A class-action lawsuit filed September 16 in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California alleges that Hyundai's Direct Driver Monitoring System (DDMS) falsely identifies attentive drivers as distracted in the 2024-2026 Santa Fe, 2025-2026 Ioniq 5, 2025-2026 Tucson, 2025-2026 Santa Cruz, and 2026 Palisade.
The DDMS uses a camera to monitor the driver's eyes, face, and head position. When it detects what it believes to be distracted driving, it alerts the driver. If the system repeatedly detects inattention while cruise control is engaged, it can deactivate cruise control and trigger an automatic emergency stop.
Plaintiffs claim Hyundai knew about the flaw nearly two years ago when the company issued technical service bulletin 25-GI-001H in January 2025. According to the lawsuit, Hyundai's proposed solution was that drivers "need to wear different sunglasses or glasses, adjust their seats, and look at the road."
The owner's manual acknowledges the system may malfunction under a wide range of normal driving conditions. Wearing sunglasses, prescription glasses, heavy makeup, or a hat can interfere with the camera. Bright sunlight, laughing, squinting, turning your head, being too tall or too short, a bumpy road, or hand position on the steering wheel can reportedly confuse the system.
The lawsuit seeks damages for affected owners, but the allegations have not been proven in court.