Seoul / Detroit: Genesis, the luxury-car arm of Hyundai, has issued a safety recall for 483 units of its flagship Genesis G90 after discovering that the sedan’s “Savile Silver” paint finish can interfere with its radar-based driver-assist system. The issue affects G90 sedans from model years 2023 to 2026.
What’s gone wrong
The problem stems from the aluminium content in the Savile Silver exterior paint (paint code “SSS”). The metallic flakes can scatter signals from the G90’s front corner radar sensors.
Those radar reflections — bouncing off the paint and passing through the front bumper beam — may be wrongly registered as an object in an adjacent lane. As a result, the sedan’s semi-autonomous system, Highway Driving Assist (HDA), can trigger sudden, inappropriate braking.
According to the recall filing, there have been 11 unique reports of such false-detection braking events between April 2023 and April 2025. Thankfully, no crashes, injuries or fatalities have been linked to these incidents so far.
What Genesis plans to do
Owners of affected vehicles will be notified by mail around end-January 2026. They are advised to refrain from using the HDA (and related driver-assist functions) until the corrective work is done.
The remedy involves replacing the front bumper beam with a modified, sealed version — designed to block radar transmission/reflection and prevent the paint from affecting sensor output. This fix will be provided free of cost, irrespective of warranty status.
Meanwhile, production of Savile Silver-painted G90s has been halted (since Nov 2, 2025). The colour may return to the lineup only after the sealed-bumper-beam solution is integrated in the manufacturing process.
Why this recall is unusual — and what it signals
It is rare for a recall — especially for a flagship luxury sedan — to be triggered not by mechanical failure, software bugs, or electronics, but by the exterior paint. Automotive observers note this may be among the “weirdest recalls” of the year.
The incident underscores a growing challenge for modern vehicles: as cars become more technologically advanced, even materials like paint — previously considered a cosmetic detail — can affect safety-critical systems such as radar-based ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems).
For buyers and owners, this means that choices like body-color should not be seen just as aesthetics but potentially as safety-sensitive. Carmakers may increasingly have to account for sensor compatibility when designing finishes for ADAS-equipped vehicles.