirty-one filings describe the glass breaking on its own. There is no inspection for this and no recall.

Numbers worth writing down

Sources

• Hyundai 2023 Palisade product guide — specifications and features
• Hyundai technical service bulletin 23-BD-001H — NHTSA document 10230908
• NHTSA complaint database — 390 filings for the 2023 Palisade, retrieved 2026-08-28
• Hyundai warranty extension Z06 — seat belt buckles, 2020–2025 Palisade, 15 years/150,000 miles, April 2025
• NHTSA preliminary evaluation PE24021 — inadvertent seat belt unlatch, 2020–2023 Palisade, 37 complaints at opening, August 2024; closed December 2025 per NHTSA’s investigations database
• IIHS ratings, 2023 Hyundai Palisade
• GoodCarBadCar Hyundai Palisade sales figures

Built from public NHTSA filings and manufacturer documents. This is not a mechanical inspection and not advice about a specific car. Complaint databases collect complaints; they do not measure how often a part fails.