Some of the big Genesis G90 sedans are being recalled. Specifically, they are recalling the ones painted Sevile Silver, because reflections in the aluminum in that particular paint trick the front sensors into thinking that there is a vehicle in front of the Genesis, thereby applying the brakes.
The only other issue I have seen that is similar to this had to do with Nissan Rogues, where reflections from snowbanks adjacent to the road caused similar trickery.
Fix is to not use the unnecessary useless feature.
Let me test drive one long term and I’ll let ya know.
If the recall happened in 1968 the fix would have involved metal tape applied over the sensors. I remember the engine mount fix for Chevy that had a steel cable tied around the exhaust manifold and the upper control arm mount. Good thing zip-ties weren’t popular then.
Metallic paint used on body panels that cover radar sensors, that is a strange practice.
How would that help? If the solution is to disable the system, why not turn the system off?
A very effective “safety chain”.
The letter from Hyundai to NHTSA says that the back side of a bumper will be coated with a radar absorbing material, and the original bumper will be replaced with the new one. This isn’t something that would likely be discovered during prerelease testing. Cars are complicated systems and seemingly unrelated systems like paint and radar can interact in unplanned ways. Here’s the explanation from Hyundai.
Kudos to Hyundai for that relatively-expensive fix. If they want to continue to erode the market share of European luxury brands, this is the type of thing that they need to do in order to bolster confidence in their luxury brand.
IMO it’s probably an inexpensive fix for the few existing G90s with that silver paint. Going forward, they have to decide whether they will coat all the bumper ends in the field of view of the radar or drop the offending silver paint. #1 is solve the problem for existing customers, then plan from there for potential customers. If I was king of their forest, I think I’d eliminate the paint from the lineup. Most, if not all, future customers wouldn’t miss this silver paint. They might also replace this paint with a no reflective version.