What 295 owners told NHTSA about the 2012 Hyundai Veloster

I stood my [XXX] nephew up in the front passengers side floorboard of the 2012 hyundia voloster manual transmission with push start . I stepped out of the car on the passage side of the car the car was parked in first gear no one was on the driver's side . I bent over to get my shoes on and baby reached over and pushed the start button on the car the car should not have started since the clutch was not pressed in but unfortunately the car started and lunged forward being on a incline it was as if someone smashed on the gas pedal I ran with the car as far as I could but it was going so fast I could not get into the car to stop it I was drug trying to stop the car the car flew thru a fence , into the woods, down a steep hill then crossed a one lane road traveled up a hill thru another patch of woods before going up hill and hitting a tree all the while our nephew was not in a car seat the car was bouncing side to side when it went off road to cross a creek so I know the baby was thrown around in the car he had to of been that car was going so fast I was screaming in fear that he would not be alive when I made it to the car now the key was in my purse located in the passenger side floorboard where I stood the baby up at so when I reached the car the doors had automatically locked the car was still running and the baby was screaming I could not leave the baby to go get help so I tried to tell him to open the door but like I said he is [XXX] old he didn't know what I was telling him to do and since the car went thru the fence it knocked the wiper blades off and the metal was going back and forth on the glass and it was so loud screeching back and forth and baby is screaming and I could not get to him and I know the screeching is scaring him even more so I reached up the pull the wipers away from the windshield and when I did baby leans on the door to see what I was doing and he hits the windows button and the windows came down just far enough to get it unlock INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11680446

I HEARD SOMETHING DROP AND THEN THE CAR STARTED SMOKING. I PULLED TO THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY, TURNED OFF THE CAR, AND WENT TO OPEN THE HOOD, BUT SAW FLAMES. THE ENTIRE FRONT HALF WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES. A COUPLE YEARS AGO I HAD TO GET AN ENGINE REPLACEMENT DUE TO OIL OVER CONSUMPTION. THE SAME ISSUES STARTED HAPPENING AGAIN AND THE DEALERSHIP WAS NOT HELPFUL WITH GETTING THE SITUATION FIGURED OUT.

NHTSA ODI 11395448

ON FRIDAY, 1/31/19, MY SON AS DRIVING HOME FROM WORK AND HIS CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND OIL INDICATOR LIGHT WENT ON. HE TOOK THE CAR (MY12 HYUNDAI VELOSTER) TO PEP BOYS FOR SERVICE THE FOLLOWING MORNING, SAT. 2/1/20, AND DESCRIBED WHAT HAPPENED. THEY INSPECTED THE CAR AND ADVISED THE OIL SEEMED TO BE BURNING FASTER THAN NORMAL, BUT DID AN OIL CHANGE. THEY ADVISED IF THE WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON AGAIN, TO TAKE IT TO HYUNDAI. THEY ALSO ADVISED WE WOULD NEED TO BRING THE CAR IN FOR OIL CHANGES APPROX. EVERY 3K MILES, RATHER THAN 5-7K MILES. NO CONCERN WAS COMMUNICATED TO KEEP DRIVING THE CAR. THE NEXT DAY, SUNDAY, 2/2/20, HE WAS ENTERING THE 605 FWY (SOUTH) AT FIRESTONE BLVD IN NORWALK, CA AND HE HEARD A RATTLING IN THE ENGINE, THEN SAW BLACK SMOKE COMING FROM THE ENGINE. HE PULLED THE CAR OVER ON THE SHOULDER, THEN SAW FLAMES COMING FROM THE ENGINE. HE EXITED THE VEHICLE SAFELY AND CALLED 911. THE CAR BECAME ENGULFED IN BLAMES AND WAS TOTALED. THE FIRE DEPT PUT OUT THE FIRE. THE CHP OFFICER POINTED OUT THE TRAIL OF OIL ON THE SHOULDER WHERE MY SON HAD DRIVEN AND PULLED OVER. UPON DOING SOME INTERNET RESEARCH AFTER THE FIRE, WE SAW THAT MY13 HYUNDAI VELOSTERS HAD A RECALL FOR AN ISSUE THAT COULD LEAD TO ENGINE FIRES. WE HAVE HAD ALL REGULAR SERVICE DONE ON THE CAR AT PEP BOYS AND HAD NOT HAD ANY PRIOR ENGINE ISSUES.

NHTSA ODI 11309422

THE CAR STARTED TO RATTLE AND STARTED TO NOT BE ABLE TO ACCELERATE. I PULLED THE CAR TO THE SIDE OF A SEMI BUSY ROAD AND LET IT SIT FOR A MOMENT WHILE TURNED OFF AND THEN AFTER 30 SECONDS TURNED THE CAR BACK ON. I STARTED TO DRIVE THE CAR AND TURNED DOWN A RESIDENTIAL ROAD (ROTHROCK CIRCLE COPLEY, OH) AND THAT IS WHEN THINGS GOT REALLY BAD.THE CAR WAS IN MOTION AND STARTED TO ACT EVEN STRANGER. IT HAD ISSUES ACCELERATING AGAIN AND THEN WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD THE LUNGED FORWARD AND THEN WHITE SMOKE AND FLAMES CAME FROM UNDER THE CARS FRONT END. I JUMPED OUT OF THE CAR AFTER TURNING IT OFF, GRABBED MY PERSONAL ITEMS AND RAN OFF INCASE OF AN EXPLOSION. I CALLED 911INSTANTLY AND WHILE ON THE PHONE WITH COPLEY POLICE MY CAR WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES. FIREFIGHTERS CAME OUT AND STARTED TO EXTINGUISH THE FLAMES BUT IT WAS TOO LATE AND THE WHOLE FRONT OF THE CAR WAS MELTED, BURNED, AND DESTROYED.

NHTSA ODI 11219948

COMPLETE CAR FIRE. I WAS DRIVING ON THE FREE WAY GOING BETWEEN 70 AND 75MPH AND I WENT TO CHANGE LANES AND WHEN I LOOKED BACK IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR ALL I SEE IS SMOKE SO I PULL OFF THE FREEWAY ONTO THE SHOULDER AND I SEE A FLAME FROM UNDER THE HOOD. SO I POP THE HOOD LATCH AND I OPEN IT AND THERE WAS A FIRE COMING FROM THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. SO I SHUT THE HOOD AND GO AND GRAB NECESSITIES OUT FROM THE VEHICLE AND WAIT FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO SHOW UP AND PUT OUT THE CAR. WELL WHEN THEY SHOWED UP, THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO SALVAGE ANY USABLE PART OF THE VEHICLE. AGAIN I WAS ON THE FREEWAY/HIGHWAY TRAVELING BETWEEN 70MPH AND 75 MPH

NHTSA ODI 11195743